Check out the inside story behind the development of LOST's official imported new material "XTR PARALLEL FLEX"!
First of all, I posted this on my blog yesterday:
I will be talking about the test board with the black rail side.
From the beginning, Javier from XTR told me that it would be better to stop,
After I found out that there was a black version of XTR foam, I decided to use black foam on my XTR board.
I thought it would be cool to incorporate it, so I forced it onto this test board.
Why did XTR's Habiyar say it would be better to stop?
Using black on a board collects ultraviolet rays from sunlight and instantly raises the surface temperature.
There were two problems with the product.
First, if the temperature is changed suddenly,
This can cause the XTR epoxy resin and XTR foam to peel off.
Another problem is that wax melts due to heat.
PHOTO by KENYOU
If you only use it in the winter in Japan, there shouldn't be any problems.
To test how much it can withstand midsummer temperatures,
In November, we took Nishii to Nias, Indonesia, a tropical climate, to test it out to see what would happen.
I had roughly considered it,
The wax melts easily when exposed to the sun while walking to the sea.
If you show the bottom so that it is not exposed to the sun,
The temperature of the black foam part on the bottom surface suddenly became very high.
And two more points,
There was also a problem with not being able to use the black form in production.
Mayhem has begun producing a few additional test boards.
We have received a message asking us to stop using the black foam.
The glue that attaches the wooden stringer and foam is ↑↑↑
The effect is halved against black,
This means that the stringer and foam tip will peel off during shaping.
The other problem is that black foam powder flies around during machine cutting and shaping.
It gets stuck to other boards in the factory.
At this point, the black foam cannot be used.
We also received some good news from Habiya.
Initially used in XTR 3D CARBOLIC,
We had planned to use the same material, Kevlar,
We have been informed that an extremely thin Kevlar has been developed specifically for this ``XTR PARALLEL FLEX''.
Stringerless boards use XTR 3D CARBOLIC Kevlar on the rails,
It is thick because its purpose is to make it strong.
If you laminate the same Kevlar as the XTR 3D CARBOLIC to the bottom,
It bulges out, and when you put the LOST mark on top and laminate it,
The swelling increased and when I sanded it, the mark got sanded away too.
The ultra-thin RED Kevlar used exclusively for the XTR PARALLEL FLEX is thin, so this has improved the thickness issue.
And because the carbon Kevlar part is thinner, the board is easier to flex.
The stringer colour and material have also been specially developed and designed.
For flexibility, three thin sheets of Italian wood are glued together.
Dyed in black and red to give the XTR PARALLEL FLEX a unique look.
It is designed to be combined.
"XTR PARALLEL-FLEX"
The positions of the two stringers have also been tested and aligned optimally.
This was also mentioned in yesterday's blog, but Gokin and
This was made possible thanks to the advice of Schoen Beschen, who is known as the surfboard doctor.
If you can make strong turns like them, there is no problem with the original stringer position,
What can we Japanese surfers do to improve their surfing in Japan's wave conditions?
I consulted with him, and while he was in Japan he actually tested it on Japanese waves and gave me some advice.
The XTR PARALLEL-FLEX stringer is positioned one inch further outwards than the original,
The board is now even more flexible, allowing those with weaker legs to easily bend the board.
It bounces back and makes it easy to gain speed through each turn.
In this way, "XTR PARALLEL FLEX"
Many excellent surfers and factory members participated.
It is a new material that has been developed over a long period of time and is unique in the world, and is only available as an official import from LOST.
