Hyfi

I know it has been done, but not very successfully. Aviso comes to mind. A friend of mine bought one for $1K and broke it to pieces on a chest high day. One of the shreds actually put a nasty gash in his arm, too... right through his wetsuite.

 

I have to agree. It reminds me of when I sold burton snowboards. They had some ridiculous name for every single part of the board. I just pulled this from their website:

FIBERGLASS: 45° Carbon Highlights High Voltage
SIDEWALLS: Frostbite Edges
FEATURES: The Channel™, Pro-Tip™, Infinite Ride™, Squeezebox High

WTF does all that mean?

I'm more interested in the actual material names for a real 1 to 1 comparison. All that BS is just red flags to me.

 

A lot of red flag phrases around flex in surfboards. Things like, "better flex" or "dynamic flex pattern" are meaningless. Also around strength in surfboards... vague things like "stronger" and "tougher" mean absolutely nothing, because there's different measures of "strength" (measured under compression, tension, elogation, impact...) and "flex"... (measured under static load, flex return, torsional stiffness...) Why not just SAY what you MEAN?

 

Oh yeah....I forgot about "Aviso". I actually bought a normal PU board from a great shaper, Tim Bessell, from California (Laguna or La Jolla, cannot recall) and he has an aviso board line. Google him, if you have time. He made me a "pocket rocket" a 7'6" gun. In bigger waves it is awesome. I am planning to take it with me this December to PR, hoping, of course, waves will be large enough for it.

 

Wetsuite marketing is the BEST. If you really want a laugh, read the annual guide that comes out in Surfer Mag. The sh!t is hilarious.

This is one suit - by the way, for 59-66 degree water:

•Double Super Seal Neck
•Double SuperSeam (Watertight Stitchless Technology)
•TechnoButter 2 Neoprene
•TechnoButter 2 - Air Firewall Neoprene
•Super Seal Cuffs
•Krypto Knee Padz
•External Key Pocket with Loop
•Plasma Wrist and Ankle Seals
•Patented Z.E.N. Zip Closure System with Drainhole
•Strategic Seamless Paddle Zones

 

Dude.... I am into Plasma seals.......

 

How anyone survives 65 degree water without them is beyond me.

 

That drainhole is gonna come in handy

 

Technobutter = robot jizz

 

For Barry's 3 oz. piss?

 

Drainholes come in various sizes

 

Yup...it has to be. Which makes the existence of TechnoButter 2 a pretty worrisome concept.

 

I'm happy to see this new tech from JS. No idea if it's marketing mumbo jumbo, or something real, but I just like seeing builders trying to advance beyond the norm. High performance traditional shaped PU boards surf great, no question about it, however in the hands (under the feet) of someone heavy or strong, they are delicate, and have a finite lifespan. If someone can make a board that surfs just as well, but is more durable, that's a huge win in my book. I know you can glass them heavy, use different cloth etc, but then the board is heavier.

It's no secret that I like Coils. They surf similar to a standard PU board, they are light, but they are much stronger and far less prone to dings. Plus, until very recently my size (weight) made an off the rack shortboard a tough fit, so getting a custom is kind of a no brainer for me. However I like seeing any new tech developments. I like seeing advances in an industry that for a long time was pretty stagnant. We poke fun at the silly terms they tack on to wetsuit technology, and rightfully so they're ridiculous, but they can call it whatever they want because the reality is suits today are worlds ahead of the suits of a few decades ago. On the other hand, surfboard construction has only been changing/advancing relatively recently.

The resistance I've seen from alot of surfers to advances in board technology is somewhat puzzling to me. Why wouldn't you want advances, progress, in a sport/hobby you love. I've seen the arguments that basically go... "well if that new tech was so good the pros would be using it but they're still riding traditional PU so...". However I believe that's flawed on every level. Pros go through several dozens of boards a year for free. They need every advantage they can get, they make their living surfing. It doesn't matter how thinly glassed their boards are bnecause when they break them they just get a new one...or two, or three. That doesn't and shouldn't translate to the average surfer. I have heavy feet and a thinly glassed off the rack board will delam under my back foot after a year or so. It always happened when I bought regular boards. On the other hand my oldest coil is 5 or more years old, and has some minor dents on the deck, but no delams, and not one repaired ding. A traditional board of mine that old would be retired by now. To top it off, they cost about the same amount. That's the reality for me. Coils aren't exactly like a PU, that's true, but they are close. If thinly foiled they do have a little extra spring-like flex which I tend to like, but took a touch of getting used to. The less foiled higher volume ones I have don't have as much of that spring. Regardless, they go fantastic and are significantly more durable than a traditional board for the same price....win for me. I'm sure others have similar experiences with other alternative technologies. I guess I just like seeing advances, or even attempts at advances in something I am passionate about. I also ride motorcycles and mountain bikes, and have done so for decades, just like surfing. In comparison, the advances I have seen in motorcycles and bicycles compared to surfboards is extreme. Surfing advances have been flat out slow in comparison. I'm also not going to compare the motorcycle I commute on to what Valentini Rossi races.

OK someone kick out my soapbox and take away my beer now. it's a good topic though

 

^^^ This, every word of it.