I finally got a time to go researching about big surfboard industries and yes I know I am very behind with everything... I figured that Rusty co. My favorite Rusty, is one of pop-out. What the hell, those surfboards sell in most surf shops are pop-out, moulded by surfboard machine... Aren't made by hands no more. I assume that started like 4 - 6 years ago huh? Ok, Channel Islands, Firewire, Sharpeyes, Dan Taylor, Rusty, Ripcurl, Aviso, JC Hawaii, Lost, Surftech, WRV, and Santa Cruz surfboards are made by surfboard machine. Jeez.
To call all of those shapers/companies "popouts" is a little missleading.They may use a CAD machine to rough out the blank prior to hand finish shaping, glassing, sanding etc. The machine is a time saving device, and doesn't diminish the fact that the boards are made domestically by people who surf.
wrv claims not to use a machine, but i think they get there blanks precut.....pop out is a term used for the tuflite,flexlite and boardworks epoxy sandwitch boards. they are all made overseas, with no u.s. workers involved the big board compaines get cheap labor and less environmental hassels over there.... rusty, merrick and the rest still do boards over here but the chances rusty or al touching your board are slim to none.
people can hate on pop out boards all they want, but i have had 2 walden surfboards replaced by global surf industries with absolutely no hassle or cost to me. gsi stands behind their products 100% last week meeting up with the gsi crew i got to hang out with steve walden and check out some of the prototype boards, he is a down to earth dude
don't be mad at technology... it is a good thing. The local hand shapers will always exist, and you can seek them out fairly easily.
yea, all the machines do is make it easier and faster, its just as good. All they do is mass produce what was originally shaped by hand in the same exact dimensions.
1. was poorly glassed, that was a 6'8" superwide the first year they had produced that model 2. manufacturing issue, that was a 9'0" magic that virtually broken in half. they were producing that board without a stringer and the eps cord was weak without support lengthwise. they have adjusted their manufacturing techniques and have included a wood string on the newer models
i would love to get a cnc cutter but thats not the topic at hand the term popout refers to the tuflite construction not a board that is cut by a machine....
