All of my surfboards in my quiver are fiberglass. Likewise, all of my boards have noticable and devasting dings that have been repaired overtime. It definitiely sucks everytime i buy a new board and within a year someone crashes into me, or i drop in in 2 feet of water and snap a nose...So im thinkin about going epoxy. Ive heard they are much stronger and some boards you can actually turn upside down and stand on them and they wont break. However, ive never rode one and would like some feedback as what you guys think about epoxy and how they ride compared to fiberglass.
epoxy is much more boyant and the boards don't have any flex or give. Personaly I don't like the way they ride but some yonger guys I talk to swear by them. I guess Its all your own pref. See if you can rent one from a local shop, lots of rentals are now epoxy because the're virtualy indistructable.
I never thought I would say this but my quiver is in the process of becoming all epoxy. I did the math and if all of my boards had have been epoxy and not poly I would have a couple thousand more dollars right now between repairs and buying new boards. If you have money to burn, poly is the way to go, the feel is just unbeatable. But, if you need something that's going to last a while, epoxy has more bang for the buck.
I wouldn't put all your money into epoxy...they're good, but I wouldn't say they're the be-all end-all. I bought an epoxy board and had the nose snap right off after the board hit my arm on a bail. Plus, epoxy boards are a pain in the ass to fix and if you don't mix it exactly right and have the right temperatures for curing, you're left with a huge mess.
This is a familiar thread but I'll say again that I don't care for overseas-made epoxies. I do however love my handshaped epoxy Ricky Carrolls. They seem to me to be the best of both worlds plus you're supporting a genuine EC shaper.
pretty interesting. So is there a definitive difference in the way the epoxy board surfs? Because i would imagine that bc it is so light it is faster then fiberglass but for some reason i think it may be harder to catch waves and pull in? In your opinion, am i correct in my theory...
GO XTR epoxy....Its the best, period....Twice the strength of a polyester board, half the weight, and cant absorb water if you ding it....Pros ride XTR's.
Let me correct this thread a little bit. Epoxy boards are fiberglass boards, most epoxy boards use the same fiberglass as polyurethane boards. Its the amount of fiberglass that epoxy boards use that effects the flex. The foam core of epoxy boards (eps, 90% air!) or (xtr) foam is much lighter, flexible but weaker than poly foam, so more fiberglass is needed. In fact epoxy resin is much more flexible than polyurethane resin. There is a lot of new technology coming out with epoxy boards, like the xtr that allows epoxy boards to be more flexible, stronger and faster than any poly board. I attached a board i made 2 years ago incorporating epoxy resin, fiberglass cloth, eps foam and balsa wood. It flexes just as good and weighs the same as a polyurethane board and i have yet to put a pressure ding in it.
epoxy vs. polyester I've used polyester for many years and now have two boards that are epoxy. One is a custom epx and the other a firewire. Both are great and no problem to fix (use epoxy resin kits) just as easy as polyester. My custom epoxy was shaped to the specs of my old poyester I was using and liked very much. The ride comparison was the same if not better. I sold my polyester immediately after I rode the epoxy. Stay away from 1st generation surftech tuflite. But the tuflite2's are very good. I have friends that like their strength and ride. I remember when shortboards first came out (surfing 50 years now) and the blanks sucked because they were shaving down longboard blanks to the soft core. There was a transition then till they fine tuned the problems. Same is true with the 1st generation epoxys. Don't worry about trying something new - you may like them MORE than polyester as I now do. They certainly are stronger and good to have at least one in your quiver.
i have an al merrick flyer epoxy and love it. they do float better and when you dig the rails on thos ebottom turns the board will pop up at you but once you get use to it it wont affect you. Also just because they say they are impossible to break trust me you can break them i di but wasa able to get it repaired. But they are harder to ding. But once you do the math they are more expensive but will last you alot longer than a usuall fiberglass board. Because almost my whole quiver is practically epoxy due to me taking trips and what not also that i ride my board pretty hard with airs floaters and wht not. But they are defiently worth the money.
how many pro's on the WCT are riding Epoxy???....Taj rides a firewire, but that doesn't count... i'm talking epoxy like a SURFTECH, because i'm assuming that's what you're talking about, not EPS or XTR... so,... how many pro's on the WCT are riding Epoxy???....
pros also get 70 some boards per year and dont need to worry about them snapping or dining. us on the other hand dont have that option and have to take care of our boards. i dont personaly own one (yet) but i think having one expoy board in your quiver is always a plus. specially on those days where its big but dumping or closing out. i like expoy borads only for when i just wanna mess around an not have to worry about my board getting a ding doing something stupid. the strength of them are amazing tho. my firends lesh snapped at casino pier saturday afternoon and his bored got taken under the pier and only came out with some scratches.
yeah, your right but i've long since given up on trying to explain that epoxy is just a reson type. Anymore when someone says "epoxy board" they probably just mean a surf tech or other composite pop out.
Epoxy and Plastic - Beware Dont buy the hype that BIC boards and the other "plastic" boards are epoxy.... There is a huge difference between plastic and true epoxy boards like XTR... XTR boards are the best, period...Plastic boards have no give or flex, have lousy feel and are cheap for a reason..Same with NSA
i just traded in my Aviso mayhem shape and ordered a Lost XTR whiplash, 5'11" x 18 1/8th x 2 1/16th... pretty excited.
As someone who fixes boards, Poly boards are a lot easier to fix. Epoxy resin seems to be way more expensive and harder to work with. It seems like the foam on epoxy boards is ****. In my opinion with epoxy its either gonna snap completely or gonna stay pressure dingless. As for hitting rock and other objects haha your on your own.
Epoxy tends to "bounce" more in water when it gets rough. This is because they are more bouyant and are stiffer. That being said.....you will catch more waves too!
I tried the epoxy thing last year and never got a feel for it. i found the boards way too 'corky' and hard to turn/snap. that is probably me tho. 25 years of riding poly boards got me way to used to their feel.
