swalkington said...

The pics a few years old. In the end FireWire replaced the board and I just had to pay for delivery. Although they wouldn't admit it, my theory is it was a part of a dodgy batch of boards they produced early on. The replacement board is still going strong and I love it.

I saw a couple when they first came out that snapped and delaminated, same as you replaced but they were sent to the selling dealer. Star Surf in town I think it was.

How do they go as a longboard? Ive seen a couple and they look nice and thin, real performance looking mal, thin rails ect

swalkington said...

They go great as a longboard only gripe is if anything it has too much flex and gets this strange "chatter" sometimes when going along.
The replacement board was a demo model from their factory. I still think they should have replaced it with a new one though with no delivery fee as the snap was clearly dodgy and right through the vent valve in a perfect straight line. Very strange. But Beggars cant be choosers I guess. I had to bargain pretty hard to get the demo as they were initially saying they could only offer a new one at cost price which is another $800 (no way I would fork that out after snapping the first one on its 3rd surf).
Am enjoying the mal still these days, but wouldnt buy another firewire after that experience. Yours looks sweet though doggie.

I reckon the sunovas look good. Ever seen those?

Yea looked at them but I would go a JD before one of them. I think the FW mal shape is a very hi performance shape imo for a mal.

swalkington said...

The problem with epoxy is it always has this corked feeling. I think that's why most of the pros still ride pu.

For the size of the board it surfs very easily, I know what you are saying with the corky feeling but its not that bad. The wind was a bit side shore and strong last Saturday and it went fine

surferstu said...

How come it doesn't have the Balsa stringers on rails. I thought that the whole firewire concept

It has, I think the camera angle hasnt helped here.

swalkington said...

The problem with epoxy is it always has this corked feeling. I think that's why most of the pros still ride pu.

The problem I have with this comment is that Epoxy is resin, not a construction type.

Actually, many pros now ride PU foam glassed in Epoxy resin, it's stronger and keeps the new board flex for a much longer time.

What you are referring to is EPS/Epoxy. In particular light weight EPS in lighter grades. You can buy 36 gram EPS which is a very similar density to PU. It surfs light but has a good feel not that disimilar to PU, the advantage is that being a touch lighter you can add extra glass and durability.

EPS can be a bit more buoyant but this can be overcome by using lower rails or bigger fins.

For traditional feel and better lasting ask for Epoxy on your next board made from PU foam.

doggie said...

CMC said...

swalkington said...

The problem with epoxy is it always has this corked feeling. I think that's why most of the pros still ride pu.

The problem I have with this comment is that Epoxy is resin, not a construction type.

Actually, many pros now ride PU foam glassed in Epoxy resin, it's stronger and keeps the new board flex for a much longer time.

What you are referring to is EPS/Epoxy. In particular light weight EPS in lighter grades. You can buy 36 gram EPS which is a very similar density to PU. It surfs light but has a good feel not that disimilar to PU, the advantage is that being a touch lighter you can add extra glass and durability.

EPS can be a bit more buoyant but this can be overcome by using lower rails or bigger fins.

For traditional feel and better lasting ask for Epoxy on your next board made from PU foam.

Does the epoxy on PU foam dent like normal poly resin?

It does, it's possible though with Epoxy to add another layer of cloth with the same weight result as Epoxy is lighter and wets out better resulting in lower resin/cloth ratios. Interestingly enough when people have the perception of "Epoxies" being stiff and corky that Epoxy resin itself is more flexible than Poly. I guess this term comes from Surftech's etc with sandwich type construction.

The added cloth can make it more dent resistant. The denting is also a factor of the blank and/or the way it is shaped or machined. People demand light boards, light foam and light cloth layups. In PU/PE boards at these weights it is difficult to stop denting.

Anybody remember the rumor a while back that Taj was not really riding a Firewire?

And what sh-t service from Firewire not replacing that clean snap right on the vent/weak spot on the longboard photo posted!

Makaha said...

Anybody remember the rumor a while back that Taj was not really riding a Firewire?

One of the guys who used to hand build his boards said that was crap.

Legion said...

Makaha said...

Anybody remember the rumor a while back that Taj was not really riding a Firewire?

One of the guys who used to hand build his boards said that was crap.

He definitely rides real firewires. He had weights in the noses originally to give them the feel of his PU's. Won Bells on one with this.

He wasnt at Pipe though. No pro rides the same shapers boards all the time. They get bored and uninspired.

Legion said...

The sponsoring shaper doesn't seem to mind their team rider on another board in Hawaii. Specialised boards for specialised waves. TB was on an Arakawa wasn't he? A bit hard for Nev to argue with Eric's credentials in Hawaii.

KS rode Simons boards, or board for ages in different comps. I think it was more of a head game than anything else.

Who cares what the pros ride, they could surf almost anything and still be better than most.

LateStarter said...

Who cares what the pros ride, they could surf almost anything and still be better than most.

I got recently rode a hayden shapes hypto krypto 6 footer (eps epoxy fibre flex),...I am 95kg,.... coz Craig Anderson was absolutely ripping on his, and they look awesome,.....only problem is I couldn't work the thing out,...its so boyant and light and I just seem to get held up in the lip every wave and it won't glide down the face on take-off. Maybe I'm just a kook,...but maybe there are some boards best left to the pro's (I reckon Craig could ride a door and make it look stylish).

doggie said...

^^ Short boards, Im talking under 6' here, are for me difficult to ride. My shortest board is 6,3 atm and up until recently Ive been riding a 6,5. I find that shorter boards are difficult to surf as they dont have the same run on as a longer board would have.

Doggie your getting old mate,time to hit a real boardyes 901 give it a go mate you will never look back

Every dog has their day

edit-Parko has been riding JS for years

[b]doggie said...

Dont really care but it is a good topic, and yep the pro's can surf most things but their comp boards are great to look at. Ive seen a couple of Tajs MCs and FWs, Bobby Martinez DHD and Al Merricks, Occys JS ect. The one thing I have noticed is that they are small for the guys that ride them. I ride 6,3 & 6,4s mostly but a pro my weight would be using a 6,0 or even smaller.

I have one of Owen Wright's boards standing in my lounge room can't wait till he is World Champ maybe next year!

Even though I'm a cripple and it's comparing apples with oranges - since I moved on from PU I've dropped a foot in board length and I'm surfing more than I have in, well ever. And enjoying it a damn sight more.

Width and thickness in my boards has remained reasonably static, although there has been some pretty radical changes in planshape. For me that has entailed moving the widepoint rear of centre to maintain some volume in the back of the board, as I'm a fat git. And when you start incorporating serious concaves into your boards you're introducing another dimension that you don't get with flatter bottom contours.

It's kinda hard to describe without pics but with deep concaves you can maintain a long planing area in conjunction with full on rocker to enable maneuverability. And when you're talking a more buoyant foam you get more paddle-ability. And there is no question that it is easier to make steep drops on a board that fits the contours of a wave better.

Google Maurice Cole Chookshed for some insights into single concaves and then have a chat with someone like Smitty at Katana as to combining mega singles into doubles and vees to work in waves that we surf locally.

Short is good, it just needs to be shaped with the right materials and contours.