Hi guys, hope Im posting this in the right forum.
I was wondering what the lightest possible surfboard construction would be. My guess is an all-Carbon Fiber board, I have looked online and seen a few companys, Aviso, Blackboard NZ, and Hydroflex.
Does anyone know about the differences in these technologies and which would be the most preferred choice? If there is another construction other than CF to create the lightest possible, please let me know.
Hi,
Not sure it’ll last but something like a hollow with cardboard skeleton and just glassed. Carbon fibers with just the right amount of resin (vacuum bag ?). Hollow fins, hollow leash plug… hum maybe too much.
Why is the objective of this quest ?
I’m not sure that lighter is better, u’re not afraid that it’ll borke at the first wipe out ?
Zourite.
the lightest viable surfboard that I have heard of is a balsa compsand.
CJ3 was getting some really low weights as were others on this forum.
I’m with Zourite though. I’m not convinced that lightest is best.
Also seems to me that ALL CF boards are fools gold.
Carbon in certain places maybe but not the whole board.
…the litest board Ive ever done was a paulownia composite…project abandoned because it was too lite , and needed some weight to be added to make it go better…not too many people bothered with the ultra-lietness thing these days…which is good.
Been riding this babe for the last couple of days and Im blown away, incredibly well rounded board, speed, drive, great in the pocket… just perfect! Really like how it just fits my style so well. It feels like the stepup/higher performance version of my 5’4 M80-S swallow and I just love that!. It makes me wonder why I never got a WB before.
Insanely light at 3.5 lbs!! Mike and the Brasington Bros rised the bar even higher, I cant notice anything that sets this build appart from the rest of my boards to make it that light, feels just as solid as the rest. Being this light I thought it could be an issue in strong winds/chop, but it is living proof that boards under 4 lbs are nothing but better in small waves regardless of conditions and theres no drawbacks to it when waves get more oomph.
Big thanks for this awesome board Coil Team, it is safe to say I’ll re-order this board as many times as it takes so dont you dare miss the file!.. even if it takes a while to go through this one first :)
WB 5’6x18.5
@Ivan’s board: Geez, that’s pretty light!
@Kayu: I wish you posted more of your stuff on here.
Also, I would LOVE to get my hands on some paulownia
Thanks for the responses, yeah I meant lightest viable, not lightest possible, sorry about that.
Is there a shaper actively making “balsa compsand” (or another ultralight but viable construction) boards here, or should I try Coil Team?
Josh Dowling
can’t go wrong with either of those.
his boards are super light
and good looking too he’s in Corpus Cristi TX
Josh is a pro but he’s in AU
Gary Young makes the same but he’s on the Big Island in Hawaii
Drew Baggett, inspired surfboards(florida) are the lightest boards/strongest I have touched. Great shapes and hi tech build. I would get a J Dowling board if I lived in AU for sure.
We had a cat from the US come over here with a brand new one of these. Was stalking it up, until it snapped doing a turn on it’s first surf. His mind changed pretty quickly.
A 3 1/2 pound surfboard? Doesn’t it get expensive replacing boards as their decks crush?
I mean the blank alone weighs a pound and a half at best if using light weight EPS
So that leaves one pound per side for resin , fabric, and fins. I guess skipping the hot coat helps, but not a lot of strength there.
I dunno Everysurfer, coils have great reviews as far as durability go.
Not to split hairs, but if the blank is nominal 1.5 lb EPS, it likely weighs more like 1.35 lbs per cu ft. I don’t know the exact volume on that board, but I’m guessing somewhere around .7 cu ft., which would put the shaped blank at ~.95 lb. Just sayin, there’s a bit more wiggle room on the reinforcement than one might think at first.
If I had enough scratch to order me a coil, my only hesitation would be to decide which model.
is Coil using 1.5lb EPS for sure or could it be lighter?
I’m fucked if I know what my JD boards are made of but they are light, lively fast and strong. Oh and they look beautiful too
Yo Beery I’m pretty sure they’re made of AWESOME!!
…I do not know about the Dowling boards lightness but in Japan i grabbed a few new Sunova and they are not so light.
