So I’m looking real hard at a KT ginxu for prone surfing. The chop tail I’m kinda neutral on, though I have a buddy who loves his. My real interest is in getting a board that will withstand abuse and the ginxu looks like it might to tough enough. Most shapers are doing boxes better than they were a couple years ago, but I just destroy boards with my shin to rail jackknife impacts. I’ve had good experiences with PVC sandwich construction on SUPs in the past. Besides KT, who else is doing really hardcore builds right now?
Appletree. Super stiff and solid construction. The boxes are bombproof. Like every board, it will ding, but the closed cell foam doesn’t take on any water and you can ride it without sealing it up if you need to. Easy to repair.
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Appletree is known to be bomber. The fact that it’s foam is closed cell is great too.
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My current board is carbon vac’d over closed cell foam like Appletree does. It’s good, but I’m looking for something better.
I’m not sure who out there is making boards with Innegra these days, but that would get you the bomb-proof board you’re looking for. It’s built in as a layer under the carbon and gives the carbon great impact-resistance. Kinda like lightweight Kevlar. I built it into the deck of my prone board and it doesn’t have a single ding after a good bit of use.The problem is that it’s a huge pain to work with so a lot of builders avoid it. Might be worth asking around to see if any builders are using it or are willing to put it in a custom board for you.
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The french brand “Gong” makes full carbon sandwich boards at a decent price. My friends who rides them are super happy with them
I’m biased, but I think Pedigo has dialed the best construction, big part of why we partnered. I ride everything and have broken boxes in almost every brand. Never broken a Pedigo. We’re debating sharing his technique so folks know how bombproof it is, but not sure on that yet…
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Appletree is bombproof, surprised closed cell foam is not already a standard in the industry. Gong is super fragile, pretty much the opposite of appletree.
I noticed the single skin Gong’s are fragile, but im pretty sure the sandwich constructions are ok…
On closed cell foam. It can be discussed what exactly closed cell foam is. Basic EPS is closed cell eh? What is this magic “closed cell foam” called?
Erik- there is no reason to hide anything. What ever Pedigo builds is open source as soon it leaves his garage. By presenting it to the world you have a chance of saying “we were first” 
I have a method for making bombproof, stiff and lightweight boxes. Will post once I have pictures later this week
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I rode a KT factory board for 2 years, just upgraded to an Amos. The difference was night and day, I really liked the KT, but in comparison to the Amos it is nowhere near as stiff or solid. I also tend to think the complex shape of the KT doesnt lend itself to longevity, lots of sharp corners / edges.
The amos on the other hand is simple, light, and so solid. Pumping for me was so much easier on the Amos. I cant say it enough but the board made me really feel a solid connection to the foil and my riding has definitely improved. Plus they have some cool shapes to choose from.
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Closed cell foam doesn’t absorb water. XPS is I think the most common, Appletree has their own proprietary foam which is supposed to take more force to compress. It needs to be vac bagged or else you have a high risk of delamination.
The nice thing about closed cell foam is that a ding doesn’t end your session. On big days I seem to overfoil on the drop and put my knee through me deck within the first halt hour. Its nice when I can stay out anyway,
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Just to be clear, the construction on the Ginxu is different than other KT boards, pulling more from Keith’s experience building windsurfers, etc where PVC sandwich is pretty standard. Its a construction I know has worked for me personally in other boards for different sports.
Everyone says their boards are tough, but unless they have some details about the build its all marketing to me.
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I am pretty sure every one can get their hands on the magic-foam appletree uses. Its just a matter of figuring out what the heck it is;) From working in the windturbine industry for many years I know that it requires an insanely large yearly order before you can get a foam factory to produce a foam with youre wished specs.
As you mention XPS has a big downside with delamination. And whatever closecell foam will always suck in water between the laminate and the foam it self.
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That makes sense, I’m sure their latest boards have definitely improved (not that their early ones were bad by any means, the shape is great for sure) just making comparisons to what I have ridden. I have yet to ride a ginxu, would be interested in trying one for sure.
I dont know though, maybe there is something different with the australian foam… haha
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When you order a board from Appletree it comes packed in the excess from the block the board was cut from. Its very high density and stiffer than other shaping foam I have seen. It doesnt flex at all and just snaps if you put too much pressure on it (you would need to find a very small trimming to get it to break at all). Looks like Takoon is using something similar in their newest boards (like Appletree they are also manufactured in Portugal - although different factory).
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I’m very curious to see what the next materials to be used will be.
10x stronger than steel( doesn’t say in witch way) but have wondered about hemp cloths for a while.
Hemp, flax and all the other “green” fibres are great for vibration-damping and to some degree impact. Can be compared with kevlar. Drinks alot of resin and therefore heavy in the end. But thats just knowledge from my own lab-tests.
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My latest series of boards has been pretty light, stiff and solid. I only make boards for myself, so im not trying to sell anything- just want to contribute to the scene.
First of all. I make boards from the bottom. The old fashion way using templates that I reuse, connect and all that. I use only thermoplastic cores as EPS and PET so I can use the hotwire and source materials locally and dont have to transport 80%air overseas.
Mostly my boards look like this at the box area:
The boxes I use are called Incra and are made for workshop-fixation. They are long, tough and freaking light. I install them at the very end using special alu/composite adhesive. Makes it bomb proof!! Very different process from installing normal us-boxes as you have to have ridges made in the vacuum proces.
Also, use a lot of contours on both deck and bottom to increase impact strength and stiffness.
Don’t know if any of this makes sense. Maybe the pictures will help.
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I have a 4’4" KT Drifter Full, 34L which has been very durable. I’ve talked to other guys that had KT Drifters that said their boards were falling apart, but no problems with mine.
My current daily driver is an Amundson 4’4" x 17" Super Model, 31L. For riding, I definitely prefer the narrower Amundson. However, the Amundson has started delaminating on the deck/rails.
I wonder if the black Amundson was more prone to delamming than the blue KT while out in the sun?? When not out foiling/walking to the beach, I kept both boards in board bags. However, I would store whatever board was the daily driver in my car 7 days/week, covered by a white tarp.
Anybody else having problems with their black, carbon fiber boards delaminating?
have heard that can be an issue if kept in a hot car. I think most manufacturers highly recommend you dont do this.