I was in a surfshop today and was astonished at the price of one of these surfboards $1,200.00.
They were light and looked cool, but wow.
I have done a search and have not found one post of anyone who owns one or has ridden one.
Does anyone who has ridden one have some input please?
the aviso boards are very strong for their weight.
if you can afford the money up front they are worth it.
a shop that carries them should have a demo.
they are U.S. made if that is important to you.
I haven’t ridden an Alviso, but I’ve ridden hundreds of Hydro Epics. They ride much differently that traditional foam boards. On longboards, the weight savings is huge… our 9’1" was shipping at around 10lbs. On the shortboards, the weight is similar to a comp foam board. The main difference is the way they feel under your feet. Because there is no foam in the core, and nothing connecting the deck and bottom, the board feels more lively. The boards can also be tuned to flex in difined ways that add to the performance.
As for cost… we spent over $350 in materials to make a Hydro Epic. Add about four times the labor of a traditional board, and dealer markup, and you can see that $1,200 isn’t unreasonable. We lost money on the first couple hundred boards we made. Our motto was “we lose money on every sale, but we make up for it in volume”
Whether or not $1,200 is reasonable to the consumer is one thing… it’s barely enough to make them worth making from a manufacturing standpoint.
You should be able to find a shop that will let you demo a board.
I watched NJ’s Jamie Moran buckle one in small-medium sized Soupbowls in Barbados, they aren’t indestructible.
Just wondering: in the water, if you get a good ding in one of those things (like getting runned over by somebody riding a tanker) and the hole goes thru the skin into the hollow core and the thing fills up with water- is it going to sink? What if you can’t get your leash off?
I smashed my hollow carbon board into a shallow sandbar on a very fast and late backside drop, the board cracked along 3" of the rail (not on the seam). The fix was very easy, ready to ride again in less than 30 min. A typical foam board might have snapped a foot off the nose, The kevlar layer in a holow composite board will keep the board in one piece. I’m no expert but I believe that the board will not take on water quickly if it is broken because the kevlar will keep everything together (even though the board may be broken beyond any chance of repair). I am not 100% sure, but I think the components of a composite board are reletively close to the density of water. In order for the board to sink, the board must be completely flooded. In closing, I think you will have one hell of a time trying to send a hollow compisite board to the bottom of the ocean. It will NOT go down like the Titanic.
i’ve seen tow in surfers wear a cool safety vest that blends in with your wet suit. if you get an opportunity to demo an aviso you may want to rent this floatation device for optimum safety.
Just wondering: in the water, if you get a good ding in one of those things (like getting runned over by somebody riding a tanker) and the hole goes thru the skin into the hollow core and the thing fills up with water- is it going to sink? What if you can't get your leash off?
Even when they’re completely full of water the boards won’t sink. Avisos have a layer of Divinycell in the skin, and Hydro Epics have aluminum honeycomb - with lots of air chambers. They don’t float great with water in them, but they don’t sink. If they break in half - which doesn’t happen often, but it does once in a while - you want to be careful of the sharp carbon edges.
Hey lpcdefg … how’d your board go? How many have you made so far?
I’ve had a number of Aviso’s…
The only boards in a foam construction that could be lighter might be some of the 1.8 lb eps (Marko) boards I have got from Lost.
I like the Aviso product. All my small wave boards are in this construction. They can fail and do. The seam line is a vulnerable spot obviously. The plugs did have some failures, as in production microscopic fissures were occuring, atleast that is what I was told.
I have broken 3. Floater, Air, and one just died over time.
They are corkier, and it takes a while to adjust.
Get the ProF finish. I have the gloss, and its seams the newer matte finish is more solid in build.
If you have the cash and get the right one you could be stoked…
actually i built a plenty strong sandwhich board at 4 pounds last month
is that lighter then an avisio?
actually i built a plenty strong sandwhich board at 4 pounds last monthis that lighter then an avisio?
yes it is, my 6-4 weighs about 6 lbs.
are your boards available in he U.S.?
not really at the moment sorry
im only doing a couple per month at the moment for mates
there are a few guys over in the states that would do one for you
there are draw backs to a 4 pound board though.
but they are far more durable then a poly board
but dings must be fixed straight away or the balsa looses its pop and slowly draws water,and they need to be vented
so they are not for everyone!
however if you do take care of them they should last for years,without pressure dents,and almost impossible to snap
a 5 pound version would be pretty dam tough though
at the moment im making a hybrid with pvc bottom and balsa deck
6 oz all over
im expectin to get about 5.5 pounds
ive kinda given up on the superlights lately
im finding 4.8 to 5.5 a nice weight range to work to as you have the added benefit of the extra impact strength
lately the last two boards i built seemed heavy to me personaly
but both my clients said they were really light
i guess im just getting used to boards around 5 pounds
my mate owns the 4 pound board and he reckons in goes insane in smaller waves (headhigh)
i work to aku shaper templates so if you are interested in a board send me a brd.file
they start at 800$nz and go up from there depending on fins,finish,exotic woods etc etc.
i think shiping could be prohibitive though.
it may not be worth it
not to mention that the board may not meet your expectations wrt finish
maybe you should talk to the boys at Sunova
if i started to get more orders i would think about sending a few other seas and gettting a better workshop
heres a pic of the 4 pounder before it got glassed
thanks for the reply silly!
sounds like a lot of effort for me to get 1.2 lbs off a board.
Then I stand corrected. I sell pretty much every construction available, and the few I dont I have seen.
The only board I have that is lighter was my custom shaped S-Core Matt Biolas shaped for me. Its actually to light.
For the record I don’t like hyper light boards. But that being said I have one particular Aviso I consider almost a magic board. Anything under head high, I surf it… which is alll the time as it seems around here.
Your boards sound cool Silly.
sorry it was 4.2pounds
i lie
ibwahanui what country are you in?
to be honest i havent really thought about sending them overseas
and also my cosmetics have still got issues!
hey donnie
im still in the hobby stage here
but 4 to 5 pounds is easy to achieve so far
as a owner and rider of light boards here are some personal observations
i think they are great at around 5 pounds to 5.5
less then that and they start to feel a bit skitery
anymore and boards become harder to control at lower speeds(smaller waves)
i think designs could be changed to make them go good but i havent figured out this stuff
maybe less fin cant,less rocker and thinner rails may help
but i think that longitudinal stiffness to be really important
i think that ultra light pu boards lack drive due to not enough longitudinal stiffness
Kendall, My board is going well. I think it rides a little mushy. I have not made any more since. I bought a bunch of end grain balsa and I will use this as a core for the next board. The balsa should give it more spring than the divinycell.
yes i agree, i think a board can be too light. if you have to add weights on the board to make it work better, something was overlooked.
maybe the designs need to be modified to suit the type construction.
although my JJ 9-0 by aviso is the best longboard i have owned. it’s not as light as the surftec but much lighter than polyester.
now if i can only get a GG 5-10 by aviso.
sorry it was 4.2poundsi lie
ibwahanui what country are you in?
to be honest i havent really thought about sending them overseas
and also my cosmetics have still got issues!
hey donnie
im still in the hobby stage here
but 4 to 5 pounds is easy to achieve so far
as a owner and rider of light boards here are some personal observations
i think they are great at around 5 pounds to 5.5
less then that and they start to feel a bit skitery
anymore and boards become harder to control at lower speeds(smaller waves)
i think designs could be changed to make them go good but i havent figured out this stuff
maybe less fin cant,less rocker and thinner rails may help
but i think that longitudinal stiffness to be really important
i think that ultra light pu boards lack drive due to not enough longitudinal stiffness
southern california