After having a heart to heart w/ Rich Harbour today, I’m wondering how the rest of you feel ?
Me myself…I’m glad I got to know eps/epoxy better thru swaylocks,but I’m an polyester boy.
I just like what I can do with it,and it works out better for me in the long run.
How about you ? Herb
My mate just bought a new epoxy 8’6’‘. Paddles great, but, the lightness just doesnt feel right to me. His old 9’1’’ was poly, and even though it was a bit on the heavy side, i liked the solid feel of it, and the momentum of it, it just flew. The new board is fast, but, doesnt seem to push through chop as good. But, i prefer weight in my boards, so maybe that’s why i like poly.
Welp…its an impossible question…as you probably knew when you posed it 
For the ride (on classic logs that I prefer) I like a balsa compsand over 2# EPS. More liveliness & twang - but also weight for that classic glide stability - and they stay engaged in a wave better than anything else.
Appearance? Gotta admit…I get a little over the “kitchen floor” appearance of plain balsa sticks. I see why Bert did some sprays… I’m still a sucker for a great clean poly gloss job over cutlapped volan.
Easy build? No contest. Close-tolerance blank and UV poly. Good for sales…second or third rate for users, really.
Low toxicity for backyarders with kids & neighbors…the award has to go to 2.5 or 3# EPS with epoxy glassing. Totally functional board, “just right” weight and flex, Patagonia’s been doin’ it green for a decade or more.
Hollow? Never ridden one.
PVC-skinned popout? Pretty much the Corvettes of the 80’s: great paint, lousy handling*.
*Longboard-specific reviewer in the house
Howzit Herb, 100% Poly,that's what I build and ride.Aloha,Kokua
So what you are saying Herb is this…
6’0" rocketfish with 2# EPS with 6/6/6 Resin Research epoxy. Handshaped, hand glassed, love the way it rides and it still comes in at around 5lbs. I’ve been abusing it for 2 years now and it still rides great and is ding-free. The money I’ve saved replacing it has allowed me to play around with other sizes/shapes. Riding a 2# stringerless 6’4" that has 17oz. deck and 15oz. bottom vacuum bagged. Still haven’t gotten the shape exactly where I want it but can see the potential.
I like EPS/Epoxy for the light weight and durability in my performance boards, but with that said, I’ve got a 5’10" quad that’s a Clark Green blank with 6/6/6 UV resin and it’s still in good shape after a couple years. Tried and true, I’m hesitant to go to an EPS/Epoxy shape on this one just because it works well and has been quite durable. No reason to change what works.
It all has it’s time and place.
I can’t wait to try a compsand though… I drank the coolaid on that one a long time ago just haven’t had the chance to get all the pieces of the puzzle.
After now spending a bit of time on both materials, and spending time on both materials in Ca and Hawaii waves here is what I know (at least for me):
If you want a board that is more responsive and athletic, then the epoxy is the ride.
If you want a more traditional and secure ride, then poly is your beast.
Hawaii waves don’t need no EPS, there’s plenty of juice to do your thing.
California waves usually need a little helping hand, EPS is great in CA. EPS in CA waves make you a super star.
EPS/Epoxy helps me get higher up and turn faster on a wave. Poly gives me a solid, set the board in the water feel, but poly gives me a slower response time. Chest to 2x oh EPS. 2x oh to 3 oh then it’s poly time.
EPS is a bigger project to create, Poly is…well Poly, its familiar and fun.
What do I ride: I currently prefer EPS. And to take it astep further I perfer the EPS parabolic, or EPS with a PVC stringer.
My favorite board lately is an 8’0" eggy mini LB, 2# EPS glassed with 6+6 and 4+4 glass and AST resin.
Good flex, and extremely durable. I’m surprised AST hasn’t taken off more. Strong stuff.
I’ve also got PUPE, PU/epoxy and EPS/epoxy boards in different shapes.
The epoxies are certainly more durable that the PE.
I like the feel of my PUPE longboard, but they just don’t hold up.
EPS/epoxy for me. Sure, it’s harder to work with, takes longer, is less aestheticly pleasing, more expensive… blah blah blah. But if built correctly, they ride great, are more durable, lighter, less toxic, and (from what I’ve heard) to some degree less environmentally destructive.
EPS and epoxy have come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go. I’d spend more time, energy and money on materials that are more environmentally sound, if they were made readily available and I had the means to work with them. Sugar blanks? Pass them over! Hemp cloth? I’ll take it! Recycled, biodegradable, organic, low fat, polymer resin? Gulp!
As long as it rides good, count me in.
We all have to do what we have to do. Whatever suits our purpose and desires. I care about the environment (at large and in my shop) so I choose epoxy.
Rode my EPS/epoxy resin swirled MR Twinnie knock-off today in chest high peelers. I left the water stoked as ever, and can’t wait to do it again.
I’ve ridden a handful of surftechs, and only liked one. Rode epoxy boards from the early 90’s and didn’t like the way they felt so bouyant.
The compsands are slightly heavier, and I think that helps them sink in turns better. I love the durability of a balsa compsand with a good glass job. Almost indestructable, and that speaks volumes for me.
PU/PE is the gold standard, it’s quicker and easier to make, but doesn’t have the durability I’m enjoying with Balsa compsands. The surftechs don’t have the durability of our Balsa compsands either.
Love the glide of heavy boards… short or long…I like the slow soild carving turns of the poly boards… Rode a 9’0" eps last summer a few times and really felt to snappy for my style. 6’ to 8’ here on the east coast is really as big as it ever gets, so you have to factor that in.
Poly here.
I can’t say one is ‘better’ than the other, but now that I have worked with (std. construction) eps/epoxy for some time, I prefer it. I feel it has more advantages with better and longer lasting structural characteristics in a surfboard. I think that poly will always be around, and has a definite place(s) in the quiver. I don’t think the poly/epoxy debate will go away anytime soon. And that’s good. I like both. Each have their advantages that can be utilized in certain surfboard shapes.
One is not better, two is.
I take it Mr.Harbour is a poly guy too?
Wood/Epoxy
I’ve got 2 of each. Both of my 6’6" are poly while my 6’1" twinzer and 6’3" shortboard are 2# EPS.
I’m an polyester boy.
I just like what I can do with it and it works out better for me in the long run.
Possibly not Herb if you take your health into account . . . many polyurethane foam and polyester resin guys get the you know what.
Might be time to give it up, a better chance at the long run?
Regards
Roy
I have not made up my mind yet. I’ll probably continue to make both depending on cost and such. My eps boards do feel lively. I do everything in an open car port. When it’s cold, epoxy is inconvenient. The slow cure time means more bugs, leaves, dust, pollen, whatever in my lams.I can do uv polyester during a rain storm. All I need is a five minute break in the storm. I like a heavier board when there is a lot of water moving around and strong winds during the winter. I love the look of the polyurethane board when it is all shaped, sanded and ready to be laminated. Don’t get the same pleasure from eps. The dam epoxy sure gets dirty, too. The stuff I use tends to yellow quickly. I still don’t trust the foam in terms of water intrusion and air. My one board hissed like a punctured tire through a pin hole. I would like to try the #3 eps and see how it shapes and surfs. Still trying it out I guess. Mike
eps/epoxy. Almost 20 years and still counting. Why? Big guy riding little waves. pupe can’t compete in that arena.
I have a love/hate relationship with both…
Epoxy doesn’t stink,
Poly I can control jell time better by adjusting catalyst amounts depending on conditions,
“It goes on and on and on ,It’s Heaven and Hell”.
Just joking !
It’s all good. I love surfing.
Just finished a eps/epoxy board ,and have a poly board ready for pin line and gloss. Scored a EPS blank and wheeling and dealing to score a poly blank…
EPS/Epoxy and compsand…
Nobody needs to die to make surfboards…