Filling the Foam Shortage
I was reading about the "Great Foam Depression" on SurfLine
... in the wake of the infamous Foam Depression, the surf industry had a real issue to address. The now defunct Clark Foam had supplied the industry with 250,000 to 300,000 polyurethane blanks per year.
On Friday, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) held a board builders forum at the Orange County Convention Center to address the concerns of domestic surfboard producers.
One quote in particular struck me:
"What got us into this problem was complacency. We were going on 45 years with the same material. It's about time we look at some other material," said Linden.
Having learnt a little about the technological development of surfboards over the last few months, I was a little surprised to learn that the major surfboard manufacturers were using materials technology from 45 years ago.
I thought that someone, somewhere, was experimenting with the kind of composite materials used in hi-tech manufacturing by now - and I was right.
A company called Hydro Epic are making boards that are made from "an array of aerospace composites including, but not limited to"
So maybe the "Great Foam Depression" is a great time for small board manufacturers to sell boards made of the new aerospace composites.
Maybe if enough people try these new hi-tech boards - and like them - it will revolutionise the sport as much as the introduction of the "short board" and the 45 year old foam technology.
Another one to watch out for - the irresistable combination of technological innovation & extreme sports means that there's always something to look forward to.
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Tags: extreme sports surfing kite surfing wind surfing extreme tales