Hyfi

If they have to use a name like hyfi diamond exoskeleton you then know it is all marketing for a piece of shiit.
If I want to be 3 ounces lighter, I will go take a pee........

 

I'm kind of with barry, aside from the marketing part. Although I didn't read the article. But Iv always liked poly. I don't know why but other materials other than poly just never intrested me. Strength I can understand but I don't need to go lighter. Maybe for the pros but average guys like me don't need to shed every possible ounce in board weight. I can see the appeal but not for me

 

Absolutely marketing hype... which I, like a lot of us, can't stomach.

And I agree that for 99.5% of us, it either won't make a significant difference in our surfing, or will be too expensive to afford.

But I will say this... for a long time, board builders have known that the next big advance in surfboard design would be in the construction process, and not in shaping. After the big revolution in design back in the 90's, the next wave of innovation was in fins... especially materials and configurations, but also in design. Once that reached a plateau, there was nowhere else to go that would evolve into mainstream surfboard design except construction technology.

So is it relevant? maybe, maybe not. But at some point, standard, old fashioned PU/PE "should" be replaced by something better, that most of us... or our kids... will be riding.

 

Tupperware....

 

An innovative post and surf worthy. Thanks for the forward JD.
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And just to keep it light; there will be no such thing as close-outs!
Fast boards for faster surfers

 

That's why I don't entirely agree that it's marketing. It's not necessarily a gimmick, new construction material is what the surf works is making advances in now days.

 

I don't normally pay a lot of attention to these things, but the technology bears a striking resemblance to LibTech. I could be wrong.

 

And they have YET to find ONE new material that is better........

 

I think some of the tech is legit. I've had a couple of Coils... one of which I bought from a friend after he rode it for a year, and then I sold it ERock a year latter... that was 4+ years ago and he's still riding it. I just got another Coil, with those dimple things on it. I had a blast on it in Nica, and think it will be with me for a long time. It feels natural under my feet.

I've also had a couple custom epoxies... FCD and Pyzel. In both instances, I can't tell the difference between the epoxy and PU versions... and I've surfed both.

I think the newer epoxy boards (not popouts) have surpassed PU because they CAN feel the same and are much more durable. What will be interesting is whether the carbon wrap, patches, etc. or other structural changes will make a real difference. I'm not sure I am good enough to notice the flex characteristics that are allegedly effected by such tech.

 

They call it "Kick" technology

 

Always fun to watch how any different combination of materials that builders come up with hold up to the mainstream surfer. Some are loved by a cult following that wear well but have an odd bounce(Coils), some break into pieces, delaminate and turn brown immediately when put in the hands of nose diving kooks that think they bought a Ferrari (Firewires first gen) and some are durable but ugly and resemble a boogie board crossed with a wakeboard and a snowboard but are available in limited shapes (Libtech). All I can say is I am super glad that some shapers have the resources and moxy to try to develop something else even if they don't fit me. I would like to step up and apply for the average surfer in average crappy surf w/ an occasional surf trip test pilot position. Need a 6' x 20.75" x 2.5" something, a dumpster box or blak dozer shape will be fine. An honest and objective review from a regular but somewhat oldish surfer has to have some value, right? Especially if I didn't have to actually buy it- no one who chucked up the extra change to get one would say it was no good for fear of looking stupid. They can have it back after I rub a nice shine on the rails.

 

I think that's because most of the "new tech" is actually old tech... materials used for other products being re-purposed for surfboards. And they admit that in their writeup. For example, that olefin fiber they talk about is most likely polypropylene... like you said, Barry... tupperware. It's a thermoplastic, just like epoxy and polyester resin, but very different in many other ways.

What I think board builders aren't doing much of (although I can't be sure because I'm not in the industry) is working with chemists to create NEW plastics, or other materials, that can replace what's been used for the past 50 or 60 years, or what's being used in other applications, particularly sailboards, kiteboards and snowboards, all of which are miles ahead of surfboards. In fact, I'd say the sailboard industry helped the surfboard industry evolve in almost every way.

 

Damn a 3 oz. piss? are you 80 years old?

 

This is how a real man pisses...

[video=youtube;BwTmU4N5nQ8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwTmU4N5nQ8[/video]

 

Yes....20 years ago.....

 

Sailboat racing teams transformed fiberglass racers to carbon fiber.....where are we at with that?? Being done??