Firewire Surf Boards & Surf Tech

[Johno]

Am looking at a new board, any one got or tryed a Firewire???

I was looking at this one

Firewire Alternator Bump
Features Description Mail to a friend Ability - Intermediate/Advanced Rider - Up to 15 stone/95kg Conditions - Anything from knee high waves and up Construction - EPS foam composite core Dimensions - 6ft 8 x 20.25 x 2.5

Any advise appreciated

cheers

[essex sucks]

i hear alot of bad things about them if probs with the glassing from what i hear i would stay away

[isaluteyou]

I know a few people that love them. However listening to other horror stories and the banter from shapers i wouldnt trust em

[twerked]

i think most of the horror stories were from the first gen ones. the newer ones are apparently much better. i was talking to a guy i work with who got one and said that it's awesome. he says it's super durable and really flexy. he got his for real cheap from the rep that was at his surf shop. i dunno though, personally i probably wouldn't buy one. they're too expensive imo

[Johno]

Ok appinyons on surf tec as well please there expensive £500 I can get the fire wire for £450, theres so many boards out there I dont know wich one to get!!!!

[drowningbitbybit]

I've only heard bad things about firewire - although admittedly a friend of a friend of a friend told me. But Ive heard enough that I'd stay away.

SurfTech, on the other hand, are a completely safe bet. Whether you actually like the feel of a surftech, and how you feel about a mass produced board, is another story, but they are pretty reliable and do exactly what they're supposed to.

They still feel funny though...

[jon.biarritz]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of SurfTech, like you mention, they feel funny. Could be cool to try a Firewire.

[Johno]

Quite like the look and dims of the fire wire, especially the balsa rails they look sweet, but if they damage easly there a no go for me coz am a clumsy surfer!

[oldgrom]

Firewire NO!! Surftech Yes!!! Surftech must be doing something right to get contracted orders from a grip of board makers/manufactuers.i.e rusty,CI,Becker,etc.etc. Yes they feel different they are stiff and bullet proof epoxy laminate design. I own a couple of em and love em plus when I loan one to sombody and they are brutes the board holds up better then any outher ones I know second to a foamy. But surftechs are real surfboards. Monney well spent and I can't say the same for Firewire.

[Johno]

Firewire NO!! Surftech Yes!!! .

are you saying that because you have no experiance with fire wire? or have you heard bad things about them? they are a lovly looking board

[twerked]

like i said, my friend has a firewire and loves it. he said that once he ate it on a real shallow sandbar and felt the nose dig in the sand. he came up expecting a lost nose or at least some sort of major damage. nothing of substance. they still ding, but they're quite tough. i don't know though, i never rode/owned one, so i can't say myself. but i've heard a lot more good than bad about them. at least the newer ones. i think some of the early ones had problems with delam'ing or something like that

[crepuscular]

i had both surftech and firewire boards before, surftech tend to be more heavier and much more buoyant... firewire tend to have the buoyancy of normal fiberglass boards and felt more refined compare to surftech boards... firewire's 2008 boards are much lighter than the 2007 boards, about half the weight of 2007, but a bit more fragile though...

never had problems with my firewire board, and I like it over my surftech board because it's more closely resemble fiberglass boards compare to surtech...

[Johno]

Oh looks like i could be swinging round to the Firewire!

They look nice,

Not many people have got them

From what av heared they are more like a glass board but tufer, I want a glass board but am to clumsy for them!

desions desions

[isaluteyou]

why not also looking at hand shaped epoxy as an option

[oldgrom]

No my reply is not from lack of use or repairing dings on both they are both a ball ach to repair Surftech by far needing the more elaborate repair. Yes early firewire boards were plagued with some isues and the later batches are better. As looks go they are cool looking but looks are not everything, have you ever seen a wood rail foam seperation? Lemme tell ya it's a disaster. And as this so called flex aproach I see getting spewed out so much lemme ask why would one need or want fin foil,rails/board shape,concave/tails etc. designed into a stick creating certian properties that are wanted/needed only to have this so called board flex change the dynamics and take away or totaly change these designed features? Certain boards do have more inherent so caled "flex" due mainly to the way it's made and second to what it's made of.

So called stiff Epoxy/ or Surftech boards hold the hydrodynamics due to their inherent stif/ridgid feel and I see most find it hard or very different feeling to the ones with so called flex or poly construction that using them due to the board holding it's designed hydrodynamics so well v.s. a polly board is totaly diferent. Kinda like a ridged frame motorcycle v.s. a swing arm suspension motorcycle one is by far more forgiving and the outher has the feel of everything in the roadway

As an experiment a buddy and I made a super ridged/heavy polly stick and had a couple of people surf it then had em surf anouther stick simalar but standard construction and told em it was an epoxy and then had em surf yet anouther simmilar stick but it was an epoxy board labled as a poly board,,, whadda ya think happened?? Board 1 and 3 were picked as the favorite sticks to surf and the standard poly was so called to bouncy,to stiff,did not feel right,did not respond the same etc.,etc. it was funny when the truth was revieled and a major shock to em all,,, so the point to this is why yes they hold different properties they are both surfable and showed mainly it's in your head,,, not in the board. Iv'e surfed both and repaired both and would still take the Surftech on a stregnth factor and a great cloned shape that's of the board I'm looking to get v.s. a Firewire, but hey it's your monney and your board and all in all your the one who has to live with your deccision. Good luck with whatever you chose and in reality they are both fine choices I just gave what I'd chose first in the two tossed out to pick from.

[dougirwin13]

I've heard as many horror stories about Surftechs as Firewires. The former are definately harder to repair but I have a good vac pump so...

Flex is fine if it's a component of board design and can make a board feel very alive. Many good custom poly shapers use it in board design anyway. It seems at it's best for people who are getting air, hitting the lip or are very light and mostly in glassy conditions. But that's just my take and I know at least one big guy who loves it (try Googling Bert Burger or Sunova).

So what do I think? I think clear your mind and ego and go test ride some boards then decide which one you like and buy that.

[oldgrom]

True if your designing a good board variable flex must be taken into consideration. Yep vacume is the only right way to fix Surftech or any epoxy for that matter, gots me a couple of em too and lots of 3-M vac bags. Agree go surf some and clear your head it's the best thing anybody could do.