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Some really nice strapless boards

Are you killing it on your surfboard? Have a question about riding styles or a trick? What surfboards work, what doesn't. This is the place to talk about your surfboard gear.

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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby starsky » Thu Jul 09, 2009 2:22 pm

Yo no strappers,

Got me a nice little rocket fish in the eye by Scott Busbey in Hatty a couple years back

Slow and bouncy in chop with a kite, but great fun in shore break.

Anyway, mentioning this cause he built it with a raised deck with a piece of corcell layed up on the deck. Super light board with a really light glass job on the main, but the deck itself is bomber. No dents whatsoever. Though it was built as a performance small to med wave board for a guy a little bigger than me, it works well in its second incarnation as a paddle in for a hack and light wind and wave board with a kite.

Any other surfboard out there built like this? Raised deck made of a hard foam layer. Makes for a nice thin rail but gives it some beef/float and the bonus of a really tough deck.
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby Kitesmurf » Thu Jul 09, 2009 9:07 pm

Jon M. et. al.,

I posted up a shape looking for a builder but got only one reply. Maybe this is a better place to post. This shape is pretty dang close to what I want, but the builder inhaled way to many fiberglass fumes -- he even forgot two of the FCS boxes!

Anyway, here it is : viewtopic.php?f=9&t=298

Now, who can build it right this time?

Thanks,
Droffats
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby starsky » Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:36 pm

Yo again, not a lot of action on this thread, but I've hapily had plenty of surfboard action lately. A crappy summer = more time stapless than in boots. Spent a good 50% of my time in low wind conditions tooling around on my surfboard working on little tacks and unhooking. Fall arrives with some big winds and I get to log some smaller kite time in good beach break. Couple sessions ago I end up a little under done on a 10 when the wind dips a bit and instead of rigging bigger I psyche myself up to have a go strapless in 4-5 foot chaos. F@#$ing A! No issues at all. Was always intimidated by higher wind and real waves strapless.... no more. What an eye opener. Actual waves, actual surfboard, loads and loads of fun. Not bad for the great lakes. Were not talking big surf, but certainly conditions that many strap riders find challenging. Lost my board only a few times... pretty much on par with the average strap guy out that day. Since then I've had another few sessions with equal or more time on the surfboard, by choice not necessity or convenience. Sadly my very light glass job board has proven that it is not really up to the task. Managed my first (accidental) decent air on the way out where unexpectedly the board stayed with my feet. Could feel it buckle on landing. The elation of fluking a 6-7 footer with no grab was quickly followed by the unmistakable feeling of damage! So sad. Didn't work up the nerve to stop and have a look for another few min. Sure enough right in front of my front fins there is a total crease that wraps up around the rail to the sheet of dense foam that is on the deck. Exposed foam all across the bottom. I thought heel dents were my biggest worry, (this board has a divinicil deck) but the super light glass everywhere else got me in the end. Anyway, that board tought me a ton. Not only in my riding, but about what I want in a surfboard and fin set up. Found in our mush and wind swell it was more fun as a twin than thruster. Have replaced it with a much shorter but only slightly narrower tuflite board that is really similar in plan, rocker and tail design except for the light build! Why am I sharing all this? No real reason, bored at work and just stoked on the whole new strapless outlet I've stumbled into. Great that there is a fun alternative to the barn door that can lead to so much satisfaction in the waves. So much more fun than that old mutant I used in waves a couple years back, and easily as much fun as my wake set up. Wake and surfboard are a sweet combo. No more sessions spend schloggin it out in boots just praying for it to pick up a bit. Just hope tuflite is up to the task. Don't really plan on airs, but I dont imagine that first will be my last. Have plans to pass on my recently crunched board to whomever shows the inclination to resurect her with a glass job. Might not be pretty but should be fine to stoke up someone else to lose the straps.
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby Lonny » Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:51 am

starsky wrote:Yo again, not a lot of action on this thread, but I've hapily had plenty of surfboard action lately. A crappy summer = more time stapless than in boots. Spent a good 50% of my time in low wind conditions tooling around on my surfboard working on little tacks and unhooking. Fall arrives with some big winds and I get to log some smaller kite time in good beach break. Couple sessions ago I end up a little under done on a 10 when the wind dips a bit and instead of rigging bigger I psyche myself up to have a go strapless in 4-5 foot chaos. F@#$ing A! No issues at all. Was always intimidated by higher wind and real waves strapless.... no more. What an eye opener. Actual waves, actual surfboard, loads and loads of fun. Not bad for the great lakes. Were not talking big surf, but certainly conditions that many strap riders find challenging. Lost my board only a few times... pretty much on par with the average strap guy out that day. Since then I've had another few sessions with equal or more time on the surfboard, by choice not necessity or convenience. Sadly my very light glass job board has proven that it is not really up to the task. Managed my first (accidental) decent air on the way out where unexpectedly the board stayed with my feet. Could feel it buckle on landing. The elation of fluking a 6-7 footer with no grab was quickly followed by the unmistakable feeling of damage! So sad. Didn't work up the nerve to stop and have a look for another few min. Sure enough right in front of my front fins there is a total crease that wraps up around the rail to the sheet of dense foam that is on the deck. Exposed foam all across the bottom. I thought heel dents were my biggest worry, (this board has a divinicil deck) but the super light glass everywhere else got me in the end. Anyway, that board tought me a ton. Not only in my riding, but about what I want in a surfboard and fin set up. Found in our mush and wind swell it was more fun as a twin than thruster. Have replaced it with a much shorter but only slightly narrower tuflite board that is really similar in plan, rocker and tail design except for the light build! Why am I sharing all this? No real reason, bored at work and just stoked on the whole new strapless outlet I've stumbled into. Great that there is a fun alternative to the barn door that can lead to so much satisfaction in the waves. So much more fun than that old mutant I used in waves a couple years back, and easily as much fun as my wake set up. Wake and surfboard are a sweet combo. No more sessions spend schloggin it out in boots just praying for it to pick up a bit. Just hope tuflite is up to the task. Don't really plan on airs, but I dont imagine that first will be my last. Have plans to pass on my recently crunched board to whomever shows the inclination to resurect her with a glass job. Might not be pretty but should be fine to stoke up someone else to lose the straps.


Hey Starsky,

I don't think I ever properly welcomed you to LTS! So thanks for joining and posting!

Great post. Very inspiring, and I am glad that you took the time to share it. Congrats on nailing your first no hand big air even if it did cost you your board. Fact is, it was worth it! :wink: There is really nothing better to me than getting out on decent wave day and crushing it with your surf or skim. Very addictive. I live for those days, but they have been few and far between for us down here lately. N-NE 20-25 Friday through Sunday. Finally!

There is a dark side rider that I kite with all the time and he loves to tell me how he "lost the straps" with boots and combos in a bit of wakeskate and skim. Your right it is a nice combo. Keep that stoke going...
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby starsky » Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:49 pm

Thanks for the welcome,

From what I can tell my old board (scott Busbey in the eye from OBX) was a 6'2 copy of a Rusty Piranha minus one set of wings. Not an old school fish, but fish like thruster with step down swallow tail. Liked it, then loved it, then broke it! Replaced it with what I thought would keep the feeling, but smaller for less bounce. Picked up a 5'8,19.3,2.1 Rusty Piranha in tuflite from Real. It's not here yet, but was wondering if anyone else has tried this board with a kite? Only one other mention of it on here in a 6'0 as bouncy. Hoping I made a decent call as it was a good price for new and from what I know similar to my board. Also interested in fin set ups. Found my board snappier and faster as a twin. Board comes with crap plastic fins that I'm fine to start with, but will probably shop for something better next spring when down south. What do you guys think of running it as a twin with a small or no trailer? What do you look for in a fin? size, foil, flex etc to keep it as low drag as possible?
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby Lonny » Wed Nov 04, 2009 3:22 pm

Personally, I like to stay 5' 7" to 5' 8" or under. Unless you are on a steep fast wave with a perfect side-shore to side-off setup I do not care for the added length. Most 6' 0" shapes and bigger generally have a narrower outline. The added length combined with a more narrow outline generally does feel bouncy, and I do not care for that type of feel for most riding. Unfortunately, I have never tried your board, but perhaps some of the other members here have.

Also, there is a very good discussion on fins here:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=190
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby Kitemare » Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:37 pm

I Have the Surftech Rusty Piranha. Can't recall if its 6'2 or 6'3, but its Bouncy for sure.
Don't know if its the size or the shape, so hopefully your 5'8 version will be nice.
Also have the 5'11 Surftech TL2 Stretch F4. It's smoother but still feels bouncy to me.
Mostly riding in side to side-on conditions. Come to think of it my Roush Morpheus skim,
and custom Skim are also bouncy. They're all bouncy! At 145 lbs, maybe just need to eat so more.
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby jacobhanson » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:18 am

kitemare..how is that TL2? I have a good line on the Rusty 6'2'' Kerr TL2 for myself but being that its my first board purchase wanted to get a little insight. Im riding a lot of choppy waters with waves that dont have a ton of face. Any insight from anyone would be great. Im almost 6'4'', tip the scales around 210 and ride an 8m, 10m or 12m. Thanks in advance!
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby CJCraze » Tue May 04, 2010 1:05 am

Just wondering if anybody has a comparison on either of the two lost boards compared to the placebo surfskate. I've been riding the surfskate since last summer and I really really like it. For the conditions I have in my home spot, I wouldn't really need anything else. However, it just doesn't seem to be holding up. The better I get at strappless riding, the bigger my airs are getting, and I'm getting more aggressive. It started when a friend of mine put his heel into my surfskate. I thought maybe he was just being rough with it, so I didn't give it much thought after it was fixed. I always try to land on my toes when doing airs. After he tried the board though, he liked it so much that he went and bought one. First session, he cracked his too.

Just the other day I put my heel into mine well, and when I peeled off the deck pad it was actually cracked in a couple spots. So I'll get it fixed again I guess. I'm in love with the surfskate, but I just don't think it's going to hold up for me going forward if I want to keep riding the way I do... which isn't even that crazy in my opinion. I mean I don't just want to ride around all day with the board stuck on the water when that board is just screaming to be ollied and aired off every lip you see. I'd like to find something similar, but just slightly tougher. Maybe an epoxy board that would just dent in, instead of crack like the placebo. When I get the placebo fixed this time, it was suggested to me to try beefing it up a bit with some extra layers of fibreglass in the front foot area of the board. It probably will look terrible, but since I have a pad over top it shouldn't really matter.

Thanks,

CJ
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby q-ball » Wed May 05, 2010 3:04 pm

I was just talking to the guys from Placebo when i picked up my new 5'11" witch is a beefed up version for kiting ,and Freddy at Fox Water sports in Hatteras said the Surf Skate should be in 2 weeks ,Way better const.A little Heaver but worth it.

Todd
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby cynbad » Thu Aug 26, 2010 12:16 pm

Hi Jon,
Is the Placebo Uber Fish still your favorite for strapless freestyle? I usually ride a skim in windy, choppy La Ventana, and am thinking of getting a surfboard for freestyle. I saw the 5'5" Lost RNF yesterday in a shop, and thought it would be a perfect board. I'm guessing the Placebo is more durable with it's construction, but is it as light as the Lost?
Thanks Cynbad
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby CJCraze » Thu Sep 01, 2011 11:13 pm

I thought I'd report back on my homemade beefing up of the placebo surfskate. About a year ago I got my friend to put in some layers of fibreglass underneath the front foot deck pad that I have on there, and since then I've been riding that board pretty hard and have yet to crack it again. I still try to come down on my toes from strappless airs, but it's holding up fine now!
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Al Merric Buiscut

Postby dugman » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:49 am

Just tried out a 5'11" Al Merric Buiscut. Super easy to ride. Has a flatish rocker. Flatter than anything else I have tried in a directional board. Good amount of float for me and it went upwind very well. Probably due to the flatish rocker. The waves were very small today (about Knee High) Anyone have experience with this board in head high waves or bigger. :D :?:
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby al.bennett » Sat Dec 03, 2011 5:13 pm

Hydroflex Lost Rocket 5’8’’ Review as a Kitesurf Board

this is about the only post i was able to find online regarding a mention to Lost rocket (lost rocket mentioned early on in thread)-
anyway, ive bought one, love it, cracked it and repaired it - still loving it - thought i would put my thoughts up as it might help someone else looking at lost or hydroflex, to give them an unbiased review.

Rider 85kg – Alan Bennett (no affiliation to any brand or shop)
Location - Ireland
Age 38
6yrs Kitesurfing experience
2yrs totally strapless (haven’t been on a TT/straps since I broke my ankle)
Usually out on the water min. 2 sessions / week, throughout the whole year.
Previously owned kitesurf surfboards
I have included this list to indicate that I have ridden a broad selection of boards and to show that I can give a fair review of this board in comparison to other good quality kitesurf boards.
F-one signature 5'10
Slingshot SST 6'0
JC -SD3 6'0 (surftech)
FireWire quad 6'0 (kite version)
Slingshot Celeritas 5'8"

I purchased this board after reading / researching many reviews and advertising bumpf online. I was looking for something for East Coast waves in Ireland. Basically wind generated swell, knee to shoulder high with on/cross onshore winds. I wanted something light in weight, NOT rigid, responsive, low entry rocker for fast acceleration, thruster fins (I just prefer them) and a concave bottom, basically I wanted a version of the Slingshot Celeritas which was more responsive and lighter.

Hydroflex website states the following about their technology –
• Superior performance and responsiveness 

• Exceptional wave curve / face / surface adaption

• The optimal application of internal force vectors guarantees maximal reset momentum 

• Optimal flexibility and acceleration 

• Highly resistant to dents and dings without feeling rigid or hard

• High strength to weight ratio, no delamination, less breaks and buckles 

• Completely customizable shapes and glassing 
• Easy to fix and recyclable

Hydroflex website states the following about the Lost Rocket Shape–
The Lost Rocket is a runaway success! This surfboard features a wide forward outline with round forgiving rails, flat deck and a wide “rocket” tail. The rocker is extremely low in the entry, for instant speed, with an exaggerated kick in the tail for tight arcs out of turns. It has actually much more tail rocker as any board in the Lost Surfboards line. Coupled with a deep concave throughout, via a straightened stringer line, this shortboard is a small to average wave all-rounder that can be effectively ridden 4" to 8" shorter, 1/8" thinner, and just slightly wider than your normal shortboard without sacrificing any of the carve or drive.


Firstly, out of the box this board is light, and I mean, very light. Initial thoughts were that it would be too light for kiting in heavy winds. This isn’t true, just make sure you hold on to it though ☺.
It is a beautiful shape and the finish is impeccable. Length, width, concave, rocker, rails and tail where just what I imagined/wanted.
Inflating it for the first time takes quite a while, as it takes a while for the air to filter through the foam. So much time I thought my pump was broken.
The fins supplied are FCS, but they are the cheap plastic versions. I was surprised by this, as at £669 this is not a cheap board.

The important stuff – For the conditions I wanted this board for, it is probably the best shape of surfboard I have ridden. It’s really fast on our east coast onshore waves, really responsive underfoot, It rides a bit higher in the water than say the Firewires, and I thought it might be a bit ’corky’ on my first session, but this isn’t the case, it rides nearly perfect for what I wanted it for. I’ve put a good few sessions in on it in varying conditions and truly love this board shape.

The technology makes this board super light and it’s really responsive. I kept the pressure between 4-6psi, once it started to register on the pump guage, as I didn’t want it too stiff or overly soft/flexible. I would need to ride it at different pressures to really judge if the pressure does make that much difference to it. I intend to take it out in bigger surf at a higher pressure when I get the conditions.

The only downside to this board is that even though I’ve taken it fairly easy on it over the last month (no punting or jumping) I have cracked it in the front foot heel area.
I had put a deck pad in this area but none the less, it has still cracked. Note should be taken that this is a ‘surf’ board and it hasn’t been advertised as a ‘kite’ surfboard. I knew this when I purchased it, but I am actively trying to find better solutions to existing problems and I thought this tech could be a great option for kiteboarding. That said, the crack is about 6inches long and can be fixed easily. I intend to add another layer or 2 of 6oz glass over the main ‘feet’ area of the board and re-apply another front deckpad. Although this will add a bit of weight, it should add more strength and durability and allow me to continue using the board as a kiteboard, and to be honest, a bit of weight to the existing board mightn’t be a bad thing.

I hear some of you say, ‘why didn’t he just go for the PU board (cheaper) and glass it up?’ My response is, ‘I’m prepared to try something new and maybe contribute to movement forward in kitesurfboard development’ (just don’t tell the wife about the price difference)

Conclusion
For small to medium on-shore waves, this board is truly brilliant to kitesurf. Its responsive, fast, goes upwind great, stable at speed, grip when you want it, but skatey when you want that also. I have been looking for this type of board for a while now and am really happy to find this shape and tech. All it needs to be great as a kiteboard, is an additional glass job on the top deck and a small deck pad for absorption of those heel bumps when riding to get out the back.

Mmmm, and a decent set of fins wouldn’t go a miss, especially at the cost its sold for.

Obviously all the above is just my opinion, but for anyone considering this as a kiteboard, I hope the above helps.
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Re: Some really nice strapless boards

Postby tungsten » Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:11 am

al.bennett, thanks for posting the report. very interesting, I was not aware of the hydroflex technology, this is really smart thinking, combining the porosity of EPS with added internal pressure. They say you can charge the board up to 9 PSI which is 0.6 kg/cm2, being within the margin of EPS' structural stability, so you don't blow the board up. That looks like a major step forward in board technology.
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