Repairing surfboards is an utter nuisance. It can get pretty pricey, too. Close encounters with rocks, accidental dings in transit, and random boards flying at you from all directions while surfing are seemingly inevitable evils. And while no surfboard of today is indestructible, advanced materials and new technologies are taking surfboard durability and strength to the next level. Guy Takayama’s lineup of epoxy performance longboards, fun boards, and hybrids have been in the market for nearly two years, and their resistance to pressure dings and the overall strength of these boards have exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Team riders and avid surfers have ridden these boards hard, and after cleaning off the deck they’re amazed to find it free of pressure dings. Billy Harris, who normally cycles through a few PU boards each year, is still riding the same Ali’i GT7 from two years ago. My GT5 got washed over the rocks at C Street on a sizable day and I walked away from that session ding-free.
With a little pestering last week, I was able to convince Guy and Mark Nelson to pull out a hammer and test the durability on a demo board in the warehouse. Watch what happens next.
