Hey Everybody,
I am wondering what material this LINEAR FLEX TECHNOLOGY (LFT) secret " aerospace composite" Firewire is using now on their surfboards…
It is strange, because they say it is 3mm thick. But on the tail (that is thicker than 6mm) there is no eps showing off and no joints…
http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/news/firewire-launches-linear-flex-technology-lft/
Cheers,
Divinycell
Yes, this is the sandwich panel they are using. But what I am looking for is their: “LFT incorporates Firewire’s new SPRINGER HD, a 0.75” (18 mm) wide aerospace composite that runs down the centerline of the board”.
It is black and looks almost like MDF. It does not like carbon fiber.
Yes, it is a sandwich, made with slabs of BS, and slathered with hype.
You mean the strip of black High density foam???
Words of wisdom…
I mean the black strip in the center of the board. I don’t mean the PVC sheet (Airex or whatever the brand is).
It does not look like a high density foam.
They call it: “SPRINGER HD, a 0.75” (18 mm) wide aerospace composite that runs down the centerline of the board, representing the next generation in our SPRINGER technology.”
What does BS mean?
Yeah, a lot of hype!. But it works (businesswise) cause the silly crowd loves to get mucked.
“Aeorspace composite” could mean a range of materials – not necessarily exotic or new.
aer·o·space
ˈerōˌspās
noun
the branch of technology and industry concerned with both aviation and space flight.
com·pos·ite
kəmˈpäzət
adjective
1.
made up of various parts or elements.
“Engineering composites are typically built-up from individual plies that take the form of continuous, straight fibres (eg. carbon, glass, aramid etc.) embedded in a host polymer matrix (eg. phenolic, polyester, epoxy etc.), which are laminated layer-by-layer in order to built up the final material/structure.”
The deck material is a thin skin of some unnamed white material. It could be any number of things. The .75" “aerospace composite material” is the black strip of high-density foam (probably divinicell) you see running down the center, visible only on the bottom side of the board. As the description on the website explains, it doesn’t go all the way to the deck. Their explanation for this is so that the deck can compress (dent) and not experience the ridging that you have likely seen in a conventionally-built surfboard on the deck, along the wooden stringer where the foam gets crushed, the stringer doesn’t, and the fiberglass along that joint begins to crack.
I have personally never tried it. Some people liked it in certain boards. Others didn’t. It’s 4-year-old marketing at this point. My feeling when it came out was that it was an attempt to get away from balsa rails - which were a cornerstone of the original Firewire design scheme and brainchild of Bert Berger - because they were too challenging to do well in mass production. But they had to come up with something techy to replace it.
BS = Bovine Manure
It’s painted black it’s light Brown seems to be pvc foam. Others use pu foam in around 90 kg/m3.
If it’s proprietary then they probably don’t want you to know. Unless you are desperately trying to copy them, does it matter?
My brother and I used 1/8" thick bamboo as a springer about 12 years ago. Not sure if he put it there on his own, or through conversations with Bert Berger.
I suspect it was proprietary only in the sense that they wanted to imply something uniquely high tech…
I suspect that variants of springer tech similar to your bamboo would be more effective.
LFT as i see it is a way to sell more boards, by offering a lesser build than their FST, which is actually a damn good sandwich build for a production board.
The problem with FST is I bought a 5-6 year old used FST board recently, fairly cheap. It has heel dents and a repair on a rail, you can see the weave too well and there are even a few dry spots, but it’s a biggish potato groveler that weighs well under 7lbs, is pretty old and shows no sign of quitting. Not doing the sales department any favors.
They say LFT feels more like PUPE.
I think they mean, feels more like a crummy PUPE, when it snaps under your foot.
Or maybe it’s all about the new, colored stripe on the bottom.
If I bought an LFT, I would probably wrap it in 6oz carbon biax + a deck patch, before use --I’m a clutz, and a kiter as well.
Some of the shapes they have, are decent enough I have actually considered doing this. But nah.
BTW if you do instagram, look at Kazuma’s take on this space age springer. Hilarious. His is definitely vinyl, and comes on a roll.
It’s divinycell that has a black cosmetic applied to it.