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GPA said...

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.

The thing with SLX is that its not cheap but has the performance of a cheap board.
One thing I can say for sure, we are not pro's so we dont need light weight high performance pro type boards. If I spent $800+ on a SLX board and it looked like a golf ball after 3 or 4 surfs I know I would be pissed off. I know what I ride, PU all the way, either off the rack or custom. Thats what Im most comfortable with and I generally know the boards I get last far ages.
Both the boards I own at the moment are very well made, made to last.

Far out that was a bit of a rant, sorry

Grab a coffee or a beer cos BBs gunna weigh into this one when he gets to a computer. Probably not gunna win any friends, but kinda over giving a sh#t

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billboard said...

Grab a coffee or a beer cos BBs gunna weigh into this one when he gets to a computer. Probably not gunna win any friends, but kinda over giving a sh#t

Oh yes bring on another Billboard good old fashion rant.

I'm short of friends BB do ya wanted be mine

^^ Yep its gonna be a long one

I have a couple of each.

When I'm building my own board I go the Epoxy route. Reasons being is the EPS blank doesn't always require a stringer and you can use a softer stringer making it easier to shape, they stand up to being moved around before being glassed better, and Epoxy doesn't smell to the extent that Poly does not to mention it's easier to mix (personally).

If I'm buying a new custom/shop board - PU

Personally I like the way PU feels under foot better plus in order to keep volume I'd have to start taking width out of my longboards because as the whole board isn't under water so just removing thickness won't make it less corky and I like a bit of weight to my boards as well.

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thommo 000 said...

I dont think thats going to be enough.

I'll have a double choc top thanks

Ok - I am going to ease into this by simply sticking to the topic (for now)

Over the years I have mainly owned and ridden tuflites and as such I am used to their corkiness and other little quirks and I find that because I am so accustomed to riding them, that I actually surf them better than a pu board.
I originally started riding tuflites because I am so heavy on my feet and as such I depressed the hell outta my boards and that broke my heart seeing dents all over the decks of boards that I had paid so much money for. After I had my first tuffy I was sold on the ding/depression resistance of the product and still am today.
The other thing I have always like about tuflites is the amazing range of shapers and shapes and sizes and the simple fact that if you ever break one you can replace it exactly with the same board.
I should clarify that when I say tuflite I mean Surftech Tuflite and not in any way any other form of epoxy construction - I am a tuflite fan - not an epoxy fan.

Having said all that above, I have had some good pu boards and had some good results on them. By coincidence the biggest waves I have ever surfed in my life (approx' 8-10) was on a 9'1 Razar and the first time I have got properly barreled was on a 9'6 Fireball. (go figure hey) Also the best shortboards I have owned were both pu - a Merrick Flyer and a Stu Fx-1. Gotta say that I dont really like tuflite shortys cos I am really sh#t at duckdiving and I struggle pushing tuflites under.

I heard NSP boards mentioned I think and my thoughts on them :
I think they are one of the best value for money surfboards ever made and I rate them and always have, very highly. My mate Tom and I have owned NSP mals and have surfed them in very big and very very nasty conditions (mainly why we bought them) and they have never ever let us down and I would have no hesitation in owning or recommending NSP longboards to anybody of any surfing ability. (and its well known I don't over promote any gsi product)

As for other types of epoxy boards, well I think I have given my thoughts on SLX - I personally think it is garbage and serves no purpose other than keeping suckers who think it gives better performance constantly forking out for repairs and replacement boards.
And the worst epoxy I have experienced was the old southpoint bonga 9ft mals (not sure if they have changed) - I have lost count of the number of these boards that I have seen broken - seriously !

So whats the verdict - epoxy or PU ? hmmmmmmm - If I HAD to choose - I would probably say Tuflite Epoxy.

Oh - I am so not getting into the Mct/Gsi thing - I really dont need that kinda grief.

I need a drink after reading that,all good!

Well said BB good on ya and thanks

foam is foam.... there is good foam and bad foam....styrofoam is bad foam....look at the construction....styrofoam is tiny bubbles of foam stuck together by air (basically)...and polyurathane foam is tiny bubbles of air stuck together by foam...so the PU will only take water as far as the first broken bubble...where styro will suck water like a dry sponge right to the f#^*ing end....I made a board for my young bloke with styro....and he got a tiny ding that we missed and the board tripled its weight in a few weeks....he kept saying his board was getting heavy and I would say oh your just getting used to light weight...I could not believe the weight gain by the time I picked it up....I'm just wondering how many old styrofoams will be pulled out in years to come from under someones house and you go "hey remember this old thing" ...my 2 cents worth is..... its rubbish and will make it's way to land fill far quicker than PU.

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arkgee said...

foam is foam.... there is good foam and bad foam....styrofoam is bad foam....look at the construction....styrofoam is tiny bubbles of foam stuck together by air (basically)...and polyurathane foam is tiny bubbles of air stuck together by foam...so the PU will only take water as far as the first broken bubble...where styro will suck water like a dry sponge right to the f#^*ing end....I made a board for my young bloke with styro....and he got a tiny ding that we missed and the board tripled its weight in a few weeks....he kept saying his board was getting heavy and I would say oh your just getting used to light weight...I could not believe the weight gain by the time I picked it up....I'm just wondering how many old styrofoams will be pulled out in years to come from under someones house and you go "hey remember this old thing" ...my 2 cents worth is..... its rubbish and will make it's way to land fill far quicker than PU.

The EPS Techlite core in Surftech boards is light and strong and does not suck water.

For GPA and whoever else has had an slx and they have not lasted, I advise you to take them back to the shop and request a new one or refund etc. I have done that for 2 customers. Products need to be of merchantable quality. The GSI reps realise they do get problems and want to keep customers happy etc. We've found them very fair in assessing a problem board and will either say "yep fair enough, that shouldn't have happened, we'll look after you", or "hang on a sec this board has been really abused, we just can't cover that" etc.

Also the early slx's didn't have the biaxial cloth on the decks (the cloth which makes them slightly stronger) that the present models have. GSI also had some problems with the consistency of their eps cores. The decks on their later models will still evenually compress but not as bad as the earlier ones.

The wierd thing is that GSI also use slx in Webbers and certain Aloha's and in McT Bobsleds and the deck compressions seem much less of an issue on those - its mainly on the McT longboards. Surftech's "Ultraflx" epoxy construction is very similar to slx and I can see a few gradual deck compressions on our older demo boards. So its all part of the deal in that if you want a lightweight high performance board you will have to put up with compressions etc (just like most regular shortboarders do). Traditionally we longboarders have only had solidly built boards to ride and are accustomed to this (and kinda spoilt by durability). Nowadays with an increased focus on more radical performance in longboarding, the market has tried to come up with lightweight materials to facilitate this - and at the expense of durability! New i opened a can of worms on this one - Mark

One word will KILL this threat!

Custom


As a Mct fan it sucks that they have aligned themselves with GSI,I've never heard a good word about GSI boards no matter what brand.

Rewind a few years ago Noosa longboards took delivery and I happened to be in town.
JC was working the shop that day and after cruising back to my unit I dropped in and saw this Mct I asked what is this a new model? JC said no mate its a Fireball,FM the tail shape was all wrong,lost me from the start.


Smell the resin boys, as dotcom said keep it locally made and as Makaha would say,keep it real.

All too often I hear "oh its a performance board - they are lightly glassed and wont hold up as well' - Well I say bollocks to that !!! Its an excuse for manafacturers to use light/crap blanks and cheap/sh#t glass. If they are serious about making super lightweight performance boards (woftam IMO) then they need to source better lighter blanks and glass the board properly.

If customers are paying well over a grand on a longboard then they have the right to be buying a board that is gunna hold up - no matter how "performancy" it is.

I have come across certain brands of surfboard/sup that are made out of obviously second rate materials and have been constructed by second rate manafacturing processes - BUT they still command the same and in some cases an even higher price than other quality boards and it makes me sick ! There is so much second rate sh#t flooding our local market at the moment and the scum who peddle it to the unsuspecting and uneducated market need to be held accountable for what they are doing to the local and legitimate import market. Gather these fu##kers up and burn them at the stake I say.

Geez lads its been a while,since when did this become the cross dressers political forum must be the sup hangeroners

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Makaha said...

Geez lads its been a while,since when did this become the cross dressers political forum must be the sup hangeroners

Foff

Geezus

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62mac said...

Geezus

I can see why you need friends if that tossa makaha is classed as a mate - if he or she (whatever it is) has nothing nice to say he should just piss off.
Sorry mate - a bit fired up atm.

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billboard said...

All too often I hear "oh its a performance board - they are lightly glassed and wont hold up as well' - Well I say bollocks to that !!! Its an excuse for manafacturers to use light/crap blanks and cheap/sh#t glass. If they are serious about making super lightweight performance boards (woftam IMO) then they need to source better lighter blanks and glass the board properly.

If customers are paying well over a grand on a longboard then they have the right to be buying a board that is gunna hold up - no matter how "performancy" it is.

I have come across certain brands of surfboard/sup that are made out of obviously second rate materials and have been constructed by second rate manafacturing processes - BUT they still command the same and in some cases an even higher price than other quality boards and it makes me sick ! There is so much second rate sh#t flooding our local market at the moment and the scum who peddle it to the unsuspecting and uneducated market need to be held accountable for what they are doing to the local and legitimate import market. Gather these fu##kers up and burn them at the stake I say.

i agree with you bb

Geez I love you all,another feel good moment sponsored by seabreeze.


Oh and Board Culture

Ive had tufflite mals and found that they caught waves easier than pu. They were pigs in wind and or chop.Found them a bit funny when trying to bury a rail on a turn in bigger waves. The worse thing with them is trying to paddle thru lots of white water in beach break waves too light and floaty seem to get pushed around a lot more. but they are great for point waves where you can paddle around the white water and need to hassle for a wave.still have a tolhurst 9x6 for this purpose.

Agree TankChamp.

As a foot note, I have 2 PU boards getting some touch-ups done at the moment (repairs). I would do them myself, but I get a good deal from a glassing mate in town (Torquay).

But the knocks that the PU boards copped would have also done some damage to Tufflite, but less.

Thats fine for you mac your surounded by some of the worlds best long board shapers ,when ever I have got acustom it just hasn't worked for me ,when Igot my first FireBall (be it a GSI pu) I new the first second of the first wave , I new I had a board that worked at lest your parting with cash for somthing that does the job .Guess what I'm saying is beggers can't be chosers.Next though it's Tufe lite for me.

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62mac said...

One word will KILL this threat!

Custom


As a Mct fan it sucks that they have aligned themselves with GSI,I've never heard a good word about GSI boards no matter what brand.

Rewind a few years ago Noosa longboards took delivery and I happened to be in town.
JC was working the shop that day and after cruising back to my unit I dropped in and saw this Mct I asked what is this a new model? JC said no mate its a Fireball,FM the tail shape was all wrong,lost me from the start.


Smell the resin boys, as dotcom said keep it locally made and as Makaha would say,keep it real.

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billboard said...

...... Gather these fu##kers up and burn them at the stake I say.

Is that the boards or the dealers BB
Spot on anyway mate.

here here

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dotcomdotau said...

billboard said...

...... Gather these fu##kers up and burn them at the stake I say.

Is that the boards or the dealers BB
Spot on anyway mate.

Gotta be careful you don't tar everything with the same brush here 62Mac. I hope your anti GSI sentiments are restricted to their McTavish boards, which are slightly lighter glassed than the Byron made boards.
Cos if you want to hear a good word about GSI boards, just ask Billboard. He just posted that he loves GSI's NSP boards.
And you will get plenty of supporters for GSI's 7S Superfish range (in PU and Epoxy) - just check the heaps of positive comments on their website or from guys who actually ride them (like i do). Disclosure - we sell more of these than any other boards (and for good reason).
We have had a 7'3 Superfish demo in epoxy for about 2 1/2 years now and its been ridden/thrashed more than any other demo. And i reckon i could clean it up to look like new (apart from a minor ding when it fell off a car roof - try doing that with a PU!). They are heavier than normal epoxy and just about bullet proof!
GSI also produce Webber and Aloha shortboards under licence and will soon be doing Hayden Shapes.
I guess as with any business or manufacturer there are things GSI does really well and not well. So just do as we do and pick the eyes out of it and learn by experience - Mark.

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62mac said...

One word will KILL this threat!

Custom


As a Mct fan it sucks that they have aligned themselves with GSI,I've never heard a good word about GSI boards no matter what brand.

Rewind a few years ago Noosa longboards took delivery and I happened to be in town.
JC was working the shop that day and after cruising back to my unit I dropped in and saw this Mct I asked what is this a new model? JC said no mate its a Fireball,FM the tail shape was all wrong,lost me from the start.


Smell the resin boys, as dotcom said keep it locally made and as Makaha would say,keep it real.

Yes only at the mct Board culture and coming from a massive mct fan.


Oh Billboard,yah he has always been a fan of NSP which is fine however
if its not resin its plastic.JMO

Epoxy boards i'm a big fan of the Tolly 9'6'' shouldn't have sold it also like the Tolly 9'1'' and jye Byrnes but too heavy for the last 2