Snapped Again!

[sammy]

I have had 3 5'5 El Feugos this year and love them. Best fun size board I have ever ridden. The problem is that they keep snapping in tiny surf.
It is barely pushing 2 foot out the front at Miami (QLD) today and i have snapped another board. The other two boards were broken in nearly identical conditions.
It usually takes alot for me to complain about a board, but I have been surfing since I was very young and have NEVER snapped 3 boards in one year. Usually I have only snapped them in bigger surf, or at least surf with a bit of push.

I have worked in surf shops in the years previous to this and have sold many many Firewires, sometimes on the basis that they are a stronger board (as proclaimed by the manufacturer) so I feel like I've been ripped off and may have ripped off others myself.
If the boards were cheaper I wouldn't have such a problem with them, but these boards are very expensive, especially considering where they are made. The worst bit is, it's not even worth getting them repaired because of the way the are made.
I'd love to keep riding these boards but I can't keep shelling out big bucks for a board that lasts only a couple of months.
I know that you are going to say that all boards snap under the right conditions and I appreciate that, but if the right conditions for snapping a board is consistently 2 foot mush then I think there may be a problem.

I have GoPro footage of it happening, with the wave I was on for proof of how small and pitiful the wave was.

Not a happy customer,
Sammy
photo.jpg

[sammy]

[Goanna]

Ouch! that's some seriously back luck there Sammy - hope you get it sorted.

[sammy]

Thanks Goanna - I love these boards, I just don't think that having to pay $2400 (3X $800 a pop) a year for a summer board is sustainable. This has got to be a manufacturing fault.

[prjwebb]

Hard to see what happened in the video. Did you plunge straight into the sand or something?
Crazy that it's happened to 3. Fingers crossed you get something sorted.

[sammy]

Paddling in I have the camera in my mouth (only way to hold it, lol), then I swap it to my trailing (left) hand. The wave closes out quickly, so just pull through the back with the board at my feet. It get pulled away as i get through the back of the wave and comes up snapped. The lip couldn't have even hit it.

Thanks, I hope it gets sorted too. Exactly what I'm thinking, 3 is way too many.

[FW - Fan]

Sammy, have you even contacted FW about your issues? I too would be pissed if I broke 3 boards as you say you have but I dont think I would put up a video like that before I contacted FW , showed them the vid , and gauged their response to it. Just not sure you have picked the smartest way about getting your case heard with a sympathetic ear..

[sammy]

I'm a consumer and I have had a bad experience so far. Furthermore, I have paid good money for these boards, only to have them break. If it were only a single board I wouldn't post the video. Companies need to be able to stand behind their products, particularly when they are expensive. I have not written off Firewire, only stated my experience so far.
I'll be happy to report any outcome of me posting this video, both here and on YouTube. My aim is not to smear firewire but to inform other consumers of my experiences with their surfboards. I would think my brand loyalty up until this point would grant a sympathetic ear after all.

[FW - Fan]

I'm a consumer and I have had a bad experience so far. Furthermore, I have paid good money for these boards, only to have them break. If it were only a single board I wouldn't post the video. Companies need to be able to stand behind their products, particularly when they are expensive. I have not written off Firewire, only stated my experience so far.
I'll be happy to report any outcome of me posting this video, both here and on YouTube. My aim is not to smear firewire but to inform other consumers of my experiences with their surfboards. I would think my brand loyalty up until this point would grant a sympathetic ear after all.

No one , not even firewire would disagree with your reported experience being less than miserable but I maintain its not a smart way of going about it. Of course you smear FW when you post something like that. Right or wrong any publicity like this would make even the most robust company cringe a little but I think it unfair to post this without even giving FW a chance to "stand behind their product". In truth I had an issue with a FW board and they were very fair and very reasonable but I didnt start the process by publicising the issue without contacting them directly first. Yes, if you contact them and their response isnt fair or reasonable there are plenty of avenues to vent your frustration..but to do it without even talking to them first...I think that is harsh and unreasonable, IMO.

[sammy]

I contacted Firewire on the first occasion. I have replaced the boards at my expense until now. I would say thats giving them plenty of time to stand behind their product.