3 Board Material Test

Everyone knows Cronulla surfing identity Blake Johnston loves a challenge, so when asked to do a simple three surfboard comparison test the surfer who has caught 707 waves in a single 40 hr session said “too easy”

The fact that the swell jumped two metres in 30 minutes didn’t deter the surf school proprietor who took on the challenge between running classes and the day before he was going to Bali.

The idea was to see the performance difference between three identically shaped Riley Surfboards made from different materials -  Board 1 Agave, Board 2 Balsa/EPS, and Board 3 PU.

The surfboards were all 6’2 (33 litre) Hybrids shaped from the same template, a little more forgiving then Blakes normal high-performance sleds.

Blake who normally rides a 5’7 (27 litre) EPS core surfboard in everyday waves said he will change up to PE when the surf gets bigger and the boards get longer and heavier.

 Historically the main differences between EPS Epoxy and PE Polyurethane surfboards are weight, durability, and responsiveness.

 EPS Epoxy boards tend to be lighter, more buoyant, and feel more responsive, while PE Polyurethane boards tend to be heavier more flexible and sit lower in the water.

Mark Riley had shaped and glassed the three boards to be as close to the same weight as possible using different combinations of 4 and 6 oz glass due to the different densities of the cores (Agave being heavier but not needing as much glass compared to PU, but more resin was used compared to balsa)

Board 1 - Blakes first choice was the Agave model and said when picking it up and holding it under his arm that it felt “interesting”.

“It seems pretty rigid and a little heavy” he said as he paddled out into a 3-4 ft ripbowl. (The agave board has the least flex)

Taking off instantly Johnston came hard off the bottom and turned straight off the top riding to the shore after one wave.

“The board was buoyant and responsive enough but felt different in its weight distribution and tracked more then what I am used too “he said whilst grabbing the Balsa surfboard.

Board 2 - “This seems a lot better “he said, feeling the more even weight distribution under his arm.

Paddling out Johnston went left, picking his line before sizing up a section and coming hard off the top whipping it around and riding the whitewater back to the beach.

Board 3 - Now on the third board in his three-wave tally Blake also went left on the PU, once again feeling his feet and lining up the section before doing one of his trademark cutbacks before coming in with a regulation 20-minute heat timeframe a little out of breath.

“It was hard work out there and that last board was more familiar to ride but my favourite was the Balsa board “he said.

“The balsa felt lighter and a little more responsive, the shape felt more refined, and it was easy to adapt – the board shape wasn’t my normal round pin, and was a little wider under my chest so that also made it feel different under my feet”

Johnston a goofy footer who spent some years on the WQS series and was a star on the junior pro circuit spends every day in or on the water took it all in his stride paddling straight back out after the surfboard trial to take another surf lesson.