also I tried Firewire back in 2008 or so while living in new england and working at surf shop out there. Met the guys at ASR in San Diego, tried the boards and was hooked. Haven't owned a PU since then. Will never go back even if I get fired, HA!
also I tried Firewire back in 2008 or so while living in new england and working at surf shop out there. Met the guys at ASR in San Diego, tried the boards and was hooked. Haven't owned a PU since then. Will never go back even if I get fired, HA!
6'0 - 175lbs - 29yrs - SoCal -
503 TG Baked Potato - 506 RF Potatonator - 506 WRF Vanguard - 510 FST Unibrow - 600 FST Michel Bourez - 600 FST Alternator - 602 FST Alternator Round - 603 FST Artillery
Firewire Social: Facebook - Twitter - Vimeo - Youtube
Hey All, use my Firewire email, [email protected] for emergency issues, not my forum inbox. However, please avoid contacting me directly with questions on choosing a board, just use the glorious forum. Cheers!
Chris just secured another term in office...
INSTAGRAM .... corepersonaltraining
6ft..90ish kg..35+ years surfing
WHERE'S MY VANGUARD, WHERE'S MY VANGUARD, WHERE'S MY VANGUARD, WHERE'S MY VANGUARD,*WHERE'S MY VANGUARD.... ETC
IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED,
IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED,
IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT,
IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE,
IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE, IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE, IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE, IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE, IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE
SWEET POTATO--- R/F -- 5'4 -------------------------- fins controllers
VANGUARD -------- WRF -- 5'6 ------------------------- fins futures ea blackstix..may test something a little bigger and stiffer
HELLFIRE ----------- R/F -- 5'10 ------------------------ fins futures SA3,SA4 honeycomb
FLEXFIRE ----------- R/F -- 6'2 x 18 3/4 x 2 1/2 ------ fins futures JC honeycomb
MICHEL BOUREZ------------6'2 --thick then thin ------- fins futures JC honeycomb, AM2 techflex heavy chop, ea b/stix at 84kg, now testing AM2 hex
ALTERNATOR ------ R/F -- 6'4--for bad back days---- fins futures JC honeycomb
and countless others (mostly nev's)
youngest grommet 45kgs throws my hellfire around with SA3's or in mush uses EA (techflex "cuz they look da bomb") and deviant
I'll make a little prediction, the PU sector of the market will shrink to what will be considered a niche market. Even my local shaper is doing epoxy and carbon fibre flex (similar concept to the FW's balsa parabolic rails). It seems more local shapers are following this trend and offering the choice of PU or EPS tech, thus validating the newer technologies and gaining them wider acceptance. With the advantages that they offer who is going to choose heavier more fragile PU anymore? It is still perhaps a good medium for experimenting with new shapes as I think it is a little easier to hand shape, for those that still do - another area that is changing too, with its own contentious emotional debate I'm sure. Hand shaping or machine shaping, they are just methods, it is the design that is important to me.Originally Posted by Chris
For me FW was my next step after Tuflite - which I gravitated to for its advantages for travel (lighter stronger). It is still as much about the designs as the technology though, if Nev's designs weren't as good as they are, I might not be here.
Jesus is coming, look busy!
Moving forward or just spinning faster?
5'8 RF Vanguard 32.2L FCS H3 quad
6'0 FST Dominator 34.8L FCS PC SF4 quad + stabiliser
6'0 FST Spitfire 34.9L FCS PC R2 quad + stabiliser
6'2 FST Jacknife 33.3L FCS PC quad front/rear TC Redlines/TC Aqualines
6'2 FST Hellfire 33.7L FCS PC R2 quad + stabiliser (x 2, yes 1 here, 1 there!)
6'4 FST Alternator 34.?L FCS PG7
6'7 FST Hellrazor 36.5L FCS R2 thruster
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6'5 FST Hellrazor 33.5L FCS coming
I reckon there's definitely a role for local shapers including with epoxy boards, even with traditional foam. The major downside for the trad shaper as I see it is you are still left with a traditional stringer. There's a few guys, including the guy who does my standard boards, who are so caught up in the traditional craftsmanship I don't know if they'll look at parabolic rails/epoxy etc. I don't include EPS foam there as to my mind that's the least important of the developments (albeit lighter). EPS does come with a downside in terms of managing dings immediately. But I reckon you'll see glassing houses getting better with epoxy. You see it already. And if a local guy with low overheads and high skills can sell you a custom shape for $750 with the durability of epoxy with relatively low weight then I reckon they'll still compete. I reckon though the days of traditional PU shapes hand shaped in big factories in Australia (and the US) to sit on surf shop racks is dead.
47yoa, 177cm, 90kg, Intermediate+
Dom 6'4" with K3 fins
Unibrow 6'4" with KR JP5 fins
Quadrafive 6'6" with KR JP5 Carbon Tune
18 months now, Started with the 6-4 Dominator in 2010, Then the 6-6 Quadra - 5 , then the 6-4 Hell Fire. I also sold most all my PU boards and change over to Firewire and Future fins. I save a couple of PU swap out boards for ding repair time and I have one on another Island Oahu at my brothers house, (he shaped them).
6'-6" (198cm) tall Giraffe, 197 pounds (89kg) Heavy, 50 years young, 37 years surfing 3 days a week avg
Quiver::: 6-3 Activator RF / 6-4 Dominator RF / 6-4 Hellfire FST / 6-6 Quadra Five FST / 6-8 Rawson Hyperskate II / 6-9 Northern Alliance pintail / 37" Great Wave C-7 Carver
Fins::: Futures AM-2 fronts (4.79"), V2F4 quad rears (3.75") Rusty quad rears (3.85") Stamps quad rears (4.0")
stoked on the good words everyone!!
6'0 - 175lbs - 29yrs - SoCal -
503 TG Baked Potato - 506 RF Potatonator - 506 WRF Vanguard - 510 FST Unibrow - 600 FST Michel Bourez - 600 FST Alternator - 602 FST Alternator Round - 603 FST Artillery
Firewire Social: Facebook - Twitter - Vimeo - Youtube
Hey All, use my Firewire email, [email protected] for emergency issues, not my forum inbox. However, please avoid contacting me directly with questions on choosing a board, just use the glorious forum. Cheers!
The next generation of foam is coming along: IXPS, it's EPS but with closed cells and low void space. As I understand it the reason EPS will absorb water is because between the closed cells of foam there is space where the water seeps in. By using a better blowing process and eliminating the void between the cells they are solving the problem. I have an epoxy board with IXPS and it got dinged and didn't appear to absorb any water before I got around to fixing it.
Jesus is coming, look busy!
Moving forward or just spinning faster?
5'8 RF Vanguard 32.2L FCS H3 quad
6'0 FST Dominator 34.8L FCS PC SF4 quad + stabiliser
6'0 FST Spitfire 34.9L FCS PC R2 quad + stabiliser
6'2 FST Jacknife 33.3L FCS PC quad front/rear TC Redlines/TC Aqualines
6'2 FST Hellfire 33.7L FCS PC R2 quad + stabiliser (x 2, yes 1 here, 1 there!)
6'4 FST Alternator 34.?L FCS PG7
6'7 FST Hellrazor 36.5L FCS R2 thruster
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6'5 FST Hellrazor 33.5L FCS coming
My pleasure Chris as it has made me a better surfer as I age!
To answer the original question I think it has been since 2007-8 as I had a Futura, old style, and then got a DOM, and then got a Flexfire, and then got a SP, and now I have the Hellfire. I am totally hooked, although I must admit I need to surf more. Once a week is not really cutting it.
6'0" Spitfire RF (Futures) / 6'2" Spitfire FST (FCS) / 6'1" El Fuego FST (FCS) / 6'2" Hellfire FST (Futures) / Alternator 6'4" FST (FCS) / 6'10 ADDvance RF (FCS) /
42 years young / 6'3" 180 lbs
Stuff I owned and sold: 5'6" Sweet Potato (FCS) (Sold) / 6'0" DOM (FCS) (Sold) / 6'2" DOM (FCS) (Sold) /
I look forward to that for sure.
Chris, is there any word if/when Firewire will incorporate IXPS in its boards? Or is it happening already?
47yoa, 177cm, 90kg, Intermediate+
Dom 6'4" with K3 fins
Unibrow 6'4" with KR JP5 fins
Quadrafive 6'6" with KR JP5 Carbon Tune
The R&D guys have looked into it, but there is stuff in the pipeline that has our current focus. It doesn't mean we'll never work with it, but right now we aren't. Great heads up though and killer stuff!
Cheers!
6'0 - 175lbs - 29yrs - SoCal -
503 TG Baked Potato - 506 RF Potatonator - 506 WRF Vanguard - 510 FST Unibrow - 600 FST Michel Bourez - 600 FST Alternator - 602 FST Alternator Round - 603 FST Artillery
Firewire Social: Facebook - Twitter - Vimeo - Youtube
Hey All, use my Firewire email, [email protected] for emergency issues, not my forum inbox. However, please avoid contacting me directly with questions on choosing a board, just use the glorious forum. Cheers!
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