Talk the talk, but I ride a Firewire and they surf exceptionally well. It is also holding up extremely well. Regardless of whether Firewire the company succeeds, the technology, even in the watered down commercial form, is an advancement. It validates epoxy. It validates parabolic rails. It validates composite construction. It also validates that these types of boards can be built custom or in mass.
It’s seems that most of the “local shapers” we are all supposed to “support” are just slipping back into their old habits. And consumers are still buying into the new board every six month scam. They are only content because they are ignorant of other options. These people have two boards in there quiver. They are basically the same boards, one is just on it’s last leg. There is no surf spot in the world that is perfect year round for one board. Wave pools would be a clever retort, so stuff it.
Bert was right if your boards last longer and still maintain their performance characteristics you can buy other boards to round out your surfing experience. This was his revenue model. It had the consumers best interest at heart.
We need more Bert Burgers in our local board building communities. My money is going to the board builders who think like Bert. Give us better performing, longer lasting surfboards.
Is this meangreen or monkey shines? You guys have a very similar writing style. Watered down commerical form? At least that sounds about right. It validates nothing. Talk to me in ten years and then we will see. Sell it all you want, just like Firewire is selling it, but poly has 50 years behind it of fairly consistent performance and nothing has knocked it off yet. In fact…I would say it’s a poly world, not an epoxy world, popout world or parabolic rail world. Claims claims and more claims. If you guys like that stuff …great. More power to ya. Why cut on local shapers by saying Local shapers we are “supposed” to support. Shapers create the stuff big corporations copy or rip. Not the other way around. In fact didn’t Firewire…go to one of those “local” shapers we are “supposed” to support for help?
Also…what does “slipping” “back” into their old habits mean? No local shaper I know buys into the new board every six month scam. Most of the ones I know “personally” believe boards should be built right and to last. The Herd does like to buy into that scam because the magazines and corpo board labels (with light glass job waifers) sell them on the latest greatest. Kind of the same way Firewire is now doing. Familiar ring to it. Oh yeah and everyone is ignorant that does not buy into the latest and greatest. They couldn’t possibly stay on poly if they would just give Firewire or any other “new” tech a try. I am open…but Have not seen anything from Firewire other than a pretty package yet.
I have poly boards that are ten years old, five years old, and they ride just fine. The shapes are timeless. I also own some beautful handshaped epoxy boards that ride unreal that I have had awhile. The problem with the things like Firewire and the host of popouts is the poly stuff has been around and will likely remain for time to come. The shapers don’t let go of it because like many of us…they have seen all the hyped up stuff come and go and yet poly still remains. When some new tech comes out that replaces poly like foam replaced wood…then most all of us will likely switch. Until then…many of us will try some of the stuff we like, keep an open mind, but enjoy what we know works as well.
So is your money going to Bert, another local shaper like Bert or to Firewire? Boardbuilders can be a really vague term now days. Again…not a personal attack, but just exchanging ideas.
