Great show, I like the breakdown on the performance difference between the boards. You really got a nice command on the waves at the creek. A stand out for sure
Very SHReducational! I grew up on poly boards but love expoxy except for when it’s offshore because it’s sometimes harder to paddle into waves. I discovered USED SURF in 2018/2019 and love the place because they give fair deals and the kids there all rip, know what they’re talking about and are helpful/friendly. Plus, I sometimes sell off used fins and the fellas there always give me a fair price. Full BROfessionalism
@@Singlefinsurfingforlife no doubt. Here in brOceanside expoxy works 9 out of 10 times but on the rare occasion we have howling offshore winds they become useless
Yeah I agree. Offshore or bigger waves, a light light board does not have enough inertia and will slow down easier for sure. Good observation! Thanks for kind words for Usedsurf. The description of thoughts and your experience at our store is what we strive for so thank you🙏🙏🙏
Nice vid. Epoxy is my go-to 90% of the time here in SoCal. PU for those strong offshore days that you and others have mentioned. I prefer stringered epoxies because to me it adds just the right amount of weight and structure, and isn’t overly floaty.
So far I only have one board since I live far from the coast and it is epoxy. However I like fat trucks and a heavy board while skating so I can imagine I would enjoy the feeling of a poly quite a bit. This was an awesome tech tips episode!
Good comparisons! I started surfing in the mid 90´s with PU boards. When FireWire´s came out I started riding more of their variations of epoxy when I rode waves in San Diego county. Having moved to Portugal, most of the waves I ride in Portugal have lots of power and energy and I have had good days and bad days with my boards like the Cymatic, Dominator II and Revo. But, I am at a point, where I really miss having some PU boards in my quiver because I want the board to have more momentum getting into the waves, more predictability and some weight to hold the line. I have definitely experienced all the characteristics of epoxy boards you described. From my perspective riding epoxy shortboards for 10+ years in many types of waves; they are a good setup for mushy to average waves. Any waves that have power and speed forget it unless you want to feel like you have manic speed, skipping around and so much speed it gets hard to even control. Even to this day, I miss some takeoffs because the moment I stop paddling, the forward momentum stops with the epoxy board (less weight = less momentum continuation). Given the costs of surfboards, I do appreciate the durability of epoxy boards but like you discussed, there are all tradeoffs and caveats. Now, it´s time for me to go find a fun PU daily driver board!
Yeah you nailed it on your assessment. I agree with a lot of what your saying.and notice the same things your mentioning about both constructions. Firewires are at the extreme end being crazy light. Sometimes you can get a stringered 2.0lb eps foam, glass it double 4 on the deck and single 6 on the bottom and end up with a good middle ground epoxy board that ends up between a poly and a crazy light FireWire.
The differences you were pointing out were almost all actually differences between PU and EPS foams, not the resins like you kept saying. Polyester resin is objectively worse in every way than epoxy resin other than it being slightly cheaper. It's weaker, stiffer, more brittle, and doesn't last as long. If you prefer PU boards then get PU glassed with epoxy resin.
Yeah it's such a good idea...I know Hamish graham and rusty do that on the regular. I agree, epoxy resin is superior. Epoxy is definitely more expensive. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!!!
When epoxys age a bit they actually gain a lot of different flex profile and feel more poly. If you pick up a firewire from like 2016 right now it feels way flexier. I was a shop grom poly dog through and through because I had unlimited access to them but now I just put my heels through them so I’ll probably keep going eps on my daily drivers.
Yeah sometimes when a board is crazy light it doesn't have inertia. There's definitely some validity to that theory. Maybe a clean small wave secret weapon would be cool when they're super light but anything other than that you might want a little more weight
Glass heavier on EPS. 4/4/4 sux on EPS, too light, lacks glide momentum. Per GregLoehr go: 6/6/4/4 on an EPS blank, at least 6/6/6. That way it's like PU.
Yeah you can't do that but what you find is that the increase in fiberglass thickness kills the flex in the board.. 4 x 4 with 6 on bottom can be a good idea but any more than that I think your killing flex
That donkey with the red board saw you coming and bailed with the board in your path. It's not a big wave just hold your rail saver if you can't get to your board and duck dive it so it doesn't turn sideways and get in someone's way
