I'm looking into getting a new longboard and I'm really keen to get one which can withstand small impacts without cracking and won't be covered in depressions after a season. I'm looking at boards from Firewire and Sunova with wood laminate sandwich constructions, Surftech, and last but not least Tolhurst/Thunderbolt technologies carbon sandwich (which I really like). I'd like to hear feedback from anyone who had good/bad experiences with regard to durability and ruggedness with any of these constructions, or any other board out there with stronger than average construction. I'm after something fairly light and "performing" but not a disposable board that will not survive more than a season in a crowed spot.

I have the tolhurst Harley ingleby.
it was expensive for a pretty much popout board....... it rides beautifully and is fast and responsive, mine has so far done around 18 months of hard labour.
when I purchased it there were several people I surf with who had owned them and snapped them, this was and still is my greatest concern.
It is also to be said that the waves these people ride them in is places like yallingup on a three metre swell.
mine has survived quite a fair amount of time in the water in punchy beachies and southern reef breaks.
it is the best longboard I've ever owned for fast and heavier sort of waves.
does not nose ride as well as some others as it's more of a hp...

mine has a few few minor deck compressions and marks on rails however for a near two year old board it has been surfed at least 70 times and has held up quite well...

they do snap though rough as I have seen them in two pieces a few times but a 6-8 foot lip will do that to any board...

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Razzonater said..
I have the tolhurst Harley ingleby.
it was expensive for a pretty much popout board....... it rides beautifully and is fast and responsive, mine has so far done around 18 months of hard labour.
when I purchased it there were several people I surf with who had owned them and snapped them, this was and still is my greatest concern.
It is also to be said that the waves these people ride them in is places like yallingup on a three metre swell.
mine has survived quite a fair amount of time in the water in punchy beachies and southern reef breaks.
it is the best longboard I've ever owned for fast and heavier sort of waves.
does not nose ride as well as some others as it's more of a hp...

mine has a few few minor deck compressions and marks on rails however for a near two year old board it has been surfed at least 70 times and has held up quite well...

they do snap though rough as I have seen them in two pieces a few times but a 6-8 foot lip will do that to any board...

Thanks for the feedback, which model/length is yours?

Get a mctav with a triple stringer , My Fire ball single stringer snapped on a 3 ft day recently , on a shallow bank , Seen a snapped Tolhurst pop out , Thera not much inside them , multiple stringers is the way to go .

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bazz61 said..
Get a mctav with a triple stringer , My Fire ball single stringer snapped on a 3 ft day recently , on a shallow bank , Seen a snapped Tolhurst pop out , Thera not much inside them , multiple stringers is the way to go .

Multiple stringers isn't going to help with bangs and dings which op is concerned about compared to a fw or sunova,and three stringers will definitely not be a benefit when it comes to wanting a light board

I have seen at least 6 snapped firewire longboards in some pretty weak surf which would have me concerned.

The couple of sunova boards i have seen were super nice boards,and I also believe you can get them as a custom

Me im not concerned about the appearance compared to how it surfs

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chrispy said..

bazz61 said..
Get a mctav with a triple stringer , My Fire ball single stringer snapped on a 3 ft day recently , on a shallow bank , Seen a snapped Tolhurst pop out , Thera not much inside them , multiple stringers is the way to go .

Multiple stringers isn't going to help with bangs and dings which op is concerned about compared to a fw or sunova,and three stringers will definitely not be a benefit when it comes to wanting a light board

I have seen at least 6 snapped firewire longboards in some pretty weak surf which would have me concerned.

The couple of sunova boards i have seen were super nice boards,and I also believe you can get them as a custom

Me im not concerned about the appearance compared to how it surfs

That's sums it up well, but it's not really a matter of appearance, predominantly is that I've spent way too much time lately driving to and from the dingman, and had to call it quits early on too many sessions to prevent water getting in the board from a crack on the board rail.

Pretty sure it's the HIHP thunderbolt technology has a bit of carbon wrap on the tail too..
little point about carbon wrap is that that a lot of big name manufacturers are putting stickers that look like carbon wrap under the glass, real carbon wrap will generally always have frayed ends and all the end bits are never equal like you see on a print.
be very cautious of carbon wraps unless you can see the fibrous material

this board loves the tube he tube and has been in many, I have had shortboards snap from a lot less than this has been through.
Once went top to bottom at north point on it after getting a little cocky cause I'd made a few, way to deep and too late the lip landed across it and I thought for sure I'd have two boards but all good ,, came in anyway as it felt like the lip had exorcised the soul out of my body....

very durable up to head height maybe not so much at double/triple head

Nothings more durable than 8 ounce Volan on a Pu blank.

Not light though.

Light and durable don't seem together.

Look into a Dick Van Straalen full carbon fibre all rounder. The carbon fibre is black but he can paint it in your colour choice so the heat isn't an issue like plain black carbon fibre. Super strong and great weight. I've had lips from 2 waves break right on the centre of the 8'er I had at the Boiling pot at Noosa on a 6' day (after avoiding a drop in who flailed and bailed right in front of me) and I've surfaced expecting to see it in 2 pieces but No. They paddle like a board a foot longer.
Price for a custom won't be far off a Tolhurst thunderbolt tech board.

Don't run into stuff. Easy!

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Sandsy1 said..
Don't run into stuff. Easy!

Good point. But I'm still concerned about stuff running into me. :-)

Just to add another annecdote about the Tolhurst carbon boards. We had a guy at the local snap one just duckdiving under a falling lip and it broke.

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stuk said..
Just to add another annecdote about the Tolhurst carbon boards. We had a guy at the local snap one just duckdiving under a falling lip and it broke.

From their beginning that's all I heard about was they snap easy not sure if this has been resolved but it was a big issue.

Crazy part is he went and bought another one

Personally I would love a Mctavish PU blank and glass myself in s glass. I come from windsurf background with polystyrene foam and sandwich bottom and deck. I have only glassed a few pu blanks and more stringers don't make it stronger but heavy. A ply sandwich construction with no stringer can be so much stronger with tougher egg shell that won't dent. The last surfboard I built was awesome but my current mini mal is a Starboard plywood construction that is still going strong today.

PU blank glassed in epoxy is going to be pretty much bullet proof and light

Get an extra feew bands on teh stringer for strength...not just a single extra width stringer

i am totally biased and sell sunova in n.z. .. i have been rep'ing sunova since post firewire. i sold all my 'other' boards years back ,no regrets. having read this thread it confirms everything in my experience and if you want performance over a heavily glassed board get a sunova no question.we can glass them heavy at 5.8kg,they will still flex nicely and NEVER compress..no b.s.
p.s evertything snaps given the right opportunity

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Sunova N.Z. said..
i am totally biased and sell sunova in n.z. .. i have been rep'ing sunova since post firewire. i sold all my 'other' boards years back ,no regrets. having read this thread it confirms everything in my experience and if you want performance over a heavily glassed board get a sunova no question.we can glass them heavy at 5.8kg,they will still flex nicely and NEVER compress..no b.s.
p.s evertything snaps given the right opportunity

Nice pimp.

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Sunova N.Z. said..
i am totally biased and sell sunova in n.z. .. i have been rep'ing sunova since post firewire. i sold all my 'other' boards years back ,no regrets. having read this thread it confirms everything in my experience and if you want performance over a heavily glassed board get a sunova no question.we can glass them heavy at 5.8kg,they will still flex nicely and NEVER compress..no b.s.
p.s evertything snaps given the right opportunity

Nice pimp ?? Totally transparent and up front with his position,any way I like the idea of a board that the deck does not compress as I LOVE to knee paddle,like most ageing surfers bad shoulders ect. I heard a rumour that Bert is doing,and riding 10 ft longboards 25 wide with all the Bert tweaks rocker fine rails.ect,and wishes he had done it sooner.I know these numbers will not suit everyone but I have always loved well designed big boards.I have no connection to Sunova but I do like it when shapers think outside the perceived norm,and there construction is cutting edge and fair value for money fora full custom.No pimp just saying !

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justaddwater said..

Sunova N.Z. said..
i am totally biased and sell sunova in n.z. .. i have been rep'ing sunova since post firewire. i sold all my 'other' boards years back ,no regrets. having read this thread it confirms everything in my experience and if you want performance over a heavily glassed board get a sunova no question.we can glass them heavy at 5.8kg,they will still flex nicely and NEVER compress..no b.s.
p.s evertything snaps given the right opportunity

Nice pimp ?? Totally transparent and up front with his position,any way I like the idea of a board that the deck does not compress as I LOVE to knee paddle,like most ageing surfers bad shoulders ect. I heard a rumour that Bert is doing,and riding 10 ft longboards 25 wide with all the Bert tweaks rocker fine rails.ect,and wishes he had done it sooner.I know these numbers will not suit everyone but I have always loved well designed big boards.I have no connection to Sunova but I do like it when shapers think outside the perceived norm,and there construction is cutting edge and fair value for money fora full custom.No pimp just saying !

Bert must be putting on some pounds with those dimensions

Bert is a master craftsman
when I bought the tolhurst it was a close call between the two.....

various opinions ons aside I have been told by very very respected longboarders that

tolhurst is likely the lightest and most hp ( which is why I selected it sorry to the purists)
sunova is a really close second however is far more durable

in saying that there is a looot to be said for mctavish who makes what many call the pinnacle of longboards,,, if I lived over east it would be blasphemy not to own and ride one regularly..

I also have a Boyd Perty from yallingup surf co which is a pretty special weapon,,, apparently bob monkman had a bit of input into design shape it's a special special board but 9,4 and is more a nose rider which I suck at but will keep practicing until they remove my legs...

I really really liked the old mctavish fireball the one from early 90,s mate had one I was permitted to ride on smaller days I loved everything about it.

Its a hard question to get a response on from longboarders , generally the local guy making boards for the local waves makes the best board in that hood...

If I surfed the east coast points every week it would probably be on a mctavish

surfing down south west oz is normally the tolhurst and sometimes me Boyd.....

Im sure guys in southern nsw will argue the point as there is a couple of quality quality local guys through that region.

If I was a wealthy man I would order a 9,1 and a 9,4 off everyone suggested in this thread, than in my million dollar 4 wd drive around oz and surf every board at its local break with variations between prior ones...

upon arriving back home I would see which ones had made the full trip in best condition than weigh up which ones rode better...

With all this learned information I would than be more indesicive than ever and repeat the process until either I ran out of money, my car broke down, and the shapers got sick of my repeat orders..

It is solely for this reason that I will never achieve "financial freedom"

^ great post.

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hes got a huge gut .. never seen a surfer with a gut who didnt struggle with it :)

Ctngoodvibes said..

justaddwater said..

Sunova N.Z. said..
i am totally biased and sell sunova in n.z. .. i have been rep'ing sunova since post firewire. i sold all my 'other' boards years back ,no regrets. having read this thread it confirms everything in my experience and if you want performance over a heavily glassed board get a sunova no question.we can glass them heavy at 5.8kg,they will still flex nicely and NEVER compress..no b.s.
p.s evertything snaps given the right opportunity

Nice pimp ?? Totally transparent and up front with his position,any way I like the idea of a board that the deck does not compress as I LOVE to knee paddle,like most ageing surfers bad shoulders ect. I heard a rumour that Bert is doing,and riding 10 ft longboards 25 wide with all the Bert tweaks rocker fine rails.ect,and wishes he had done it sooner.I know these numbers will not suit everyone but I have always loved well designed big boards.I have no connection to Sunova but I do like it when shapers think outside the perceived norm,and there construction is cutting edge and fair value for money fora full custom.No pimp just saying !

Bert must be putting on some pounds with those dimensions

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such a classic post .. but that actually is the way to find out . when bert left firewire he sent me 20 boards from thailand and i started selling them in byron. i had 9 mctavishes as i was living around the corner from the mc t factory and scored a ton of ex demos and/the mc t crews 2nd handers . the best one ( fireball) i had wasn't as good as our stock pro.sold them all. 0 regrets,
sorry bob and they are the 3rd best boards in the world.. to me :)

Razzonater said..
Bert is a master craftsman
when I bought the tolhurst it was a close call between the two.....

various opinions ons aside I have been told by very very respected longboarders that

tolhurst is likely the lightest and most hp ( which is why I selected it sorry to the purists)
sunova is a really close second however is far more durable

in saying that there is a looot to be said for mctavish who makes what many call the pinnacle of longboards,,, if I lived over east it would be blasphemy not to own and ride one regularly..

I also have a Boyd Perty from yallingup surf co which is a pretty special weapon,,, apparently bob monkman had a bit of input into design shape it's a special special board but 9,4 and is more a nose rider which I suck at but will keep practicing until they remove my legs...

I really really liked the old mctavish fireball the one from early 90,s mate had one I was permitted to ride on smaller days I loved everything about it.

Its a hard question to get a response on from longboarders , generally the local guy making boards for the local waves makes the best board in that hood...

If I surfed the east coast points every week it would probably be on a mctavish

surfing down south west oz is normally the tolhurst and sometimes me Boyd.....

Im sure guys in southern nsw will argue the point as there is a couple of quality quality local guys through that region.

If I was a wealthy man I would order a 9,1 and a 9,4 off everyone suggested in this thread, than in my million dollar 4 wd drive around oz and surf every board at its local break with variations between prior ones...

upon arriving back home I would see which ones had made the full trip in best condition than weigh up which ones rode better...

With all this learned information I would than be more indesicive than ever and repeat the process until either I ran out of money, my car broke down, and the shapers got sick of my repeat orders..

It is solely for this reason that I will never achieve "financial freedom"

Marketing school perhaps

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tell bert! haha

Macaha said..
Marketing school perhaps

tell bert!

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Sunova N.Z. said..

tell bert! haha

Macaha said..
Marketing school perhaps

tell bert!

I see you didn't attend class this week

Well, I went for a Firewire Flexflight in the end. I like the Sunova's more and I think they are also built stronger, but I got the firewire for a tad less than a grand and could not justify the price difference, I could almost buy two FW for the price of the Sunova. I've been in the water with it only once so far but I really like the board, very fast and manoeuvrable (my bar was set pretty low anyway). I've hit it a couple of times with various parts of my body but not a single mark on it. Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice.

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rusty-pie said..
Well, I went for a Firewire Flexflight in the end. I like the Sunova's more and I think they are also built stronger, but I got the firewire for a tad less than a grand and could not justify the price difference, I could almost buy two FW for the price of the Sunova. I've been in the water with it only once so far but I really like the board, very fast and manoeuvrable (my bar was set pretty low anyway). I've hit it a couple of times with various parts of my body but not a single mark on it. Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice.

Congratulations and nice post.

Yes great post but please enlighten us with size and tail shape and photo would ne awesome ??????????

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515 said..
Yes great post but please enlighten us with size and tail shape and photo would ne awesome ??????????

firewiresurfboards.com/products/flexflight

I went for the 9'0" x 23" x 3"

piccy of the the actual board will follow.