So I picked up an epoxy NS board off craigs list this past winter. Its in great shape and the guy I bought it from, I got the impression he got it and decided he didn't like surfing. I have never surfed an epoxy before and I have to say that after about 5 sessions... I am really enjoying how this board surfs. 1st off its super light. even lighter then an old 6'6" nev from the mid/late 90's I have laying around my garage, which is paper thin. It also seems like its more float even though its pretty thin and the speed I can generate down the line is really surprising to me. I would say it feels like its just about to squirt out from under me as i'm making my bottom turn. Anyone have indepth experience between pu v epoxy boards to shed some light on the normal performance differences? I think if I were to pull the trigger on a new board right now I would go with epoxy. happy 4th!
during epoxy's heyday, right after the fall of clark foam, I tried 5 different eps/epoxy boards (2 pop-outs and 3 hand shaped) from 2 different brand/techs. Loved their strength, but felt the performance was lacking in some key areas. Until I try every tech, I can't totally write off epoxy...but I can't see myself buying anything with eps foam, again. As it is, HydroFlex "Natural" (epoxy over poly foam) is the only current tech I would maybe consider worth my time.
I'm no fan of EPS/Epoxy boards but I do like the epoxy over poly. Totally different ride but with all the epoxy strength.
Hmm you know now I've gotten a bit confused. The guy I bought the board from said it was an epoxy resin board... I wonder if this board is epoxy over poly. Is there anyway to know this from sight?
ive had a bunch,some of the best surfers i know ride them and like the performance,probably what prompted me to try.theyre definately worth a look,and a huge upside being theyre much less toxic to the environment,and the people who make them.kelly slater was riding one at snapper rocks and won.i certainly didnt see anything negative with his performance as opposed to him riding a poly.
kelly is one of the the most talented surfers on earth, he gets to ride very good conditions every day and probably surfs every day...so it's not the same. We don't know if his epoxy boards are EPS foam and, even if they are, he only rides them in certain conditions.
Love all my Stretch eps tech. After trying Xtr, coil, and other major brands standard eps, the eps tech is far superior IMHO . I love that I can use it in windy conditions too.
Give 'em a call... If it's super light, it's probably polystyrene foam. Sometimes there's a label that says "EPS" so any repairs are done with a compatible resin system. If there's no label, and your board is clear, check out the foam... if it has a sort of grainy sparkle is probably PU foam. If you examine closely and see a totally flat, smooth surface under the glass... or can detect little beads... the core is likely polystyrene... EPS... or pherhaps XPS/XTR... not likely, but you shouldn't rule it out.
All I ride is epoxy boards these days. I Love them. I've got tufflite, EPS and firewire; they all are great!-cheers.
This comment made my day. I've been saying for almost 10 years, I need to pick up a new board. But, since I moved from the beach 2.5 hours inland 10 years ago (for work), I only get to surf a couple of weekends a month from May-Sept (my mom still lives in Atlantic Beach). So every summer I say I'm going to buy a new board and haven't. I was looking around this weekend and found a retro fish for $350. I asked the guy at the shop about it and he said it's shaped out of VA beach. It was a Mike Dolsey. I had never heard of it since I hadn't done any real research into a new board in over 10 years. So I picked it up. I rode it all weekend and enjoyed the hell out of it. I got home last night and started looking around and found a few negative comments on surfing forums. I was a little bummed this morning and regretting the purchase even thought so far it's been a good ride. But after reading your comment, "if you are happy with it, that's what matters" I realized there's nothing I can do now but ride it until it falls apart or doesn't. If it does, I won't buy from that shop again. If it holds up and continues to ride good, awesome. Nothing I can do now but ride it out. Thanks!
Same here.......DRDarkmatter also mentioned a tufflite.......To me these boards are horrible paddlers in choppy surf and not that great on a clean day, If nothing else you'll get a good workout.
The board wouldn't happen to be green would it? I was checking out a similar board at a smaller surf shop in VA beach. I really liked that board. I wonder if it was the same one.
I have ridden both, and on most normal days if it's not too choppy, an epoxy board is great. They can be harder to duck dive, and on bigger surf you want a traditional fiberglass that flexes and gives you that shotgun effect off the bottom to propel you. But I've made an epoxy over EPS foam Fish, and it rides great rail to rail in waist to head high. My late friend made high performance longboards using epoxy over Clark Foam ( he's been gone for a while), and they are super light and haul ass. The trick is getting sharp, thin rails in the tail, and using a lot less foam to begin with if you want a board that can shred. But another friend of mine who shapes and shreds calls epoxy dead sleds cause they don't flex. To each his own.
My long board is tufflite construction and I love it. I didn't particularly like the short boards I have ridden in tufflite-kind of pingy, especially in choppy surf. My short boards are stringerless hand laid epoxy with Resin Research epoxy used....Absolutely love them. Being stringerless, they have a bit more flex and a more lively feel, but are still tuff as nails....My two cents...
Epoxys are taking over, for better or worse. Many hate on it because most shaper's do not shape them, but they are definitely becoming more popular. Epoxy is not only lighter and more floaty, but it is strong as hell. My longboard has falled over onto concrete without even a ding. My shortboard dings if you blow on it too hard.
I've said it before on this forum... EPS/Epoxy comes in all varieties. If you know how to work with the stuff, and you know your resins and fibers, you can address all of the negatives (stiffness, corkiness...), and are left with only the positives (stronger and lighter). The only down side is in production... it takes longer and the materials are more expensive; limiting waste helps address the later. As an aside... quality epoxy over PU is winner. That's what we do for the Brookdale class.
