hi, i have read about them on their website and in various other other places but had never seen one in the flesh, had a chance to hold one yesterday and was impressed with the quality and general feel of the board,
really expensive over here in the uk £ 550 upwards but a good step in the right direction if the strength/performance is true ,
it was at a local surf comp and once again i was perplexed with surfers non interest in different construction methods, one guy i know is really hard on boards ,always bemoaning how boards don/t last etc but he was/nt interested in even having a look at the buffo board,
the majority of the competitors were on overseas label boards as if its a mark of how good a surfer they are, if its good enough for the top 44 its good enough for them ,
i know there is an element of truth in there but things won/t change if people don/t even give some of this new tech a look ,
i was pretty impressed with the board and how it was constructed, waterproof foam and a non delaminating deck,
i would like to hear from anyone who has one or any ride reports from anyone ,
Pete - I think there was a thread on them a year or two ago with pictures and discussion on the construction method. I can’t find it in a search though
I saw a used bufo fish in a surf shop last week, with heel dents all over the deck. There website is full of marketing slang. Imho they´re just your basic polystyrene core/epoxy lam boards, non-sandwich construction. I admit, there´s something mysterious about their polystyrene core, wether it´s xps or something different.
The Bufo boards are very popular here in Holland. The construction is bionic (fibre-glass enrooted in the blank) and it is DOW foam (which has the blue color). When your ordering a board, you can order the measurments but also the flex you want the board to have. In Holland, you can test the hydroflex construction on almost every event to see/feel it for yourself if you dont believe them.
Unless bionic has come to a new meaning lately, I think the marketing is the closest thing to bionic. But I guess to call a spade a spade doesn’t sell. Not saying there is anything wrong with the technology, glassfiber rod reinforced epoxy boards are probably as good as (or better than) any stringered epoxy boards. I was under the impression that the foam was somehow a bi-product of some VW car crash research as this was stated on the bufo website previously, but I might be wrong or maybe they have changed to bluw dow foam later?
You’re right, bionic as in “devices to assist humans in performing difficult, dangerous, or intricate tasks, as by supplementing or duplicating parts of the body” is a very technical way of describing surfboards… The words bionic and hydrotechnology is just marketing slang, but it works because we’re discussing it right now - so it works!
Bufo actually won a innovation ish award with his boards and got the opportunity to work in the VW centre to perfectionize his boards. Maybe the DOW foam is from another innovation-marketing-transformer surfboard brand…
I rather go on playing with my homeshaped PU, trying to make a little fat ass singlefin round 360 machine! I have no experience but we’ll see what happens!
We’ve pretty much all seen the various flex demonstrations where a board is stepped on, flattens out to where the deck hits the ground and from then on, the ground supports the board…
Bufo is the only manufacturer I’ve seen that has demos of their boards being used as motorcycle launch ramps, used as a bridge across a creek and jumped on, or literally stomped between two sawhorses like a trampoline.
and that is old stuff on old tech, the new tech is better still.
he had a board break after 20!! people got onto it. there was a vid. but it was taken down unfortunately. That board did not even break first, it was the wood supporting the board leading to a full collapse of the board too.
Now that is a low blow. I don’t agree with the hype either but to throw the race card into the equation is not cool.
You also forgot Hawaiian shapers, be they transplants or not. Most of the best shapers in the world prove their boards in Hawaii. And Europe has good waves there are good local shapers there. All over the world. Not just SoCal and Aussie. What about South Africa, Brazil and anywhere that has a coast with good waves.
Quote:
Here it is:
They do break a lot.
They aren’t any bio… inside
They sell the board under manufacturing price trying to sell a fake patent
I heard that they are made in germany by people being paid black…
It cost them 2 hours to sand, and still the finish is very bad.
They have no respect for the boards they make, why do you have to maltreat surfboards this way?
Since when surfboards are blue?
Since when german can shape?
OK, but please let the surfboards to SOCAL and AUSSIES…
For the rest, go to your local shaper and suport your local community, now is the time…
Sorry for the rest of the shaping world, my mistake.
For the low blow, maybe I was a bit rash, but the surfboard industry is a tough one at the moment, and the last thing we need is fake technology based on air…
Shaper all over the world ( pro and garage) have been sweating over the blanks for decades, and I never heard or seen any of those handling boards as " things ". But more as objet of desire.
For the rest, buy local. Make local, like this when people travel they will have the chance to be stoke over your boards.
The Hype is accurate. These boards RIP. I have been surfing for 25 years and have ridden everything from everybody. When I first was introduced to the product I thought it was a joke. I thought who, what a guy making boards in Germany. I was fortunate to be able to get a travelers complex to try. I took it down to Cabo and surfed some fun head high waves and could not comprehend the drive the glide the flex. I had never experienced this feeling… I am hooked. I have a few boards on the way from Germany. When they come in I will post up some shots…
Spend the money. You will love the results.
Spend the money. You will love the results. This is the future
Wanted to post a few shots of my new HydroFlex by Bufo. It is a modified Travelers Complex. It has more tail rocker and a curvier outline. I hope it works as well as my last.
This generation of boards has a modified glassing schedule. The root system is deeper and the Flex is a little stiffer. Guys like Tom Curran have been requesting a stiffer ride. I loved the last glass schedule, but have been assured that this one has even more drive.
The first shot is of the board.
The second of the root system.
I will post up a ride description as soon as I get a wave over head high. Should be today after work.