Firewire surfboards

'Rapid response flex memory' 20% lighter than traditional boards

Product

Firewire surfboards

Promise

Firewire are currently making a lot of noise. They made a sensational entry onto the surf scene by signing world championship contender Taj Burrow, who became the first person to ride an epoxy board in a World Championship Tour event when he placed second at Jeffrey’s Bay in 2006. The following season, Burrow achieved the first ever win on an epoxy board at the Bells Beach stop of the WCT.

Firewire technology is the result of 10 years of research and development between veteran shaper Nev Hyman and “epoxy scientist” Bert Burger. They're built from a triple density foam core and feature parabolic balsa rails; this unique combination is said by Firewire to create “a rapid response flex memory” similar to the acceleration experienced coming out of turns on a snowboard.

Firewire says their surfboards are “up to 20% lighter than traditional PU boards and the performance characteristics last five to 10 times longer.”

Performance

Research into surfboard technology in recent years has focused on developing boards that are durable without sacrificing performance. Epoxy, a stronger, less toxic resin, is the unifying element in most new surfboard technologies. Not only are epoxy boards stronger than traditional polyurethane (PU) boards but they are said to maintain their lively new feel for much longer.

But that’s where the similarities end. Most of these epoxy boards differ from each other as much as they do from PU boards. They can feature carbon fibres, aerospace technology or parabolic rails, are mass-produced in Vietnam, handcrafted in the Australia and can differ greatly in price.

While surfers say some epoxy boards lack flex and have a corky feel in the water, Firewire has managed to get the right type of flex and even perhaps improve on it. UK pro surfer Mark “Egor” Harris, who took a 6’2” Firewire for a test drive for Carve magazine, was full of praise. “They feel really nice under your foot,” he said. “It didn’t feel like an S Core or any of the other non-PU boards I’ve tried.”

UK surfing champion Sam Lamiroy, the first European pro to sign with Firewire, says the sandwich construction with parabolic stringers add extra zest. “Unlike other epoxy boards these perform similar to traditional boards. They don’t feel different but you’re getting better life, spring and acceleration.”

To top it all off, Firewire boards do less damage to the environment than PU boards. The firm won a EuroSIMSA Envirnonmental Product of the Year Wards in 2005; epoxy has about 75% less Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) than polyester resin. What’s more, as the boards are more durable, less of them end up on the scrap heap.

Verdict

We love them. Plus they won't break the bank - most models are under 500 quid.