is he killing our market?
is he tha anti-soul?
wayne lynch as a board with them… what’s up with craft, he is suppose to be mister shaper/surfer/soulman???
what do you think about cobra, should we stop buying everything from china or Thailand?
it is gonna kill all of us.
I may be wrong but I think almost all of the wet suits are made in Thailand. It would be offly cold in the water with out one. And using the labor in Thailand they still cost a lot of money for something that I ware out in about 2 years. I know this is about Randy French, we are all up set about the type of board I think not where it is build. I think this whole thing will blow over, of corse I keep saying the same thing about all of the hip that surfing is getting now.
thynquing about randy french is like validating the trip… dont think about it just do somthing nice and creative perhaps pay me $1000.00 bucks for this 3 stringer 10’7 3/8’’ signature model I 'm making and give it to Bagman so I can balance my pluckin check book and buy some groceries…ambrose…and IF I see you thinking again I’m reporting you to the brain bummer police…at MSNBC
I think that people generally put the same value upon you as you put upon yourself. this means that shapers in general do not value themselves very highly - obviously rf does.
It still amazes me that custom boards have become relatively cheaper over the last decade. The intelligent market response to surftech should be that shapers should immediately put their prices up and glass their boards a little stronger. It’s a truism that the the more a product costs, the more desirable it is - think about it and put your prices up 25 %, no 30 % - you’ll not lose customers and you’ll gain value in the eyes of all surfers.
To have a surfboard made custom should be thought of as an aspirational goal - not a cheap option.
Tk Ambrose, I could use a new board. Silverback I could not agree with you more about the price of surfboards. When I was a kid I worked for a long time at $2.50 per hour(that was minamun wage at that time) to get enough money to buy a 10 foot custom Olson board. I think the board went for like $125 or something like that. After I ordered it and put down some money my folks came up with the rest as a graduation presant, kinda nice of them. Well today that board would cost like $600 from one of the better shapers around. That would not take that long to save. Some of the shaper out there are getting big money for there boards Tyler is asking what $2500 for a board like the singel fin yellow. Tuder is getting like $1500 for some of his boards. These boards would last a long time, and surf like a dream, and still would not take all that long to save the money if we wanted to get one. Support you shaper, go buy a new board. The 3 stringer that Ambrose is making I bet it has a wood tail block too, at $1000 thats a steal.
Silvy…hear here from the dirt floor of the house of uncommons.Ye speak a truth I agree with in totality…may the winds blow a fair bit o’ funds to those what can spend em wisely in the name of George Cooper,a thrifty old friend.these fine pieces o’ artwork are worth much more than money…even without a tailblock ambrose …at the helm steering for a better economic standing in the 1 st world
Hey Ambrose,
How about a raffle at the Swaylocks get together in Sept. Maybe $25 per ticket. First $1000 to you and anything over that goes to Mike Paler to cover some of his costs for this great site. I would love to have a chance to glide on one of those 10 footers.
Roger
Hey you guys. You know, I have been pretty anti-surftech forever. But last week I was talking to one of my grom buddies and he was showing me a buckle in his new Channel Islands Shortboard. The thing was that he had just gotten it back from being fixed, another buckle. Back in the day when Bagman was buying his boards, big-old 10 foot volan strong-as-hell boards were the norm. Everyone was trimming along and hanging 10. But sadly, nowadays that is not the case. The kids now are doing all kinds of maneuvers that stress the hell out of their boards. And they want them lighter lighter and ever LIGHTER. So “If your board is buckling, make it stronger” aka make it heavier school of thought isn’t working. These kids are turning to surftechs… they are lasting longer. Yeah they break also, and ding… but they are lasting longer. At least out at my little fishbowl that I live in… Pleasure Point. And it isn’t helping that there are some kids out there killing it on those things. My point is though, that these poor kids are saving up their money, 4-500 bucks, only to have their boards break in the first couple months? Geez I feel sorry for em. And these kids- they aren’t gunna ride longboards… that option is out of the question. They are going to ride the lightest smallest thing they can find. All of you guys who think that shorboarding sucks… disregard this post. Thanks -Carl
I may cop a lot of flak for this but to me Randy French is someone who feels he can make some money marketing what he feels is a viable alternative to the traditionally constructed surfboard. Personally I don’t think anyone riding an epoxy pop out would ride one if they didn’t feel like the board was a decent ride. If you feel that Randy French sold out, you would have to add all the other shapers who’ve contributed their plugs, which is a who’s who of a lot of great shapers. If the opportunity arose where I could be in RF’s shoes, I’d be lying to you if I said I would’nt take it. Only time will tell who will survive.
Carl Olson, you sir are correct. What has made it even worse is some shapers have gotten used to like making these boards that buckle (always in the same place) and getting 600 bucks per stick. They actually want you to buy 5 new boards from them per year.
I have ridden the new crop of potato chip boards (called this due to their thickness or lack thereof) and can see the benefits. However, most surfer kids cannot afford to spend 3K per year on boards. The surftechs are where its at.
I have been happy with both epoxy and poly boards. I ride them all. However, I would have to say that the future of the ultra thin performance board is going to be in epoxy. Yeah, the pros may stay with poly, but the average kid on the block is going to have to get the most bang for his buck. As far as logs go, I like both, but cannot see getting an epoxy that is longer than 9’0". Just feels weird to me.
Also, what kind of royalties do the shapers get for allowing Surftech and Boardworks to use their shapes and names?
I’m with FoamDust on this one.
And to add…thanks for shaping some truly excellent boards in your career.
Thanks for trying newest technologies.
thanks for the ride in '85-6, you and Mel helped me out…thanks
I have nothing personal against Randy French, he has always been nice and informative to me when I have spoken with him, but Popouts are no more superior than handshaped epoxy. They are different. They are a typical American all about money product. Over hyped, Over rated, and Over priced. Made in sweatshops out of America so the profits are fat and the accountability is low. They are the perfect product for the new generation of surfer who will quit surfing after a couple of years when the craze it gone. I wonder if in 25 more years surfers will find a surftech in a pawn shop and exclaim,“Wow look at this old classic popout,” the same as they might if they found an old Da Cat model or Parish Bolt?
I wonder if in 25 more years surfers will find a surftech in a pawn shop and exclaim,"Wow look at this old classic popout," the same as they might if they found an old Da Cat model or Parish Bolt?
The horror!
RANDY.FRENCH…= genius …the guy had the common sense to know something superior when he saw it , and had the guts to stand up to the established industry even tho people were opposed to him…
his biggest opposition has come from the status quo’ists ,who through rumours and propaganda have stiffeled the natural progression of the surfboard industry towards superior contruction techniques and materials …
the clark lovers have been bagging epoxies for 20 years while continuing to push second world war polyester technology…
now a whole industry has been left twenty years behind …
and i dont hear people blaming clark for holding it back ???
but people blame randy for moving it forward and putting superior boards in the hands of the average surfer???
this guy has made a massive contribution to surfing and to the progression of the industry…little wonder there made in thailand ,coz no one in america would make em without being held to ransom or threatened in some way…
the most bizaar thing tho,people are still trying to fight it …
all you poly lovers out there ‘’‘’‘’ WAKE UP . you gota understand randy has opened up a door and theres gonna be huge amounts of crew chasing custom epoxies ,because theve been exposed to superior equipment and wont go back ,there next choice will be custom ,randy has opened up a huge market for anyone with enough guts to go and buy a vacumn pump some epoxy resin ,eps ,pvc,bagging equipment…and you dont even have to convince anyone its better ,the customer will already know…
theres a market just sitting there and there only choice is surftech…while all these board builders sit around complaining ,wo is me , wo is the industry,why arent i making any money,come on guys get with the program…
im sitting here in oz with close to a ten month waiting list for epoxy boards,while the poly builders around me are sitting there wondering what there gonna do next week,the other guys who are busy do nothing but complain about margins and how hard they have to work…when most of the epoxy guys are naming there price…
the people have spoken ,the choice is there’s not ours ,ultimatly its the customers who determine the direction of the market…
ok so i dont agree with everything surftech…but i say randy french has done a huge service to the surfboard industry…its just to many people dont recognise it yet…
Randy gets the thumbs up from me…
regards
BERT
Carl, FYI, I’m still buying those heavy volan glass big ass boards, and loving the way they surf. I do though agree with you on the epoxy short boards. The grom should have a board that last. I remember what it was like saving money to get a new board. I also agree that the epoxy boards are lighter and stronger and this is what the short boarder need/want. Surftec makes a good product. I just can’t see myself 58 years old 230 lbs tring to ride a short board. When the surf gets to the point that it is too hard to get out on one of my big O heavy boards I set and watch the guys surf the short boards. In fact I have watched you paddle out on your long board and take that no fin short board out and surf first one and then the other. I think Surftec, and shortboards, and longboards have there place. I also think that custom shaped boards be them epoxy or poly. also have there place, and for someone like me customs are a must.
I have a thought for you guys. What if a shaper was making the exact same thing as Randy (surftech)? Then the board would be a custom shaped EPS epoxy sandwich board… would people still scream bloody murder at the sight of it? What if that happens? What if the next generation of kids begins to prefer surftech-style technology? Will custom versions of the boards become a market? What will people say then? I know that at Arrow, Bob Pearson has been building The exact same thing for years… custom for anybody who wants it. He even has an old Mavs gun (for Frosty Hesson) kicking around in the back… it’s so frigging old. So the possibility exists… I am sure there are others that do the same thing. Will the shapers of today be using a complete different technology tomorrow? -Carl
Carl, your right Bob Miller makes those type boards, I think Johnny Rice has made some and there are guys on this site that make them. I don’t think anyone is bitching about custom epoxys. I think it is the popout that everyone is bitching about? Of course what is a shop board but a popout, kinda? I would love for someone to tell me that they could make me a epoxy that I would like. Right now in order to get a board made like I want, they end up very heavy and it is hard for an old man to carry a 30 lb. board. I know what you are thinking maybe I should just quit surfing. Well I’m not going to do that until I can’t walk at all. I tried to send a email to one of the guys on this site about making me a custom epoxy, and never heard back. I have talked to my shaper and he does not want to go there. I have tried to shape myself a board. I just don’t have the where with all to do it like I want, so I gave up on making myself a board a long time ago. Are there any of you custom epoxy guys out there interested in talking to a old fat guy about making a custom epoxy board? Email me at bagman2881@yahoo.com, and we will see if we can work something out. Once I have surfed a epoxy board made like I want, then I will tell you what I think about this being the new wave of surf craft.
I can’t vouch for their skill as shapers (I am too new at it all), but I know of several shapers in So.Cal.
who build custom epoxy boards, both Clark with epoxy resin and EPS or XPS with epoxy.
–4est (ForestFisher@sbcglobal.net)
All politics aside, and purely from a design point of view, I don’t think there is much difference between what French is doing and what Rusty, Channel Islands, Lost, etc. are doing. They all make “models”. I’m not descriminating against these companies, though, because they have their place in the world. Surfers that don’t know what they want in a board, find comfort in buying from these labels. These companies have done a lot of testing on these “models”, so they will work for most of the population. Compared to your local shaper, I consider them big business, and they are doing exactly what they need to do to compete and stay in business.
I can only respect these guys as businessmen until I ride one of their boards.
[RANDY.FRENCH…= genius …the guy had the common sense to know something superior when he saw it , and had the guts to stand up to the established industry even tho people were opposed to him…
his biggest opposition has come from the status quo’ists ,who through rumours and propaganda have stiffeled the natural progression of the surfboard industry towards superior contruction techniques and materials …
the clark lovers have been bagging epoxies for 20 years while continuing to push second world war polyester technology…quote]
I had to wipe the throw up off my face before responding. Surftechs and popouts nor the tech. is new, nor superior and the ones I personally have tried ride like rocks. Status quo? Randy is about as status quo as you get, he does not open any surf shop, he plays politics like the rest of the ridiculous children in the surf industry. They exist because the industry as a whole appeals to those that buy into the name they see in an ad, and want to identify with that name. Regardless if therr is anything behind it or not. Ask around and see how many shapers are happy about how often and how much they are paid. If the deal was that great and the product superior, guys like Rich Harbour would still be on board and praising the popouts. I am sure some of them ride ok, but I still see no major pro riding them and they are simply different not superior or new. As for Randy French being a genius; I guess the jury is still out on that one. You could say the same about Boardworks and Craig Cooper who does not even surf. I would like to see pictures of where the employees of Surftech in Thailand live.