yep I agree 100% with LBcrew the right shaper and glasser make all the difference, I have had some lemons in the past but last two epoxy boards have been winners 1 by Von Sol and another by Roberts both seem dialed in with the handshaped epoxy production...
well, while this is my first epoxy board.... I must have gotten a good one even though it needed some repair. the board is light and its fast. Its my thinnest board and I still can't get a full duckdive out of it. Once I get a few more sessions with it I will most likely order a custom with the major change of making it less thick.
Less thick (reduced overall volume) will help with duckdives, but it will force you to paddle harder, if you keep all other design elements the same. Keep in mind that thickness is multi- dimensional... that thickness flows from nose to tail and from rail to rail: foil. You can make duckdiving easier by foiling just the nose thinner. Talk to your shaper, and see what he says.
I like the epoxies I've got. The first one was a bit corky, but my FCD DM3 isn't at all. +3 on strength as everyone has said. One of the locals here backed over his epoxy in his driveway, didn't even scratch it!
My buddy has had a DM3 for a couple years, I love how it rides. FCD's epoxy tends to yellow over time, but who cares. He just got a Huevos Rancheros and an Octo--I haven't ridden either of those yet.
I got my first epoxy shaped by Earl Moore/Greenlight. It's a 5'4 spud with a quad setup and nubster option. The glassing was done by Undertoe glassing. Both the shaping and glassing is great. I've only surfed PU thruster boards and this is my first epoxy and quad. The board does exactly what it was designed for. It's super fast and very high performance for small week surf. It's super light and super strong. It's a great long board buster. I'm not a young grom. I"m 38, 5'8 and 170 pounds. The board floats me fine and paddles great. It's got a lot of volume through the board but the rails are tapered down to be more performance. I definitely recommend the boys over at Greenlight. I agree on the strength too. I usually keep my boards in the basement but we had to get the basement waterproofed. I had my boards upstairs. Long story short. I walked in after a surf and forgot about the ceiling fan. It clips the nose of the board. It didn't leave a mark on the board. I went from being pissed at my dumb ass to being in awe of the strength. The epoxy board seems great in the chest high range. I would be interested in trying an epoxy in a more hpsb design in better and bigger waves since some people don't like the feel.
If I had money to burn I'd get an Octo myself. As LBC has said, if you do epoxies right you really can't beat em.
Considering going down the dark side with a Stretch S10 Surftech Ultraflx. But its not my first EPS "pop-out" board. I recently been riding an EPS 5'9 Von Sol Shadow by Boardworks TEC construction. I was skeptical because being a pop out but Sean Mattison is an expert shaper. I have been LOVING this board. Fast, snappy...I can really dig my rail on hard turns. Works great in small, medium surf and didn't really have that cork feel that I have felt on other friends EPS boards. I've heard good responses from Stretch boards and gaging my experience with the Von Sol EPS, I think I could like it. With the sale price and with the potential resale value if I don't like it...its a relatively low risk choice. It a tough decision because I know a lot about the pop-out vs. local shaper conversation. I am limited to bike and train, don't have a car, don't need one, walk to the beach... its hard to get over to the local shapers...faktion, nature shapes, etc.. Here is a link to the board in question. Stretch S10. Thoughts????? http://www.seshday.com/Product.aspx?l=00020177022000000000&p=SRF01276
