Industry Updates

Jeff 'Doc' Lausch embraces stringerless foam 

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 4 August, 2014 - An industry that has seen little technological innovation in the last sixty years is on the brink of being changed forever. Varial Surf Technology (Varial) has introduced its latest surfboard, a new foam material called Varial Foam, made from an advanced aerospace formula and a new chemistry to surfboards all together. The board is 25% lighter yet stronger as compared to a standard surfboard.

The strength of Varial Foam eliminates the need for a stringer or any other strengtheners that current surfboards require. The compressive strength of the foam makes the board highly responsive to riders by transferring energy directly through the core to the water’s surface; all without compromising flex which is critical to a surfboard’s performance. The lighter yet stronger board makes for a surfboard unparalleled to any other.

Jeff 'Doc' Lausch with a Varial board at Surf Expo in January 2014

“I have been working with the Varial Foam guys in developing this new foam for about a year now,” said Jeff ‘Doc’ Lausch, owner and shaper of Surf Prescriptions, a worldwide surfboard manufacturer located in Huntington Beach. “We have dialed in the formula and it is one of the best surfboard foams ever. Not only is it easy to work with, but the consistency, the speed and performance are amazing. ”

Varial’s first high-modulus core surfboards were made from aluminum honeycomb, the highest-modulus of all core materials. Honeycomb cores were developed during the space race for making lighter and stronger parts than would have ever been possible with wood or foam.

During the honeycomb board R&D process, Varial developed a new, high-modulus surfboard foam for use in the rails. The intention was to also provide this foam to surfboard shapers in blank form. The Varial Foam line of foam blanks captures much of the speed and responsiveness of Varial’s honeycomb boards while maintaining the shaper-friendliness of foam blank surfboards construction and allows shapers to sell surfboards at a competitive price point. Varial Surf Technology was founded in Santa Barbara in 2005 by two lifelong friends, Edison Conner and Parker Borneman. 

The Surfersvillage Interview

Art For Art: Bringing a sculptor's sense to board design

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 7 September, 2014 - If Willy Wonka (the Gene Wilder one, not the Johnny Depp trainwreck) was a low-key bro who shaped surfboards, you’d have something like Jeff ‘Doc’ Lausch. Shaping since the early seventies, Doc gained media attention in the nineties with his futuristic designs.

Long before the future primitives Alaia resurgence he produced a finless board called the Unidentified Surfing Object, yes, the “USO” which instead of  being a simple wood plank, had a metallic and space-age jet wing contour. Yes. Cool, forward-thinking stuff.

But it was his work with iconic teamriders Brad Gerlach and Donavon Frankenreiter and the subsequent line of thinner and smarter boards that etched the Surf Prescriptions logo into the collective surfing psyche. Since then Doc’s built a solid business and continues to experiment with design. His latest jump forward has to do with materials and a new special something called Varial Foam – a stringerless blank that reports to have new, positive flex patterns.

How would you describe what you do for work to a very small, inattentive child?

“I’m a toy maker – I make toys for big boys and girls.”

In the nineties you experimented with design at a time when there wasn’t much experimentation going on with surfboards. Slater’s glass slippers were everywhere and, except for the fireball fish, most surfers wanted to ride his boards & dimensions.  What was the best thing to come out of 90s surfboard design?

“Where not to go? Ha. Unless you’re Kelly Slater, and even he doesn’t ride those things anymore.  I think the biggest thing that happened was that a lot of guys went long boarding, high performance long boarding, because they couldn't ride those ultra thin over rockered needle nose boards that filled the shops racks at the time.”

What was a design that came out of that period  (you tried a finless model) that you still believe in 100% ?

“Its hard for me to say ‘this was 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s’ because I feel every sort of design is continually reinvented over time, so it’s hard to answer that one.”

The current push in design evolution seems to be materials. What materials are you excited about these days?

“Well that’s pretty easy – Varial foam. Out of all the new stuff that’s out there, the Varial foam seems to be the answer to most of the reasons you’d want an advanced material – it’s lighter, stronger, and still has great flex. The foam itself has integrity unlike any other foam core on the market. And the fact that you don’t need a stringer, and all the inconsistency that goes with it – stringer size, stringer flex, uneven glue – with all of those variables out, you’re able to reproduce a board much more easily with Varial foam. It can also be glassed epoxy or poly which is nice to have that flexibility.”

Over your career, what is that you do professionally that you are most proud of?

“I think going outside of the box, trying different materials and different ideas and shapes and things – the fact that I do that often is what I’m most proud of. Being able to bring my creativity to surfboard shaping.”

Tell us what has been your biggest mistake?

“Saying never.”

What did you learn from that mistake?

“You never know… As things progress and things moves forward, you can’t be all things to everyone – you become diluted if you become everything to everybody. But at the same time, by being a certain thing, I don’t want to be pigeon-holed into only being one thing. I try to be what I am, but at the same time, leave myself open to other possibilities. I don’t want to be a hypocrite.”

Doc's Varial Foam designs © Anne Louvet

Is there something going on in the world that makes you scratch your head and think: “But this is soooo important! Don’t they get it?”

“I don’t even know here to go on that… I believe in a higher power, and I think life is just a training ground for that anyways, so everyone’s just on their own path. I don’t think you should judge anyone, because everyone sees things through their own eyes, and has their own agenda, which is a normal, natural thing, so there’s no reason to judge. Let everyone just figure it out.”

Share with us your biggest Rocky Balboa moment. (You know, where he punches the frozen meat and then runs up the stairs).

“Maybe when Jay Larson won the Rusty C5 Challenge at Lower Trestles – it was crazy because the contest was $20,000 winner take all (this was a long time ago, the 90’s, I believe).  It was a pretty cool event - it was $10,000 to the surfer and $10,000 to the shaper, and no one had ever done a contest, and I don’t think anyone has done one since, where the guy that shaped the board was deemed the winner too and was rewarded. So Jay won $10,000 and I won $10,000. That was a pretty cool moment.”

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? Working on cars?

“No… Ah, I don’t know. It’s kind of crazy because I’ve been doing this for so long. I’m a creative and artistic person, so I think I’d be creating and be artistic in another medium other than surfboards; probably painting and sculpting and creating art for art. I feel like my work is art, but it has a use too. I’d probably be doing the same thing that I’m doing, but getting paid heaps instead of what a surfboard builder gets.”

OK, you get to drop into five moments in history – surf or otherwise. Please name them and why.

“I’d love to drop into the cowboys and Indians time with like 25 surfboards, into California especially would be amazing. Be some alien guy that came from the sky and surfed all the great spots without them being super overcrowded like they are now.

I’m supposed to come up with 4 more? I think that’s it…

I dunno, I guess it would be cool to see certain historic events in surfing go down – but I’m not that good of a spectator. I’d rather be out there doing it. I’m a fan – I love to watch it on the web. But if there’s waves, and a Teau’poo final streaming online, I’m not gonna sit inside and watch the contest – I’m gonna get out there and surf myself.”

Surfboard Buyers Guide

From Firewire's Future Shapes Tech to Varial Foam blanks...

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 November, 2014 - Each year surfing gets easier. Wetsuits get warmer and more flexible, while boards get simultaneously more specific and consistent. Since the advent of the shaping machine shapers have been able to take what works with one board, and run with it on another thus creating a line of master craft with the best traits from all previous models.

While the average surfer has benefited from this Auto CAD shaping bonanza, the world’s shaping elite tirelessly search out new ways to make those magic boards better. New materials are the current hot-button topic for surfboards with tried-and-true designs taking on building principles beyond the standard PU foam and fiberglass.

What we have for you now is a sampling of the top surfboards on the market, some with neuvo materials and others in traditional materials. The purpose of this guide is to provide the reader with a as much information as they can get to make an inmored purchasing decision. Or, at the very least a grand display for some hardcore virtual window shopping.

FIREWIRE

Vader
$690
The Vader represents the current pinnacle of Daniel ‘Tomo’ Thomson’s Modern Planing Hull (MPH) Vision.

Dan describes the Vader as a Mind Surfing Machine, which reacts instantaneously to desired directional changes with incredible bursts of speed. Controlled, drawn out carves and radical tight angle snaps are achievable with an effortless and intuitive shift in a surfer’s weight. In addition, paddle power and generally usability have been increased with a larger volume distribution throughout comparative to the Vanguard, which encourages surfers to ride the Vader even shorter than previously considered functional.

Versatility …. The Vader ticks all the boxes and is a stand out performer from waist high to double overhead, offering a natural Quad-fin option which creates significantly increased speed in weaker conditions, or switch to a Tri-Fin for a high-speed surgical attack when the waves demand additional control.

PyzAlien
$690
The PyzAlien is a great all- around performance board, designed to keep speed and flow in weaker conditions, while feeling lively and loose in all types of waves. The fuller outline, wider tail and slightly wider, flatter nose help to produce speed and drive, and make it a fast, easy paddler.

It has a lot of curve through the tail rocker, and that, combined with the bottoms contours of single/double concave running into a nice bit of VEE off the tail keep snappy yet controlled when you tip it onto the rail. A great board for a wide range of waves and conditions, the PyzAlien feels just as good in waist-high slop as it does in overhead juice and will help you get the most out of your everyday sessions.

For more advanced surfers we recommend you ride this board around your height or 1¹" below.

Baked Potato in TimberTek
$740
Dan Mann has struck gold again, Yukon Gold. The BAKED POTATO offers the same small wave performance as the SWEET POTATO with a few subtle design adjustments. The nose is pulled in slightly and some of the rail volume has been removed to allow for even faster rail to rail transfers. The BAKED POTATO has the same aggressive double concaves and 'V-spline' running down the center of the board which allows the board to get up on the rail much faster than the overall design would indicate. Primarily designed for smaller, weaker conditions, the BAKED POTATO will surprise you by its performance characteristics, and how the quad fins set further back and closer to the rail than usual, allow the board to hold with- out sliding, even in larger surf. Get cooking on a BAKED POTATO

SUPER

Fling
$705 SUPERflex
Designed as a shorter and more modern/high performance take on the keel fin fish, it has all the grooviness of the throwbacks with none of the weird oldness. It’s young, rad, and classy all at the same time. Crazy fast down the line, lots of lift, smooth and tight through carves, and progressive in the pocket. Available in SUPERflex technology (pictured). 
• Wide, fishy outline
• Low modern rocker
• Single to double concave to V off the tail
• Designed as a quad but available as a 5 fin
• SUPER wide rounded diamond tail
• Ride 6-8 inches shorter and the same volume as your favorite board

PigDog 
$585
Its curvy outline, wide nose, and pulled in tail make it a perfect fit for pulling in under the lip or taking off deep. It’s a sled for laying down carves on big open faces as well as flicking around in small beachbreak. The PigDog works in myriad conditions and sizes of surf, making it the ultimate travel board.
•    Wide nose and center with a pulled in tail
•    Low to mid rocker
•    Single to double concave 
•    5 Plug Setup for tri/quad Option 
•    Pulled in rounded pin
•    Ride + or – 2” from your shortboard and at a slightly higher volume
•    Also available as step-ups and guns up to 10’ by custom order

Dion Agius’ Siamese Palm Viper
$585
Concerned about having too many shapes to ride—some for airs, some for turns—Dion Agius sought a simple solution. After working closely with Dion on testing and developing, the final SPV is the best of both worlds: while remaining smooth and clean for turns and rail work, it won’t hold you back while blasting airs.
• Curvy outline with wider center and subtly pulled in nose and tail
• Medium rocker with extra flip off the tail
• Single to double concave with slight V off the tail
• Tri fin
• Ride 3-4 inches shorter and at the same volume as usual board 
• Squash tail

VARIAL FOAM

"Seahawk" from Surf Prescriptions by Jeff "Doc" Lausch
$700 - $900
Maximum high performance short board. It features a deep single concave running nose to tail deepest between the fins and extra tail rocker compliments the deep concave This combination of concave and rocker adds speed and maneuverability resulting in to one of our highest performance models ever. Built for advanced surfers interested in advanced surfing. Comes with a round tail but also available in squash and swallow tail designs.

"SPDR" from Spyder by Dennis Jarvis
$700-$900
The SPDR was based off of hours of watching local South Bay surfers on performance boards; and the plight they had in trying to get speed out of their boards while pushing their board rail to rail. Derived from the 2012 "Utility" model. The SPDR is more of an “every-mans” high performance short-board. The outline has a slight "bump" or break in the rail right next to the front fins where all the drive comes from.  The break in the rail adds more curve to the outline, my basic board design theory on ALL surfboard designs is "the more curve you have in the rail, the less rail you have in the water, the less rail you have in the water, the tighter of an arch you can make." 

With a deep single to double concave, a little extra lift in the tail, a little wider hip with softer rails in the front 2/3 of the design helps make digging a rail a thing of the past (well almost) The SPDR is designed to ride about 1" shorter than your normal short-board. This board is a good all around board for surfers whose ability is average or above.

V2 Shortboard from ...Lost by Matt Biolos
$700 - $900
In Matt's words, "Starting with what I considered to be our best hybrid, the V2-Rocket, I stretched the outline into a pointy, yet conservative, nose and blended the “Rocket” tail into a wide-ish, smooth squash. The exceedingly low entry rocker, coupled with continuous and generous tail lift, made for a board that both paddled and caught waves well, but turned tight and precise in the pocket. It features a similar foil and rails as its predecessor and continues to have slight double concave deck under the rear foot (which really “locks” the surfer into place)."

RUSTY SURFBOARDS

WTF
$685
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Watercraft Testing Federation? Winged Tail Fish? What The F*#%? Who Thinksofthis Freakinstuff? Who knows, but this board is designed from a little bit of everything over the years. We mixed a late 70’s twin fin outline with a hull from the late 80’s (light concave in the midsection going into a light vee through the fins and off the corners). Thinning out the nose gave it a 90’s foil with a relaxed rocker on both ends. Also put a touch of today’s modern rail on there, which is moderately full with a firm tucked edge in the last third of the board. The winged swallow out the back provides good drive off the bottom with a quick release off the top. Built with a 5 fin option for maximum versatility, the WTF excels in knee high average surf, up to quality overhead. 

The Rooster
$685
The Rooster came about because of a “what if “conversation with some of the team. It was loosely based on the Hustler. We changed the outline, rocker and venturi configuration, so that the board would fit better in rounder waves but still retain its performance in everyday surf. P.S. it was named after an enormous Jersey Giant Rooster who claims every morning…. loudly!!!! 

Blackbird
$685
The SR-71 is the fastest combat jet ever built. Blackbird is its nickname. Based on that concept we designed this board to cover ground quickly! Developed for the bigger days chasing down peaks in open waters and battling currents, it is the perfect wave-hawking weapon. It features added volume, an area-forward outline, lower entry rocker and a light vee in the nose, allowing it to paddle into anything, even in the toughest of surf conditions. With a slight single to double concave bottom running through the fins and rounded pintail, the Blackbird delivers smooth transitions and fast, clean lines. A heavy hitter for any arsenal!

HYDROFLEX

Hydroflex Roberts Dreamcatcher
$775
The Dreamcatcher by Robert Weiner is a very versatile surfboard with a very moderate rocker. It carries foam throughout the whole board allowing the surfer to catch plenty of waves. Single to a double concave with a pulled in thumb tail which helps the board hold in bigger surf. The pulled in tail also helps control high-speed turns. The Dreamcatcher is a very fun board to ride. It can be approached from surfers of all different abilities due to it's shape. Will function well in everyday surf due to the moderate rocker, fuller rails and nose outline. Also works great in very hollow fast waves due to the pulled tail and double concave. The Dreamcatcher is a barrel machine and will fly through sections. The board has a moderate rocker with a small amount of flip in the nose allowing it to go really fast and avoid pearling on the drops. Allows you to cruise and have tons of speed without working too hard for it. The rails are medium to full for stability and float, with tucked hard edges for speed and holding power. It's made for waves between knee high to two feet over head. Five fin is standard, can also be ordered as thruster or with a single fin box and side bites.

Hydroflext Maurice Cole Metro
$775
The Metro by Maurice Cole combines width and thickness from the old retro fish, but introduces a tow inspired bottom rocker and a very deep concave. More width in the tail creates a larger sweet spot and an accentuated change in curve at the 1 mark loosens the board up. This surfboard replaces all Fish type boards.

This design has a foot in both camps. Stability and float while still maintaining the edgy characteristics of speed and rippability. Evidence that you can occasionally teach an old dog new tricks. The Metro is easy to turn and will suit surfers that like a retro feel, but want performance from a board. Unlike an old school fish the Metro 3 will sit high on steep fast sections and won’t morph into a shopping trolley style slide when you want to lay a full tilt cutback or carve deep lines into the wave face. Ask and you shall receive. 

Hydroflex Lost Sub Buggy
$770
Lost latest work with Kolohe is a smash-up hybrid of the Sub Driver and Beach Buggy. Designed for surfing small waves with a “good wave” approach. Fast and foiled for on rail surfing, but full and forgiving for sub-par and sloppy surf. It’s the Sub Driver outline combines with the Beach Buggy rocker, blended with a new foil. Refinements during the PRIME and WT comps have led us to this board that grovels but is still a true high-performance board. It is fast becoming a go to fave for team riders looking for an edge in small wave contests, as well as the local crew around So Cal who are always ready for a something new.

JETSON

The Haddock
$3,300
Jetson's engineers have worked on different prototypes for years and have now finalized the latest generation of self-propelled surfboards. The HADDOCK is a gateway into improving your surfing much faster.

6’8” x 21” x 2 ¾”
aluminium alloy propeller
lipo Battery
1h20´ autonomy in eco mode

HAYDENSHAPES

Love Buzz
$695 PU
Love Buzz is a performance shortboard, described as the ‘Love Child’ of the Hypto Krypto and The Ando model. Hayden’s latest model addition to the range, this model is a favourite of team rider Creed McTaggart and spent more than two years in development. The design blends surface area, rocker and performance curves to create a very all-round, fast and flowing short board. It will always carry speed yet give you that sensitivity to surf in all areas of the wave.

It has a medium / flat entry rocker for easy paddling and plenty of speed down the line or through flatter sections. It has the signature HS flatter rocker through the center of the board for flow and speed, similar to the Hypto Krypto. Out the back end it has a medium lift to allow the board to fit into critical turns.

It starts with a slight single concave in the entry through to medium single in the center of the board. This blends into a deep double within the single, with a medium vee double out the last 3.5” of the tail.

RIDERS: Craig Anderson, Creed McTaggart, Marti Paradisis, Warren Smith

Shred Sled
$795 FutureFlex
The Shred Sled is a fish design tweaked to be an all-round surfing board. It has a smooth connected feeling that is fast and flowing. Although it may appear to look like a small wave board, The Shred Sled will surf waves up to 6ft in all conditions.

The unique outline allows a full plan shape, yet a wide round tail is positioned behind the wing to give plenty of performance and curve to fit into all types of waves. The wing allows a straighter outline in the center of the board, which provides plenty of speed down the line. The foil has plenty of volume, yet it is shaped to allow the board to sit in the wave face creating a very smooth connected feel. The wing breaks this connection and water flow to give response and release when you want it.

The Shred Sled is Designed to be ridden 4-5 inches shorter and ¾ to 1 inch wider than your average performance shortboard.

RIDERS: Creed McTaggart, Marti Paradisis 

Hypto Krypto
$795 FutureFlex
Currently one of the most in demand and best selling surfboards globally, The Hypto Krypto is a balance of tradition and modern performance. Suited to the elite level surfer to the everyday surfer, it is often referred to as the ‘one board quiver’ for its versatility across all types of surf conditions – from small 1-3 ft beach breaks, to barrels of up to 8ft.

It has a high amount of volume under the chest, which enables it to paddle like a dream. It’s designed for surfing on the open face, to draw fast flowing lines.

The outline resembles an old school twin fin in the nose, yet it draws back to a tight rounded pintail. The wider straighter outline up front creates plenty of speed, yet the round pintail allows tight turns in the pocket.

The foil has plenty of volume around the chest and center area of the board, yet it refines out to a thinner, pinched rail to keep the board connected to the wave.

The rocker is flat throughout, although holds a little extra lift in the entry, which helps when taking off late or turning in the steeper sections of the wave. The design of the rocker is focused around speed, to enable surfers to make sections that they don’t normally expect to make.

The concave runs from a rolled vee in the entry to a slight single, blending into a vee double out the tail which gives the board great speed and control from rail to rail.

RIDERS: Craig Anderson 

LSD - Luke Short Designs

Chubby Chedda
$685
“Designed by Luke Short, the Chubby Chedda is a refined version of the original Chubby Checker, a favorite of many including Julian Wilson when he’s free surfing or pushing it in expression sessions.

Luke widened the outline slightly while adding a subtle hip behind the front fins, adding more whip through turns. The concaves are also deeper, creating more ‘get up and go’, and the tail rocker has been accentuated for the perfect blend of speed and responsiveness.

The Chubby Chedda is best described as a ‘performance-hybrid’, and should be ridden at least two inches shorter than your standard high performance short board. And if push comes to shove, the design will hold its own in overhead surf as well.”

The Tex
$685
“The Tex is a super stubby little thing for when the waves are super small or you’re just feeling lazy. The bloated girth and thickness of Tex will get you trimming and turning on any wave that breaks. The contemporary single into double concave gives this craft plenty of spark.  A balanced outline combined with a large round squash tail helps with the control of this little animal.

The Tex should be ordered approximately 6 inches shorter than or three four liters more than your conventional short board.”

Twinny
$685
“This Twinny model was inspired by an original Ben Aipa Twin fin. Amazingly fun board for all conditions (just about). To be ordered 4 inches shorter/1 or 2 liters more than your standard shorty. Comes with a third stabilizer fin for the not so daring.”

Big Wave Updates

Mercedes-Benz MBoard project expands with GMac & Varial foam

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 2 January, 2015 - In 2013, Mercedes- Benz Portugal and BBDO developed the MBoard project, a marketing campaign based around the design of the ultimate surfboard for Garrett McNamara to ride massive waves at Nazaré. 

The idea behind it was to reflect the 3 pointed star of the iconic Mercedes logo that represents land, air and sea on to several surf boards. The campaign was extremely successful, earning many advertising and communications awards, overall 20 in 2014, which showed the huge success the project became on a national and international level.

With the global success of the MBoard Project and McNamara’s ongoing adventures it was a no brainer for Mercedes-Benz to sign a contract with Garrett in order to be part of the brand’s global marketing campaign.

The MBoard Project has expanded since 2013, and is now making a series of boards with different materials. The first one was a tribute to Portugal, made of 100% Portuguese cork provided by Amorim Cork Composites. The second one was made from high density foam used to manufacture aircraft wings, a material Garrett himself has brought all the way from Varial Surfboards in California.  The idea behind this new material is to achieve maximum flexibility and to absorb the vibrations when surfing waves over 60ft in Nazaré.

In December 2014 a massive swell hit the coast of Portugal generating massive waves and the perfect opportunity for McNamara to test the foam board’s performance. 

According to Garrett McNamara; “When Mercedes-Benz approached me to help develop the ultimate tow in board it was a dream come true. For the last twenty years I have done my best to incorporate technology in all that I do to make sure everyone is as safe as possible. When the waves reach a certain height in Nazaré it becomes unsafe to paddle. Now, together with Mercedes-Benz, a world reference in technology, aerodynamics and assistance systems, we can apply so much knowledge to develop a board that will perform at the highest level in these giant waves of Nazaré.”

“When riding these monsters its like coming down an icy mountain, with the exception the mountain is constantly moving. With the new Varial foam the board is able to absorb these chops by acting as a dampener. When it gets over 60 feet in Nazaré, we were all going strait just barely holding on. Now, with the new boards, we can actually turn, have fun and enjoy the deep ride.”

In the words of Jorge Aguiar, Marketing Manager at Mercedes-Benz Portugal: “ The MBoard Project is a unique and innovative marketing approach to establish a real partnership with a great human being - Garrett McNamara - enabling Mercedes-Benz to be part of his extreme life, in land and in the water.  We hope that we can contribute to find the best technologies for the best tow in board for Garrett.

Interviews

Garrett McNamara talks about safety at Nazaré

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 3 January 2016 - It’s become as familiar and seasonal as holiday window dressings and ugly Christmas sweater parties - photos of otherworldly giant surf at Nazaré in Portugal. Each season Nazaré blows up and the mainstream press obliges with my-god-those-surfers-are-crazy stories. “Biggest Ever!” and other claims are slung through the daily press along with breathtaking images. And in the middle of the maelstrom one surfer stands calm, Garrett McNamara.

He’s pioneered the spot and has recently been surfing it on a specially constructed and weighted board provided by Mercedes Benz and made of Varial foam technology. The reason GMac tapped the German auto maker was because his current crop of tow-in boards couldn't outrun the speeds at which those giant most-likely-not-meant-to-be-ridden-by-humans waves travel. 
 
Q: Nazaré is heavily documented now. And with each giant swell it seems there is a physical limit to how big a wave humans can ride. What do you need to make it to the bottom of one of those sets that hit the ‘otherworldly’ realm?
You gotta want it first. Then I recommend a team you trust with at least 1 extra safety ski, Someone to get you on the wave or shadow you if you are paddling and one for back up. We actually have a back up for the back up on the giant days. Three skis, one surfer. One mistake with only one ski and you may not come home. Then you need a board that performs at a much greater speed then you are used to and if it can absorb the chops even better, not a stiff board, a board with flex up front

 
Q: You’re working with Mercedes on your towboards. We heard you’re using Varial foam in this year’s design. How is this season’s board different than last season’s board?
More flex, smother ride with the strength. 

Q: Give us your opinion – when, where and whom – was on THE biggest Nazaré wave you’ve seen so far. (It’s OK to nominate yourself).
My goal here hasn't been to ride the biggest wave. It's more about bringing attention to the amazing country Portugal is and the endless waves from 2ft- ???  It's also about sharing our sport with the general public. There is no where else in the world you can watch giant waves so close and feel the energy. This wave has brought surfing to so many people that had never been interested and now follow and support our sport. We surfed five monster swells in the last four years all about the same size. 

The left and the right are so different and you can't really tell how big they are from a photo. Andrew Cotton, Kealii, Carols, Axi, Eric, Antonio, Hugo, Scobby Benjerman and Sebastian have all made at least one monster. 
I actually invited all these surfers in 2011 for an event we had. Cotty and Hugo were the only ones who showed up that year. Now that they are all finally coming we are seeing a lot more waves ridden on the big days. It is getting very interesting and fun to watch!!! If you get a chance come check it out for your self, jump in the water see what you feel. If you like it get your board out and join the fun. Paddle or Tow from two feet to who knows what size. it is always so different and always an  experience to remember!!!

Q: You and your wife had a baby recently, has being a dad changed your approach to big-wave surfing?
Not at all. Safety first is still my priority. 

Spring 2015 Surfboard Preview

21 Boards, and yes, one of these will make you a better surfer

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 18 July, 2015 - Welcome to the Surfersvillage Summer Surfboard Preview. We’ve collected three new designs from seven of the world’s top board makers. 

While there are currently some really exciting things happening in board technology like Varial Foam, Firewire’s LFT and Hydroflex glassing, the consumer end is still focused on the end shape and design for that sexy new surfboard model. Tech impresses, but curves and lines create a love-connection.

Since the advent of the shaping machine shapers have been able to take what works with one board, tweak it, and then run with it on another design thus creating a line of master craft with the best traits from all previous models before them. Impressive no?

What we have for you now is a sampling of the top surfboards on the market, some with new wave materials and others in traditional materials. The purpose of this guide is to provide the reader with a as much information as they can get to make an informed purchasing decision. At the very least, this feature is a grand invitation for some hardcore virtual window shopping.

Editor's Note: Accompanying board descriptions are provided by the boardmaker. Enjoy

FIREWIRE

The Cornice in FST
The Cornice combines Firewire’s board building expertise with design collaborator Dan Mann and Eduardo Cenzano from Trinity Technologies interpretation of an effective side-cut design for surfing. The side cut shifts volume from the middle of the board towards the tail, leading to the most effective area in contact with the water. The board literally displaces less water, leading to minimal friction and increased speed that is noticeable. Dan Mann explains further, “with such a narrow design, it takes less force and time to tip the board on its rail. That fast twitch sensitivity, especially on late drops or hollow waves, is where you feel the side cut really engage, and the wide tail still allows for speed in the flats”.   

The RNF in Timbertek
The world’s all-time best selling fish model. Still goes fast, still allows hard carving turns, still allows a wide range of performance in varied surf, still paddles great…still makes you look good. Designed with low overall rocker and a central concave for lift, into a spiral vee in tail, for control. The RNF5 features a wider tail and 5 fin setup for playing with a multitude of fin options.

The Spartan in FST
The Spartan maintains drive and speed through flatter sections. The single concave throughout adds to the speed and the subtle hip in the tail makes it easy to redirect. The slightly pulled in tail gives bite and drive through turns, and true to Michel’s style, The Spartan loves big carves in powerful waves, but still feels great in weaker surf. A great board for everyday sessions in all kinds of waves.

TOMO

The Vader
The Vader represents the current pinnacle of Daniel ‘Tomo’ Thomson’s Modern Planing Hull (MPH) Vision. Paddle power and general usability have been increased with a larger volume distribution throughout comparative to the Vanguard, which encourages surfers to ride the Vader even shorter than previously considered functional. The Vader ticks all the boxes and is a stand out performer from waist high to double overhead, offering a natural Quad-fin option which creates significantly increased speed in weaker conditions, or switch to a Tri-Fin for a high-speed surgical attack when the waves demand additional control.

The Vanguard
The outline of the Vanguard is the foundation and driving force of this highly innovative surfboard. Ultra parallel lines allow the design to be ridden smaller and narrower. This is achieved by maintaining ideal rider volume with balanced foam distribution. The parallel outline reduces drag, increases planing lift yielding more speed via less water resistance. Works Well In: Point Breaks, Beach Break, Hollow and Full waves.

The Nano
The Nano is the stock MPH (modern planing hull) and a true example of a 21st century modern thruster. It is a user friendly all-around board but a radical performer with free flowing speed and a very natural controlled ride. Effortlessly fast and loose, yet predictable and drivey. Works Well In: Point Breaks, Beach Break, Hollow and Full waves.

SUPERBRAND

The Toy
Initially created as a small wave groveler, the Toy morphed into a high performance yet user-friendly model. Low rocker and a wider outline make for great paddling power and a subtle single to double concave creates drive through sections. As well, soft, forgiving rails make it a great board for intermediate surfers looking to step up their shred game or for advanced surfers looking for a little give in critical situations.

The Quadrofinia
Yes, it has a fishy outline. But this ain’t retro nostalgic nonsense—it’s a modern take on a deep swallow fish. You’ll be able to bury a rail, cook down the line, and set four fins free, all with equal vigor.

The Unit
Built for speed and agility, the Unit is designed for small waves. With a curvy outline and a rocker and concave combo built for speed, the Unit delivers an exceptional balance of drive and control in the pocket, on the face, and off the lip. A bit of extra width in the nose provides for added paddling power, too.

Read the SurfersVillage review of The Unit review here
 

...LOST

The Puddle Jumper
The Puddle Jumper is a con-caved, planing surfacer speeder. Domestic bliss with a twist. Based off the outline of the Bottom Feeder, but with reversed bottom and rocker curves. This board, unlike the past Domestic models (like The Bottom Feeder and RV) features a concave bottom that transitions to vee in the tail. The wide outline makes for easy wave catching and down the line glide and stability. The concave bottom adds lift and increased rail curve, which allows radical top to bottom surfing. The straight rail line and vee in the tail keep the board moving forward and hold in during hard carving maneuvers. “This is the most excited I have ever been about a small wave surfboard. Personally, it’s the best small wave board I have ever ridden. I have never made a claim like that about any board before”

The Short Round
Our latest high performance hybrid. In the tradition of the Rocket and its many knock offs, the Shortround bridges the gap between easy riding “cheater” boards and the HP Shortboard. Tested all around Southern California in the summer of 2014, this board has more than impressed. The buzz about it is spreading fast. The speed comes from a low entry rocker and wide-ish nose, with a forward wide point and generous concave throughout. The performance comes from a moderate, but not flipped up, tail rocker, a double concave through the fins and the same sort of modern bump squash tail that you would find on a typical contest style, small wave HP shortboard. All combined, it doesn’t look like anything fancy and there are no gimmicks, but some times less is more, and there is a lot packed into this little board.

The V2 Grinder
Short n wide…with tons of glide. The “V2-Grinder” is a V2-SB squished into a stubby, squatty little firecracker. First built for a few of my “Domestic” buddies whose surfing can be described as “ former pro level, now grown up, with kids and a job, surfing crappy beach breaks with my kids…whenever I get a chance”. Pleasantly surprised by rave reviews from the older, local heroes, we placed a few under the feet of some WCT and QS “Grinders”. Ends up, the board is a superb small wave contest machine. With the likes of Carissa Moore and other world class competitors using them in lackluster conditions to great success, we included it in the line. To the V2s distinctive low entry and noticeable tail lift, we married an outline that resembles the classic Sub Scorcher. The wide tail block provides drive, lift and a stable platform in meager conditions. The short rail line and healthy amount of tail lift (paired with full and forgiving rails) still permeate the water and allow proper rail turns in small, tight, quirky shore pound. Don’t be afraid to go Short n fat with this one!

VARIAL FOAM

…Lost “V3 Squash-it” featuring Varial Foam and Hydroflex 3D glassing, shaped by Matt Biolos.
…Lost took the V3-Rocket and replaced the Rocket tail with a smooth little squash tail.  For more down the line projection we relaxed the rocker through the center of the board. The rocker in the nose/tail is still curvy and fits into tight sections, but the board has a ridiculous amount of glide. The overall stock dims are pulled in closer to that of a small wave HP shortboard. The subtle changes make for a balanced and conservative board that further closes the gap between Rocket type hybrids and the HP Short board. This board can easily be ordered in more playful dims, that are similar to the V3-Rockets proportions, as well.

 
Roberts “Meat Cleaver” featuring Varial Foam, shaped by Robert Weiner
A perfect all-around board with extra tail rocker and a round tail that allows the board to do tight turns at high speeds. Designed for the guys that love to ride shorter wider boards like the White Diamond 2 in your normal knee to head high surf. It has drive and speed on the more normal days and when the waves do get good or bigger it still holds in tight turns.

Surf Prescriptions “New Toy” featuring Varial Foam, shaped by Jeff "Doc" Lausch.
A double bump, round tail, quad – perfect for less than ideal conditions. Incredibly fast and loose. Order 4”-6” shorter than your every day shortboard. This holds the distinction as Surf Prescriptions’ fastest selling new model.

LIBTECH

 
Puddle Jumper By …Lost
This board features a concave bottom that transitions to vee in the tail. The wide outline makes for catching and down the line glide and stability. The concave bottom adds lift and increased rail curve, which allows radical type to bottom surfing. The straight rail line and vee in the tail keep the board moving forward and hold in during hard carving maneuvers.
Available Soon
MSRP: 745.96

Extension Ramp
LibTech’s Extension Ramp is designed for surfers of all abilities and can be a longboard for the smaller guys while maintaining shortboard qualities for larger surfers. 
Available Now
MSRP: 725.96

 
Ringer
An everyday board, the Ringer was designed by Huntington Beach and Global couch surfer Ryan Carlson as his personal shape. Ryan built his double winger swallow tail Ringer for high performance surfing, acceleration and control in all conditions.
Available Now
MSRP: 725.96

T&C SURF

Crankshaft
Shaper: Glenn Pang. Deep Single Concave with slight Vee off the tail it comes with a standard squash, swallow or round tail. High Performance small wave shortboard with a fuller outline with a low entry rocker allowing the board to plane thru the flats, the tail rocker allows the board to turn tight in the pocket. Should be ordered at least an inch shorter and a little wider than your usual dimensions.

T&C Glide
Shaper: Tommy Tanaka. The Glide is an easy-to-ride small, long board shape. It has a full outline with a narrow round pintail. Allowing the board to carry it's own speed but still turn on a dime. It also has a concave nose fading to a rolled vee in the center, to vee off the tail. Can be order with the five fin truster or quad set up.

T&C SK8 
Shaper: Makani McDonald. Full, Chubby-Stubby. low entry rocker with a slight kick in the tail light single to light double.Hip-Squash. Can be ordered with no hips or with a round, Diamond or Swallow tail. Best ridden with slightly bigger fins but works with almost any thruster set. Good for waves 1 to 5 ft. 4’10” to 6’0″ should be ordered 2” to 6”shorter, 1/2” wider and 1/8” thicker than your shortboard. 

RUSTY

The Sweet Tooth
The Sweet Tooth features a fuller outline than your normal ripper, shred-sled, shorty, as well as a deep single concave bottom, low entry rocker and "aggressive tail rocker allow driving turns and tighter arcs." They push it as a round tail, but it’s also available as a swallow or squash.

Board Design

Interview with the two surfers behind Varial foam

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 29 April, 2015 - Why are surfers so resistant to change in surfboard materials? The act of surfing is done through a torrent of changing mediums: wind, tide, swell - they all fluctuate. We, apparently do not.  Consequently we’ve been using the same basic polyurethane foam blanks for about 60 years. But two entrepreneurs are seeking to change that. 

In October of 2013 Varial Surf Technology (Varial) headed by Edison Conner and Parker Borneman, set out to remove the variables in surfboard blank production and debuted their new foam to the surf industry.

They’ve developed a new foam blank that they claim is lighter, stronger and doesn’t require a wood stringer (since wood quality varies in each stringer, so will a board’s flex) 

There’s no stringer in Varial blanks. You claim a flex pattern similar to PU blanks. How is this possible?
The magic of Varial Foam is that it has 7X the modulus of PU or EPS foam.  Modulus is a technical term for the foam’s rigidity.  The enhanced rigidity of Varial Foam compensates for the lack of a wood stringer.  So in terms of the overall bending and twisting flex, a Varial Foam blank has almost identical flex properties to a PU blank with a stringer. 

That’s the holy grail for new board technology, to mimic a wood-stringered PU blank, but also to have more strength than PU. Are Varial blanks stronger than PU?
Yes.  Boards made with Varial Foam are 30% stronger and 25% lighter than a stringered PU board with the same glassing. The high-modulus property of Varial Foam does an excellent job of supporting a surfboard’s fiberglass skins and preventing them from buckling.   

We agree that it’s important for any new, lighter, and stronger technology to have similar flex to a PU board. That makes the transition easy for both the surfers and the shapers. However, Varial Foam takes this a step further and actually improves flex by removing the slushy feel created by the softness of PU foam.  

Polyurethane foam left and Varial foam right at 70x magnification

Explain how you are actually improving flex compared to a PU board. 
Traditional surfboard foam is relatively soft. The force you put on a PU foam board during a turn mostly goes into squishing the foam, which eats up energy.  The high-modulus (rigidity) of Varial Foam provides a much more sturdy base under your feet, allowing you to push directly against the water and flex the board more through turns.  When a flexed Varial Foam board unloads it pushes you out of a turn with what Mason Ho calls a “spurt.” The closest analogy is the switch from driving a slushy old Ford suspension to a tight and responsive BMW. The difference is really noticeable after you’ve been riding Varial Foam and then try surfing a standard PU board again.

Do your boards have to be glassed a certain way? I’ve noticed Lost Surfboards tends to glass them in Hydroflex but Surf RX doesn’t.
You can glass Varial Foam with either epoxy or polyester resin.  Designing a board’s glassing is another way that shapers can put their personal touch on boards built with Varial Foam cores.  …Lost likes to go all-out and use Hydroflex’s high-tech, high-performance epoxy glassing.  Doc (at Surf Prescriptions) does Hydroflex Varial Foam too, but he glasses most with polyester resin because Varial Foam is so strong to begin with and because it helps keep the boards affordable. 

Shane Dorian is a big backer of Varial Foam © Ehitu Keeling 

What about pricing for Varial blanks?
Varial Foam is a premium, performance material adapted from an advanced aerospace formula. As a result, Varial Foam blanks are more expensive than traditional blanks. This translates to Varial Foam boards being around 30% more expensive than traditional boards with the same glassing.

We know longer-lasting products are more eco-friendly because they last longer and don’t need to be replaced. What about the process for making Varial blanks, is it as toxic as with PU blanks?
Varial Foam is made in a highly-engineered process that is very different from the way PU blanks are made. While the details are top secret, we can tell you that the manufacturing process poses no health risk to workers.  This is one of the reasons it is easy for us to keep Varial Foam manufacturing in the US, setting us apart from the majority of traditional surfboard blank companies. 

Lastly, isn’t it easier to start, say, a clothing brand than breaking into something as stubbornly status-quo as surfboard construction? Why did you choose this path?
Our motivation has always been to revolutionize surfing by adapting advanced materials to surfboards. Almost all other sports they have seen dramatic advancements in materials technology over the past 60 years.  Surfboards are probably the only piece of equipment for a major sport that still uses materials from the 1950’s. Without a doubt it was a tough problem to solve, but in our minds the potential for a revolutionary breakthrough always justified the years of sacrifice and painstaking R&D.

Surfers at the top level of the sport have already pushed the limits beyond anything we could have imagined, and that’s all been done using antiquated materials. Just imagine what they can do if the materials in their boards can elevate their surfing instead of holding it back.  We’re already seeing the impact with surfers like Shane Dorian, Mason Ho, Mikey Bruneau, and CJ Kanuha. And this is just the beginning. Stay tuned because the Materials Revolution is alive.

Product Reviews

Identical computer shaped boards road tested

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 10 May, 2015 - We’ve been using the same surfboard materials for almost 60 years. Why? Polyurethane foam and fiberglass is cheap, abundant (unless you count the 2005 Clark Foam crisis) and most of all, familiar. Every other aspect of surfing has made technological leaps and bounds: fins, leashes, boardshorts and wetsuits but surfboard materials remain the same. It’s a sad, familiar, toxic, story. But a new company on the market is offering an alternative to PU blanks, Varial Foam 

Varial was developed in the aerospace industry and has a tighter cell structure than standard polyurethane foam. According to the makers, the blanks are 25% lighter and are substantially stronger.

Varial Foam doesn’t use a stringer. Instead the foam is engineered to hold a similar flex pattern to that of a PU blank with a stringer. “Varial has 7X the modulus of PU or EPS foam,” says Parker Borneman of Varial. “Modulus is a technical term for the foam’s rigidity. The enhanced rigidity of Varial Foam compensates for the lack of a wood stringer.” 

Matt Biolos of …Lost Surfboards, and shaper of our test board, a SubDriver, agrees the cell density in Varial is unique. “It’s easily the tightest cell structure of any foam developed for surfboards,” he says. “It also glasses up very light and flexy.”

The advantage of going stringerless is that it eliminates the inconsistent flex properties of wood - due to the knots and grain density in wood that vary slightly from stringer to stringer. The end result is flex consistency from blank to blank.

Varial is gaining traction in the market and a few shapers out there are backing the foam, most notably Jeff ‘Doc’ Lausch of Surf Prescriptions and Biolos. Then there are a few pros as well who endorse the technology, like Shane Dorian and Ian Battrick.

“Ive ridden it (Varial) everywhere,” says Battrick. “You will notice the second you stand up on Varial it’s so much faster! It feels more lively, responsive, paddles better, and has a nice float.”

So now that we’ve done our tech homework, talked to the makers and to surfers more skilled than us, let’s get going and share what we, the average-to-sometimes-above average surfer, discovered…

We Rode Two Identical Boards:
Both boards were both shaped off the exact same computer file by Matt Biolos and …Lost. They are a SubDriver “Grovel” at 5’11” x 20.25 x 2.5 at 32 Cubic Liters in Polyurethane construction and  in Varial/Hydroflex/Epoxy construction.

The Varial board was glassed with epoxy Hydroflex tech. Hydroflex uses a method where resin is injected into the foam blank for strength - reports are that the bonding between the foam and lamination is 600% stronger than with traditional glass jobs. (We can’t prove that but it sounds great!) The tail patch on the Varial/Hydroflex board is an aerospace grade fabric. The PU board is two years old and starting to yellow (except where it’s covered in Posca paint-pen children's artwork.)

First Impressions:
Varial is much lighter. With pad and fins it weighs 6 pounds 7 ounces while the PU counterpart weighs in at 7 pounds 10 ounces.

Float:
Varial has a nice float to it without feeling too ‘corky.’ More buoyancy? Tough call, but if we had to decide, we’d say the Varial is a touch floatier. To gauge if this was all in our heads, we asked Biolos about the difference in float and materials: “Whatever is more light of two exact objects will be more buoyant,” he says. “So, in general, boards built with lighter cores like EPS, XPS or Varial, tend to feel floatier.” Thank you Matt.

Varial convert Ian Battrick said he goes a shave thinner in his dims when ordering a Varial board compared to a PU board. 

Polyurethane foam left and Varial foam right at 70x magnification

What We Discovered:
In a variety of conditions the Varial felt like a very lively PU board. It felt a touch springier than the PU, meaning it felt like it snapped back quicker than the PU board. Biolos says the Varial foam can feel more flexible than PU, but in testing I didn’t find this to be a negative. In fact I would say the Varial has a positive, lively ‘zip’ to it.
 
The Varial board also had that quickness to it that lighter-glassed PU and epoxy boards tend to have. Best though was that the board didn’t chatter or bounce in chop like a lot of epoxy or EPS boards will do. It had the same positive drive familiarity as PU constructions.

Varial claims that the blank will retain this zippiness for the lifespan of the board, and the board will also never yellow as the foam is resistant to UV rays. 

Of note on durability, the board is strong. We stood on it. It flexed. We ran over someone’s board in the lineup (Not our fault - the surfer ditched his Channel Islands) with no ill effects on the Varial. The Varial deck did have some pressure denting - less than you’d find on a PU but more than on an epoxy or Firewire constructed surfboard.

Construction diagram of our test board

The Takeaway
It surfs like a light, team-glassed PU board (even a bit more lively) but with excellent durability characteristics. The Varial is strong without many of the drawbacks of lighter, non-PU constructions: stiffness, chattering in chop and being extra floaty. The downside is it costs more (30% says Varial). Some surfers might not want a board that feels ’team light’. 

The test board rode like a PU, which made me like it, which led me back to asking Biolos why collectively we as surfers are so picky and obsessed with finding NEW constructions that mimic - as exactly as possible - the same OLD polyurethane we’ve been using for so many decades. Why use PU as the benchmark that all other constructions are measured?

“Familiarity,” he says. “We were all raised on traditional boards. I think as we move further and further from generations that were exclusively raised on traditional construction, you will slowly see more and more surfers feel comfortable with alternative constructions.”

Biolos added that most of these alternative constructions were developed to aid in small surf but that most of the world class surfing is done in solid surf and the athletes are riding traditional constructions 95% of the time. So why aren’t we embracing a materials revolution? 

“Thats what the public sees, and as the public sees, the public does,” says Biolos.” 

Board Design

A Polyurethane, Varial Foam & Structured EPS 5'10" SUPERbrand Unit Tested

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 5 November, 2015 - Polyurethane foam and fiberglass is cheap, abundant and has become the standard for surfboard construction. It’s been that way for almost 60 years now. Every other aspect of surfing gear has made technological leaps and bounds: fins, leashes, boardshorts and wetsuits. But surfboard materials remain the same.

PU is toxic and, relative to other materials, not so strong. There are options in the marketplace for a better build, constructions that are both lighter and stronger: EPS and epoxy; Firewire’s FST and LFT constructions and a few other new options like Varial Foam and Hydroflex. All of these offer superior strength-to-weight ratios. But PU is very, very familiar. For that reason all new surfboard-construction materials are compared to its performance. 

We’ve all had that one magic polyurethane-constructed board, a board with flex properties that work perfectly for us. But PU flex properties vary from board to board due to a variety of factors: glassing, sanding, foam density and of course - wood stringer density.

PU has a shelf life. A board will surf differently after 6 months than it did right off the shop racks.

Jason Koons of SUPERbrand explains: “All of the structural support is in the 0 and 90 degree directions (parallel and perpendicular to the stringer)” says Koons. “The results are somewhat predictable, but with fluctuations in foam density and stringer grain the results for two boards shaped exactly the same can vary to a frustrating degree at the highest level of surfing.”

So how do the different constructions perform differently from each other?  What if we tested PU, Structural EPS and Varial Foam/Hydroflex against each other? Well, we did…

For this review we tested the exact same board, a SuperBrand 5’10” Unit with the following dims: 20 1/2 x 2 5/8 at 33.5 Cubic Liters. We rode all three boards with the same fin setup: Futures V2 JC1 Black Stix. 

The board tester is 6’1” and 190 lbs with an intermediate (to-sometimes-advanced) skill level but is by no means an expert surfer.

Full disclosure: This is not a truly scientific study. To do that we’d need a wave pool and surfing robots. But we did ride all three boards in a variety of beach break and pointbreak conditions. What follows is a breakdown of how each board performed as scrutinized and documented to the best of our abilities. Perceiving a surfboard as 'good' is, after all, subjective. OK, disclosure given; let's get on with it...

Blanks
Board #1.) Polyurethane: The very same materials and construction surfboard makers have been using for around 60 years—polyurethane foam with a wood stringer running down the center.

Board #2.) Varial Foam in Hydroflex construction: Varial Foam is a new foam that’s lighter and stronger than PU. The company offers blanks with uniform and consistent flex properties throughout the blank. The blanks are lighter than PU and don’t have stringers. 

Board #3.) EPS: Jason Koons claims the stringer-less eps core blanks are super predictable in flex and yield nearly the exact same results every time between two blanks. “Because the core has a consistent density from board to board and the multilayered glassing schedule is multidirectional we get a light predictable controlled product,” he added.

Glassing
Board #1.) Polyurethane: The magic PU board is glassed with one layer of fiberglass S-cloth on the bottom and two layers on the top and set with polyester resin.

Board #2.) Hydroflex: The Varial board was glassed with epoxy Hydroflex tech. Hydroflex uses a method where resin is injected into the foam blank for strength - reports are that the bonding between the foam and lamination is 600% stronger than with traditional glass jobs. (We can’t prove that but it sounds great!) The tail patch on the Varial/Hydroflex board is an aerospace grade fabric.

Board #3.) SUPERflex: Glassed with a layer of glass that has additional strands following the nose-to-tail direction called Warp glass. Think of it as going with the grain in wood instead of against it. Then they add Vectornet (the net-looking stuff on the bottom) which adds strength and controls flex further.

What We Discovered

Polyurethane: We liked the PU board best for performance, liveliness and responsiveness. The board’s flex properties were amazing and familiar. There’s just something about the ‘zing’ you get from the first pump off the back-end of a PU board. Paying close attention we could feel the board twist and spring out of turns - think about it, we apply different levels of pressure to the front foot and back foot when pumping down the line.

That said, there are a variety of factors contributing to this PU board performing this way: blank density, stringer density, how the rails were sanded and so forth. Had I picked up the exact same board model (polyurethane, same dimensions, cubic liters, etc) it would ride differently and may or may not qualify for ‘Magic Board’ status as this one did.

One thing is for certain though, we did not like how fragile the PU construction is. In just a few months we’ve busted out a fin, creased the forward part of the board and smashed the tip of the nose. 

Varial Foam: The Varial board had that quickness and sensitivity to it that a lighter-glassed PU board has. Best though was that the board didn’t chatter or bounce in chop like some EPS boards will do. It had the same positive drive familiarity as a PU construction. Also, the Varial has a quick, almost ‘slippery’ feel to it and its very responsive. 

Varial claims that the blank will retain this zippiness for the lifespan of the board, and the board will also never yellow as it ages. The foam is resistant to UV rays. 

The board is strong. We dropped it on the sidewalk (by accident of course) and suffered no chipping or shatters. We placed it on a tile floor and stood on it. It flexed without any ill effects. The Varial deck did suffer pressure denting - about the same as you’d get on a PU board. 

Varial is much lighter. With pad and fins it weighs 6 pounds 7 ounces while the PU counterpart weighs in at 7 pounds 10 ounces. Varial has a nice float to it without feeling too ‘corky.’  

Background - Varial was developed in the aerospace industry and has a tighter cell structure than standard polyurethane foam. According to the makers, the blanks are 25% lighter and are substantially stronger.

Varial Foam doesn’t use a stringer. Instead the foam is engineered to hold a similar flex pattern to that of a PU blank with a stringer. 

So is it a deadringer performance-wise to a PU board? It’s very, very close. The only difference is the absence of the familiar wood stringer’s flex properties. Overall we really liked it. In short, it’s like getting a team-glassed PU board that will last much longer and retain the same performance characteristics. Of course, it will cost you more than a standard PU board.

Structural EPS: On a basic level it surfed lively and well. Conversely, it did feel a tad stiffer flex-wise and didn’t quite knife through the water as well as it’s PU counterpart.  It was more prone to skip out when turning hard off the tail, more so than the PU and Varial foam versions.

For fifty percent of the sessions the SUPERflex board went fine. It worked better than the PU and Varial board in smaller, gutless surf. The other sessions it didn’t quite have that magic ‘zing’. This was more the case in bumpy surf. It felt more floaty than the other two builds.

The familiar materials of a standard PU blank © Boardcave

The Takeaway

Polyurethane performs, but you never know what you’ll get off the rack with two identical models with identical dimensions due to inconsistencies in PU blanks and the laminating process. If you get a magic PU board, “keep it on ice” as one industry insider has told us. For good waves we’d choose PU over the other two.

The Varial surfs like a light, team-glassed PU board (even a bit more ‘springy’ feeling) but with excellent durability characteristics. The Varial is strong without many of the drawbacks of lighter, non-PU constructions: stiffness, chattering in chop or being extra floaty.  The downside is it costs more (30% says Varial). Some surfers might not want a board that feels ’team light’. 

The SUPERflex EPS is durable, light and better-suited to smaller surf.

Performance-wise: the SUPERflex EPS board is a good board; the PU counterpart is a great board, and the Varial Foam with Hydroflex glassing bridges the two, coming closer to the PU in performance than the SUPERflex

Industry Updates

Varial Revolution Race aims at top-level surfers & shapers

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 13 March, 2016 - Ventura - After partnering with some of the biggest shapers and athletes in the world over the past 3 years, Ventura-based Varial Surf Technology is offering cash prizes to surfers who win advanced rounds of 2016 World Surf League Men’s and Women’s Championship Tour events on Varial Foam.

Each prize includes a payout to the shaper who designed and built the winning board from one of Varial’s advanced foam blanks. Varial is also offering a prize for the best 2-minute video segment filmed on Varial Foam, allowing free surfers to join the contest. 

The Varial Revolution Race is an unprecedented contest in surfing aimed at catalyzing the adoption of new and advanced materials by top-level surfers and their shapers.  Varial has put a total of $75,000 up for grabs in the Men’s and Women’s contest categories.

To qualify for a prize payout, the athlete must be the first surfer to win a Quarterfinal, Semifinal and/or Final heat on a board made with Varial Foam and clearly displaying the “Varial Fm” logo.  An additional $5,000 is being offered for the best video clip filmed on board shaped from Varial Foam. 

“When Edison and I first started brainstorming the idea of using science and engineering to revolutionize surfing, we knew we wanted to come up with new core materials that were not only lighter and stronger but would blow the doors off performance,” said Varial President, Parker Borneman. 

“The Revolution Race is our way of putting our money where our mouth is,” said Varial CEO Edison Conner. “Professional athletes have already started testing our technology and riding it in competition– the Revolution Race is an extra push we are offering to pros, shapers, and even amateurs to really up the performance game at the highest level of surfing.”

In the 2015 World Surf League WCT season, the world saw Italo Ferreira ride a Varial Foam board in a WCT contest for the first time at the Rip Curl Pro Portugal.  This included a dramatic, mid-heat switch from one of his standard polyurethane boards to a more high-performance board shaped from Varial Foam.  After going back and forth between polyurethane and Varial Foam boards in Portugal, Ferreira increased his comfort with the technology and went on to surf the entire Triple Crown of Surfing on boards made only with Varial Foam. 

Additionally, Shane Dorian, an early and avid supporter of Varial foam, rode a 9’6” Varial gun during the recent Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau contest at Waimea Bay.  Finishing 3rd overall in the event, Dorian’s confidence in the two-piece jigsaw board showed after several prior sessions on the board at Jaws.  One session included a wave that has been nominated for Billabong’s 2016 Ride of the Year.

Here is a list of WCT pros and their shapers who are currently testing and riding Varial Foam:

Women:
Malia Manuel (Matt Biolos/ Lost Surfboards)
Tatiana Weston-Webb (Tim Carrol Surfboards)

Men:
Italo Ferreira (Timmy Patterson Surfboards)
Felipe Toledo (Marcio Zouvi/ Sharp Eye Surfboards)
Alejo Muniz (Marcio Zouvi/ Sharp Eye Surfboards)
Davey Cathels (Brett Warner/ Warner Surfboard)
Caio Ibelli (Xanadu Surfboards)
Alex Ribeiro (Xanadu Surfboards)

Revolution Race prize payouts will be awarded as follows:

-Be the first surfer to win a men’s WSL Championship Tour event quarterfinal on Varial Foam. $5,000 pro $2,000 shaper

-Be the first surfer to win a men’s WSL Championship Tour event semifinal on Varial Foam. $10,000 pro $4,000 shaper

-Be the first surfer to win a men’s WSL Championship Tour event final on Varial Foam. $20,000 pro $9,000 shaper

-Be the first surfer to win a women’s WSL Championship Tour event semifinal on Varial Foam. $5,000 pro $2,000 shaper

-Be the first surfer to win a women’s WSL Championship Tour event final on Varial Foam. $12,000 pro $6,000 shaper

-Submit a 2-3 minute video with all footage surfed on Varial Foam. $5,000 pro

Industry News

Stringerless space-age foam used in a variety of quivers

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 April, 2016 - Varial Foam has been working with a dedicated group to test drive Varial in Hawaii. The below video mixes interviews, board-design discussions and freesurfs footage from the North Shore.

Mikey Bruneau, Reef McIntosh and Torrey Meister talk about their favourite Hawaiian shapes done in Varial Foam Technology. The company approached the North Shore chargers and their shapers to create a few sleds with the new technology.

Varial Foam doesn’t use a stringer. Instead the foam is engineered to hold a similar flex pattern to that of a PU blank with a stringer. “Varial has 7X the modulus of PU or EPS foam,” says Parker Borneman of Varial. “Modulus is a technical term for the foam’s rigidity. The enhanced rigidity of Varial Foam compensates for the lack of a wood stringer.” 

The advantage of going stringerless is that it eliminates the inconsistent flex properties of wood - due to the knots and grain density in wood that vary slightly from stringer to stringer. The end result is flex consistency from blank to blank.

Video Updates

Varial Foam backs shapers and surfers on the North Shore for new clip

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 January, 2017 - Varial Foam is a brand of surfboard blank being pushed around the industry and put under the feet of some of today's top surfers. The most distinctive trait of Varial foam is that they dont use a wood stringer. The concept here is that the board has an even, consistent flex because the inconsistency of wood in the stringer has been removed from the board-making equation. The blanks also claim to be stronger, lighter and non-uv yellowing.

You can read a review of how the foam blank performs here.

The company has just put fresh quivers under the feet of some of the North Shore's best underground pros and released a new video edit that follows CJ Kanuha, Flynn Novak, Mikey Bruneau, Torrey Meister and Akila Aipa as they explore sessions in and around the North Shore.

Team Updates

Company launches Infused Glass Technology construction

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 3 February, 2017 - Ventura - Varial Surf Technology has signed an R&D endorsement contract with the 2016 WSL Rookie of the Year, Caio Ibelli, to be the test pilot for the brand’s new Infused Glass Technology. The 23-year-old Brazilian surfer and with his shaper, Xanadu of San Diego, CA, will work with Varial to build the ultimate performance surfboard by combining high-level mechanical testing with on-water R&D.

After working with some of the most widely known shapers and athletes around the globe for the past 4 years, Varial has utilized its advanced engineering capabilities to expand beyond Varial Foam, the company’s high-performance, proprietary surfboard blanks. Varial’s new, patent-pending process for glassing boards is known as Infused Glass. In this process, fiberglass is applied to a shaped surfboard blank without resin.

The dry-laminated surfboard is then vacuum bagged and injected with polyester or epoxy resin under high pressure. This technology, adapted from processes used to make giant wind turbine blades and racing boat hulls, yields a highly-repeatable, uniform laminate with extremely low resin content. Boards made with Infused Glass are stronger and lighter than boards made with traditional hand laminations, and allow for more precise control of a board’s flex characteristics.  In Infused Glass, Varial has the ability to isolate and engineer specific characteristics into the skins of the surfboard for any desired performance attribute. 

“Our business was established on bringing materials from the aerospace industry into the surf world,” said Varial CEO Edison Conner. “Using advanced technology to engineer a foam that was superior to all other surfboard foams in the marketplace was the first step – Infused Glass now allows us to focus on the other major component of surfboard construction in our quest to help shapers create the highest-performance and most highly-tuned surfboards.

Boards made with both Varial Foam and Infused Glass rival the quality, consistency, strength, and performance of advanced composite structures found in the aerospace industry.” Conner continues, “This is a major milestone for surfboard development and we’re proud to say that we’ve succeeded in modernizing surfboard construction from an antiquated, 60-year old process to a world-class composites technology.  Our next step now is to use specific measurements as they pertain to weight, flexibility, and vibration to tune surfboards to levels that have never been achieved. We are building on the art of surfboard creation and turning it into a proven science.”

Caio and Xanadu are the first team to work closely with Varial on this tuning process.  Varial President, Parker Borneman, explains, “We’ve had a solid relationship with Caio for the past year.  Xanadu had shaped several Varial Foam boards for him throughout the 2016 WSL season, and Caio even rode one in the WSL Portugal event.  His talent in the water coupled with his confidence in the Varial brand and our technology made him the ideal professional athlete for our Infused Glass R&D program.” Borneman continued, “We’ve been really impressed with Caio’s feedback so far on Varial Foam and our Infused Glass technology and look forward to the progress we will continue to make together over the next several months.”

On his partnership with Varial, Ibelli said, “I’ve been working closely with Varial to design the materials and technology of my boards in the same way that I work with Xanadu on the shape designs. The Varial guys know the engineering and science behind the materials, which allows them to give me the exact amount of drive, weight, and damping that I want.  My goal is to have the best equipment on tour, and I’m confident that my work with Varial and Xanadu is making that happen.”

The 2016 WSL Rookie of the Year and 2011 World Junior Champion continued, “The strength of Varial Foam with Infused Glass is allowing me to do the maneuvers I want without fear of breaking my board.  I'm able to put my board in really critical parts of the wave and apply as much force as I want through the turn.  I also feel confident surfing my magic boards in free surfs instead of just keeping them on ice for competition.  It is taking my surfing to the next level.”

Board Design

Big wave Jaws equipement, tow boards and stuff from his shaper John Carper..

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 4 May, 2017 - Billabong continues their popular Board Tales series where they talk to team riders about their favorite surfboards past and present. Highlights on this recent clip with Shane Dorian include Kelly Slater's Sci-Phi Firewire design...

Big wave surfer and living legend Shane Dorian features in the sixth episode of Board Tales and takes us through some of his most iconic boards, including his first board ever. He walks us through old tow boards, Kelly Slater designed boards, his arsenal of Jaws boards that he keeps at friend Ian Walsh's house and introduces us to his friend and shaper, John Carper. This episode is an incredible behind the scenes look at the career of one of surfing's most talented and diverse professionals ever.

Industry Updates

Process uses less material and creates a stronger bond according to developers

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 15 May, 2017 - After working with some of the most widely known shapers and athletes around the globe for the past four years, Varial has utilized its advanced engineering capabilities to expand beyond Varial Foam, the company’s high-performance, proprietary surfboard blanks. Varial’s new, patent-pending process for glassing boards is known as Infused Glass. In this process, fiberglass is applied to a shaped surfboard blank without resin.

The dry-laminated surfboard is then vacuum bagged and injected with polyester or epoxy resin under high pressure. This technology, adapted from processes used to make giant wind turbine blades and racing boat hulls, yields a highly-repeatable, uniform laminate with extremely low resin content.

"Boards made with Infused Glass are stronger and lighter than boards made with traditional hand laminations, and allow for more precise control of a board’s flex characteristics," said Varial CEO Edison Conner.

The team behind Varial, Parker Borneman and Edison Conner

In this new process Varial also says they have the ability to isolate and engineer specific characteristics into the skins of the surfboard for any desired performance attribute. 

“Our business was established on bringing materials from the aerospace industry into the surf world,” added Conner. “Using advanced technology to engineer a foam that was superior to all other surfboard foams in the marketplace was the first step – Infused Glass now allows us to focus on the other major component of surfboard construction in our quest to help shapers create the highest-performance and most highly-tuned surfboards.

Video Updates

Ibelli using new technology for his World Tour quiver, goes testing in Australia

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 31 May, 2017 - Caio Ibelli goes full ignition in this edit, blasting through Australia's east and west coasts. The CT surfer was caught testing his Varial Foam boards shaped by Xanadu.

Caio has done extensive R&D on his Varial equipment, exploring different flex patterns, ideal weight ratios and strength properties of Varial Foam + Infused Glass - both technologies adapted from the aerospace world. By the looks of things it seems to be working quite well.