Filed in: Surfing Trends | On: March 13th, 2007 | Comments:
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After the fallout of Clark Foam last December, epoxy surfboards were thrust into the spotlight once again. With an extremely limited supply of Clark’s PU foam, the abundance of polystyrene foam (foam used in epoxy boards) looked quite attractive. However, the previously bleak future of traditional foam is looking better than ever with more foam companies producing a larger variety of foam types, densities, plugs, etc. which has brought their popularity back up to the pre-Clark shutdown era. There are many pros and cons to both epoxy and traditional PU surfboards which we’ll examine below. Traditional Foam (PU) Pros: - Easier for shapers to work with and customize Cons: - Delamination: Foam in older boards eventually absorb water turning them an unattractive yellow color and eventually causing death (delamination) - Dings & Dents: Ding quite easily, pressure dents are to be expected which means you’ll really need to care for your board and keep it from hitting other objects including doors and other surfboards. - Save Planet Earth: The process of foam manufacturing releases many harmful chemicals into the surround environment (one of the reported reasons why Clark foam shutdown). On the flip side, working with fiberglass is not as harmful as working with epoxy resins. Epoxy Surfboards Pros: - Strength: Much more durable than traditional fiberglass boards. While most hand shaped epoxy boards will ding and pressure though to a lesser degree than PU boards, molded epoxy boards like Surftech are ultra durable. You can be somewhat careless with your Surftech and not suffer the consequences of major dings and bruises. Some even claim to be nearly indestructible like my Dave Parmenter twinnie. The fellow who glassed it with epoxy resin, Charlie Price, claimed that you could turn the board upside down and jump on it with no damage (I didn’t attempt it). I did drop that particular surfboard onto concrete while showering at the beach and the only visible damage was a small scuff mark. Had that been a traditional fiberglass board, it would have shattered and broken off a piece of my tail. - Paddling Power: Epoxy boards have a significantly higher buoyancy than traditional PU boards. Often times a shorter, narrower, & thinner epoxy board will paddle as well if not better than your fiberglass board. Thus, you can surf a smaller board with better turning ability and one that fits in the pocket. - Durability: These boards have less tendency to ding and after a couple years you won’t find yourself surfing with a board resembling swiss cheese. Polystyrene foam’s characteristics keep epoxy resin from delaminating, a common problem with traditional fiberglass boards. Cons: - Problems with windy/choppy surf: Epoxy boards work extremely well in smooth glassy surf but from my experience have proven to be quite horrible in choppy and windy conditions. I’ve taken this board out numerous times in slightly windy conditions (common in Hawaii) and due to the ‘floatyness’ of the board it seemed to catch every bump on the wave. Because these boards float very well, I never felt like the rail was engaged in the wave which forced me to back off on most of my cutbacks and turns. There have been times when my epoxy board left me feeling like a total kook and complete noob. - $$$ It’s all about the Benjamins: Epoxy boards are considerably more expensive than traditional PU boards. Hand shaped epoxy boards are slightly more expensive than their traditional counterpart due to the fact that epoxy is a pain to work with. Epoxy mold boards from companies like Surftech will cost you an arm and leg. Most Surftech shortboard models start between $600-700 US with longboard prices going for $800-900+. - Bad for Shapers: The process of making polystyrene foam used in Epoxy boards releases less harmful chemicals into the environment but is way more toxic for shapers working with epoxy resin. Conclusion While many surfers enjoy riding epoxy surfboards, I’d have to say that through my own personal experiences with them, I’d much rather surf a traditional PU board. While these boards do eventually lose their flex patterns and are more prone to dings, you can’t beat the feel of a fresh PU board carving and snapping on the face of the wave. Pumping down the line and banking floaters off the oncoming section feel alive with a traditional fiberglass surfboard under you feet. PU board also handle a wide variety of conditions from extreme winds, slight onshore surf, oil slick glass, to perfect offshore winds. I always regret taking my epoxy fish out when there’s even a slight bit of chop in the water. While I’m not against epoxy boards, I won’t another one until I find one that works like a traditional fiberglass board. Firewire claims that their parabolic railed epoxy boards work even in windy conditions, perhaps we’ll give it a go and let you know our conclusion but until then, PU is in and epoxy out. 12 Comments »Andrew, on March 21, 2007 @ 3:12 am |If it was all about soul, than I’d be lugging my 50+ pound wooden plank (with no fins) with me to the beach. That’s where it all supposedly started right?? I wonder if those guys bitched and complained about the new foam and fiberglass boards. There are always going to be those who are haters and those who are reluctant to change. For all we know, they probably have yet to have even surfed the on the innovative epoxies that are out there. I will still continue to surf, and love, the boards I currently own, but ten years from now while some people are still out in the lineup on their old PU yellow dinged up boards, I’ll be out on the on my ten year old epoxy, still looking and riding like it was fresh out of the shaping room. I believe that will show the fix for what was broken. Who knows, by then the epoxy boards may be a thing of the past. Pete, on April 30, 2007 @ 2:43 am |I am starting out and have both boards. I just bought an epoxy at half the price of the fiberglass. This is a great option for me because not I am not so afraid of messing the board up. I think this is a good thing for kooks most. Jeff, on September 9, 2007 @ 2:45 pm |Epoxy will allow you to age with grace. I’m 40 years old with a nagging back injury. Rather than push the length of the board I began riding wider and thicker boards. I have found that “vee” is essential in being able to go rail to rail and I am surfing better than I ever have. In fact I will take down pretty much anbody 40 years old in SD and 90% of the kid rippers. My favorite board of choice is 5′11″ x 22 x 2.7. I have tested regular foam and epoxy. As you can imagine regular foam is “much” heavier and requires more effort. On the otherhand, epoxy is “so” light it’s just like having a regular shortboard. From that perspective epoxy dominates and I will never change. What totally sucks about epoxy, specifically Austin Foam Core, is that whenever you get a ding it sucks water in like a sponge. You basically have to cut open a hole, put it in the sun, make the ding face down, and wait 5 days for it to dry - just like I am doing right now. As a solution I made a backup board but then the glass job was so poorly done that my first session my tail basically caved in. I waited 6 days for it to dry, took it back out, and then had an air bubble that somehow was taking on water. I don’t know if the glasser did a crappy job but Austin Foam Core sucks in a ton of water. It’s the worst for that. At least with a regular board you can take a blow dryer, dry it overnight, and then fix a ding the next day. it don’t work like that with epoxy. No freaking way. Anyhow, despite the extreme water intake with epoxy boards, even on the slightest dings, I still prefer the lightness over the heavy regular foam. Neal, on September 9, 2007 @ 3:20 pm |Jeff, I read that some of the newer EPS foams are completely water proof. If I’m not mistaken, the new Surftech TL2 cores don’t take any water in. jed bush, on September 30, 2007 @ 9:01 pm |I hate to be the bearer of bad news boys but POLYESTER RESINS ARE FAR MORE TOXIC THAN EPOXY. THEY ARE 2300 TIMES MORE TOXIC THAN EPOXY BOARDS . AND YOU CAN’T RECYCLE PU FOAM AND YOU CAN RECYCLE EPS FOAM AND IT’S BIO-DEGRADEABLE. jed bush, on September 30, 2007 @ 9:08 pm |BUY MARKO FOAM AND YOUR BOARD WON”T LEAK WATER LIKE THE OLD EPS OPEN CELL FOAM AND IF YOU LIVE IN HAWAII AND YOUR BOARD IS TOO FLOATY THEN GET A THINNER BOARD AND IF YOUR BOARD IS TOO LIGHT FOR CHOPPY CONDITIONS GET A HEAVIER Bob, on October 27, 2007 @ 7:00 pm |Even though you may be forking over an extra couple hundred dollars more, epoxys such as surftech, last way longer and hold up better than conventional p/u boards. Just don’t leave your epoxy in a hot car on a sunny day and they should last awhile. For the average guy, you get your pick of established proven designs instead of experimenting and tweaking board adjustments with a shaper which ends up costing more in the long run as you filter out the dogs trying to find that good all around board. P/U boards also seem to lose their livelyness after a few months. It seems for every few custom boards I get,only one may be user-friendly enough to be that special. This ends up getting expensive in the long run when you figure out the original cost of an epoxy. Plus epoxy tends to have a better resale value than a dinged up, delaminated, yellowed board which can occur in quite a short time. John, on February 23, 2008 @ 4:49 pm |experienced the problem you describe of epoxy with wind conditions. I regularly ride a 6′ fiberglass thruster, but today tried a 6′6″ epoxy single fin egg, obviously a much thicker and wider board. I felt like I couldn’t get “into” waves like my smaller fiberglass board. I’ve also tried an epoxy shortboard in small surf and felt this way. I don’t like epoxy, but I will give my new big board another try when the waves are weak. 5′8 Surftech Soul Fish - Randy French, on March 28, 2008 @ 4:02 pm |[…] The local surf tech rep here in Hawaii has been cool enough to give SurfboardShack.com a full run of all their Surftech demos. While I’ve always favored traditional PU boards, I am quite intrigued with epoxy boards and Surftech’s long list of boards shaped by the world’s top shapers. After writing an article debating which surfboard material works better, epoxy or polyurethane, I’ve had a number of people inquire about how well epoxy, most notably Surftech boards work in a variety of conditions. Up to this point I had only ridden one Surftech board and a few other epoxys so I guess you can say I haven’t given epoxy a fair chance. Anyway, thanks to Surftech, I now have access to write about every Surftech board available and let you all know how they ride. […] Patrick, on April 15, 2008 @ 11:28 am |How about instead of paying 800 bucks for an epoxy board, buy a traditional for 500 and put the 300 you save into a bank account. By the time you need a new board because you got a traditional youll have enough money to buy another one. Patrick, on April 15, 2008 @ 11:29 am |And once you buy a new one you’ll save another 300 bucks so you can repeat the process and never have to pay for another surfboard again Leave a commentRSS feed for these comments. | TrackBack URI |
Ronnie, on March 20, 2007 @ 7:43 pm |
Totally agree with the facts on both ends. Epoxy vs Foam…I will stick with what I have been putting under my feet for nearly 15 years…FOAM. Epoxy is high tech and all and really great if you are one to get your board thrashed on a regular basis. Foam is more responsive and much better in all conditions. What it boils down to is this. Foam is the real deal. Surfing came from the soul, don’t fix what’s not broken. Our “Fathers” of surfing who spent hours and hours shaping that board of your dreams would roll over in their graves if he knew the young “Groms” that grew up through in the towel to go “High Tech”. Keep it real braddahs.