Just spent an interesting week in Fuerteventura with Adrian Roper from Underground Kiteboards, he had this to say about surfboards and kite surfboards.
"Consider a pro surfer, that goes out for a 3hr session, in good waves. Lets say he gets 30 waves and actually rides and stands up on his board for 10 seconds per ride on average. The equates to 300 seconds or 5 minutes of actually standing on the board. Pro's replace their boards up to 60 times per year, there is an enormous environmental impact of this insistence on lightness (especially when a lot of surfers promote ecological responsibility). The problem is that surfers are demanding a really light board, and consequently weak board and the price is enormous waste, and cost. Virtually nothing from a surfboard can be recycled.
Now consider a kitesurfer, in a 3hr session, the kiter is basically standing on the board for 3 hrs and exerting constant and at times much more pressure on the board. Would a kiter accept that the board should only last one session (equivalent to a pro surfers board life expectancy of approx 10 - 30 sessions)?
When a surfer breaks a surfboard, there is no warranty.
We all need to rethink durability and lightness in kitesurfboards, heeldenting will happen with any construction eventually, but it can be reduced if proper sandwich type construction is used, but this type of board will weigh more than a epoxy or polyester resin polyurethane foam core board, and a foam sandwhich epoxy board will outlast several polyurethane foam core boards"
Bruce - you have a couple of tons of wax on your board!
