I can see that Doggie is a die hard epoxy man, but there are two sides to the story. Firstly, to explain some terms for the less familiar....

PU generally means a board with a polyurethane (hence "PU") core with a wooden stringer which is glassed with fibreglass cloth and polyester resin. Other common names for boards of this construction are "Fibreglass" and "Poly". This is regarded as the traditional construction method, well since the 1950's anyway!

Epoxy generally means a board made with a polystyrene core and epoxy resin. There are variants - some epoxy boards are constructed using moulds (brands like NSP and Surftech's Tuflite boards) and these generally have a shiny painted surface and no wooden stringer; whilst others are constructed (and look) more like PU boards using a wet lay-up glassing with fibreglass cloth but epoxy resin. Some of the latter have stringers, some don't, and they generally perform better than their moulded counterparts but are not as durable. These are marketed under terms such as "Ultraflx", "slx" and "fibreflex". Another epoxy variant is the timber deck/polystyrene combo's produced by the likes of Firewire and Sunova.

My thoughts re Epoxy v. PU - i have ridden both types of boards extensively over the years (owned a Tolhurst Tuflite for 5 yrs and a trad noserider for 10, amongst others). For me it basically comes down to the conditions on the day. The other factor is my state of mind and whether I feel like just gliding or gouging!

I weigh about 72 kgs and find I haven't got the weight (or skill?) to keep the epoxies down and stable on windy and choppy days. My heavier PU boards mow through this type of surf better. But when its clean and not much wind/bump I reckon the epoxies (especially the "Ultraflx", "slx" etc types) are faster and zippier etc. That's given that i am in a gouging mood.

Of course there are things like strength/longevity/resale to consider, and just how it feels under your feet. Those accustomed to PU will generally find the epoxies a bit "floaty" for their liking, as an epoxy board is more buoyant than an equivalent sized PU board.

In the end, there is no right or wrong answer - it depends on the surfer, the conditions you typically encounter, and what works for you. But before parting with your hard earned, go out and try some demo's of either type (and in differing conditions) to see how they go.

Footnote: The above is just intended to get the ball rolling on this topic - there is so much more to cover (a list of pro's and cons, prices etc) - so what do our fellow 'breezers reckon??? - Mark

Ball rolling ? more a can of worms .lol Que doggie & BB
(Think I'm about to learn somthing)

Time and place for me... I just sold an epoxy mal to pay for the new custom PU.... on the performance end i think you can go right both ways... On the log end, epoxy is nowhere near as good as PU, the extra weight is a bonus not a hindrance...

So true re a noserider/log - the only option is PU (or a very bloody heavy epoxy!) - Mark

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DCsurfs said...

Time and place for me... I just sold an epoxy mal to pay for the new custom PU.... on the performance end i think you can go right both ways... On the log end, epoxy is nowhere near as good as PU, the extra weight is a bonus not a hindrance...

EPS & epoxy good for fridge insulation imo

I love PU and blanks with stringers, I know epoxy is light and thats half the reason I dont like it.

Epoxy just dosnt feel right in the water, tufflites are worse!!

But each to their own as far as boards go, there is no hard fast rule on what you should ride

I like my boards glassed with 4oz on the bottom with 6oz on the deck, that way they are strong and have a bit of weight to them.

Like this -








And one of Simos -


^You wont get one of these in tuflite or epoxy

I make my own boards & I make both PU & EPS.....which is best?

They both are great, they both noseride, glide, turn, they are made as "log" designs....soft rails...60's styles & do all I want. Both are 9'6", they are not heavy weights, boards of that length have plenty of momentum or "glide". I don't agree with the "we make 'em heavy, just like the old days" that board builders are selling these days....I was there in the "old days"....leave the old days where they are!!!!
You just have to understand the differences of both foams & importantly the style of board you want....how you like to ride them.

Anyone want to try them?


EPS



PU

Lfish I know a store who would dearly love to stock your boards,but can you keep up production,hows the house sale lookingany closer to moving to the A

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62mac said...

Lfish I know a store who would dearly love to stock your boards,but can you keep up production,hows the house sale lookingany closer to moving to the A

I wish...

The real estate is just too slow these days.....

Just came back from a few days away at woopi....nice small surf for 4 days....looks like I will have to commute for some time to come....

I would love to see my boards in a shop somewhere but the garage isn't big enough....hahahaha

Nice work Doggie! Those boards in the picture are sweet !!

McTavish are doing Epoxy Boards in Byron Bay, on about half of their range. They are stripping about 1000 grams of weight out of a UFO / 9 foot high performance malibu. About 600-700 grams gets stripped out of the midlengths.

The SUMO is also available in this new construction. It is a stringered blank, with a Very High Density layer on top, plus fibreglass & epoxy resin. All tinting variations are available, but they only do them in "Matte Finish", not "Full Gloss". Plus the stringer virtually disappears from The Deck side.

Basically this new construction will be as strong as GSI's SLX version, but will be more reliable, in terms of deck depressions.

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Simondo said...

Basically this new construction will be as strong as GSI's SLX version, but will be more reliable, in terms of deck depressions.

Cmon, SLX is garbage!! It would want to 100% better than the old SLX crap

Have to agree withyou there doggie very disapointed with slx

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doggie said...

Simondo said...

Basically this new construction will be as strong as GSI's SLX version, but will be more reliable, in terms of deck depressions.

Cmon, SLX is garbage!! It would want to 100% better than the old SLX crap

Haha!! I was trying to be diplomatic on "SLX" !!

I think Surftech has the best construction out of all the epoxy moulded sandwich boards. There is no comparison between Surftech and NSP. As far as the boards go themselves I've ridden heaps of them and mostly the longboards. I liked some of the high performance longboards like the 9'1 Tolhurst, the Byrne 9 footer and some of the Takayamas and the good thing was that because they float better you could ride something thinner than what you otherwise would. They could be a pain in the arse in wind and chop though.
The surftech logs are a bit of a waste of time because you need weight in that style of board. A lot of the time I used to think when I was on a tufflite how much better it would be in PU. I also like going to a shaper, putting an order in and picking it up. The whole deal in going to a factory with the smell of resin and the foam dust and at times the opportunity of watching a shaper turn a blank into your new board is very appealing. There will always be a market for customs.

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towball said...

Have to agree withyou there doggie very disapointed with slx

doggie said...

Simondo said...

Basically this new construction will be as strong as GSI's SLX version, but will be more reliable, in terms of deck depressions.

Cmon, SLX is garbage!! It would want to 100% better than the old SLX crap

+1 - never again. 9'1" GSI McT with too much flex and WAY too many deck compression's for a board I only use occasionally...

I only know one thing on the subject, when I'm on an epoxy board, I catch waves, when I'm on a PU, I don't.

I'll be the first to admit that that says more about my lack of ability than it says about a boards abundance of ability, but, a fact is a fact and there's fark all I can do about a fact.

Spot on with most of that post smh. I reckon Surftechs have the best construction (in terms of performance) of those style of boards.

Just a point - as for there being no comparison to NSP, I guess its like saying there is no comparison between a Holden and a Merc (or BMW etc). Its a totally different market and price point etc and as with most things you get what you pay for.

Everything has its place - the NSP's are aimed at less experienced surfers and are often used a stepping stone up from a softie. Like a Holden, they will get you from A to B (or across a wave). The difference is in speed, manouverability, pizzazz etc using the car analogy.

The NSPs make a great hire board for surf shops cos they are at a lower price point, perform ok and will take an absolute hammering. So purely in terms of physical strength/durability (having seen how both are made and stand up) if it came down to it I would slightly lean to an NSP over a Surftech - but in terms of performance the Surftechs have it easily and thats where it counts for experienced surfers.

Disclosure: we have both of these brands. - Mark

PS - perhaps the NSP guys have heard us here, as they are now putting FCS fins in all their boards rather than those screw in thru the deck ones, so this will make 'em go better.

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smh said...

I think Surftech has the best construction out of all the epoxy moulded sandwich boards. There is no comparison between Surftech and NSP. As far as the boards go themselves I've ridden heaps of them and mostly the longboards. I liked some of the high performance longboards like the 9'1 Tolhurst, the Byrne 9 footer and some of the Takayamas and the good thing was that because they float better you could ride something thinner than what you otherwise would. They could be a pain in the arse in wind and chop though.
The surftech logs are a bit of a waste of time because you need weight in that style of board. A lot of the time I used to think when I was on a tufflite how much better it would be in PU. I also like going to a shaper, putting an order in and picking it up. The whole deal in going to a factory with the smell of resin and the foam dust and at times the opportunity of watching a shaper turn a blank into your new board is very appealing. There will always be a market for customs.

you can stick the Mct gsi thailand sh.t up ya arse

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asea said...

you can stick the Mct gsi thailand sh.t up ya arse

I note your awake

Coincidently, I have been looking at purchasing an Epoxy board to bring my "quiver" to three

Thanks Mark (BC) for the in depth explanation of the two

Very interesting reading from all and as TB said, "it does open a can of worms" although I have seen a number of GSI boards that look like they've been through a hail storm

I'll be over in Bali mid October so that's as good a time as any to hire both boards and see what suits me and my flaccid style of surfing

So I guess I'll hold off buying another board for now as I was thinking epoxy in a 7S 8'0 (GSI - I know)

You know its sad really I was looking at a Bob sled the other day got my juices running then you think bloody SLX . Gsi does fill a gap for us third world countries , it's just a pitty the Qualities not up to it. If they do a tuff lite it could be agoer.

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asea said...

you can stick the Mct gsi thailand sh.t up ya arse

Sorry - it was an ignorant first LB purchase, and I was unaware that you could still get the OZ ones here... won't happen again

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Simondo said...

Haha!! I was trying to be diplomatic on "SLX" !!

Calling SLX sh#t would be diplomatic in my books.

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asea said...

you can stick the Mct gsi thailand sh.t up ya arse

Its a wonder that McTavish still allow that big M to go on them boards. I've heard so many complaints about the SLX boards and how flimsy they are.

Guys, as i said in a previous post, everything has its place (be it NSP, Surftech, whatever). Same with GSI's slx. It depends what means the most to you (performance v. longevity).

If you want a fast, high performance board that makes everything else feel sluggish, then hop on an slx.

If you want a board that will last longer then hop on something else.

Towball - I have ridden bobsleds in both slx and glass (PU) and the former is much more livelier. Same applies to longboards. I challenge anyone to find a faster production longboard than the McT slx Original - and thats probably why its been Bob's favourite performance board and look what he has to choose from!

The slx construction is deliberately lightweight. I think its equivalent to say 4x4x4 glass job (but don't quote me!) so of course it wont last compared to something that has a 6x6x6 glass job.
I guess slx is in some ways like a pro's shortboard (and we know how many those guys go thru!) - thats why they perform so well. And if you look at a pro's shorty, you will see how the decks have golf-balled and don't last. Same with slx but those decks tend to gradually sink over a wider area rather than golf-ball like a PU does. I have seen slx boards that have lasted fairly well and i have seen some shockers. Sometimes it depends on how heavily they are treated.- Mark

Disclosure: we have pu and slx boards from Mct.

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towball said...

You know its sad really I was looking at a Bob sled the other day got my juices running then you think bloody SLX . Gsi does fill a gap for us third world countries , it's just a pitty the Qualities not up to it. If they do a tuff lite it could be agoer.

Thanks Mark never had it explaned to me like that

different stokes for different folks

I'm hearing what you are saying there Mark but many people who go along to a store to buy a longboard and see an slx McTavish ang go "yeah a McTavish I hear they go unreal "then buy it and after half a dozen surfs find it full of massive heel dents or some other obvious wear and tear issues. I'm sure most surf shop owners wouldn't walk up to a potential buyer and say look mate these boards dont really hold up that well. They should come with a warning sticker on them but thats not going to happen. What I'm saying is that there are so many choices for consumers out there with surfboards that there would be many who wouldn't have a clue what they're buying until a couple of weeks down the track when they get upset over a deck thats caved in.

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smh said...

I'm hearing what you are saying there Mark but many people who go along to a store to buy a longboard and see an slx McTavish ang go "yeah a McTavish I hear they go unreal "then buy it and after half a dozen surfs find it full of massive heel dents or some other obvious wear and tear issues. I'm sure most surf shop owners wouldn't walk up to a potential buyer and say look mate these boards dont really hold up that well. They should come with a warning sticker on them but thats not going to happen. What I'm saying is that there are so many choices for consumers out there with surfboards that there would be many who wouldn't have a clue what they're buying until a couple of weeks down the track when they get upset over a deck thats caved in.

Agreed. In my case I did do some web research and understood what the SLX technology was about - but did NOT expect to have 1/2 inch deck compressions after 2-3 surfs... as I have posted before, the glass has cracked for about 6 inches across the top of the stringer in the first dozen or so surfs... IMO that's not on for a $1,200+ brand name board.

A couple of weeks is an under statement a couple of surfs in my case one surf three dingsAnd there wasn't any explaning at time of sale you think epoxy = tufelite well Idid naivly ,

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smh said...

I'm hearing what you are saying there Mark but many people who go along to a store to buy a longboard and see an slx McTavish ang go "yeah a McTavish I hear they go unreal "then buy it and after half a dozen surfs find it full of massive heel dents or some other obvious wear and tear issues. I'm sure most surf shop owners wouldn't walk up to a potential buyer and say look mate these boards dont really hold up that well. They should come with a warning sticker on them but thats not going to happen. What I'm saying is that there are so many choices for consumers out there with surfboards that there would be many who wouldn't have a clue what they're buying until a couple of weeks down the track when they get upset over a deck thats caved in.

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smh said...

... What I'm saying is that there are so many choices for consumers out there with surfboards that there would be many who wouldn't have a clue what they're buying until a couple of weeks down the track when they get upset over a deck thats caved in.

Definitely!! When I bought my PU board and had some problems, nothing beats taking it back to the shaper and talking with the guy who made it (even though most of it I didn't understand) Far easier than going back to a shopfront and hoping they are gonna do something to a) fix the problem b) give you confidence and c) not take numerous weeks to get it back.
I guess my vote is for a local shaper ie: Australian made