OK, now they need to make one out of FedEx boxes.

Snowlovers

@GadgetPlay: You can buy starchitect Frank Gehry's corrugated cardboard furniture. I recall "rougher" prototypes of sofas with cushions made of corrugated cardboard; comfortable but not so durable.

skierpage

does anyone know if the 3G version will incorporate GPS?
i've heard rumors, but it sounds like the usual shellac that gets passed around just before a developers conference.

macminime

i'd like to know how secure the fins are held into the body. if they're not, one good bottom turn or kickout and you're takin a header...

SharkByte

@Pope John Peeps II: Look up "sway load" - should offer some insight into your question.

Geisrud

"Thanks to a mathematically sound triangular pattern"

It looks more hexagonal (honeycomb) than triangular? Although technically a hexagon can be divided into 6 triangles it seems odd to call this design "triangular" rather than "hexagonal" or "honeycomb"?

Useless sidenote for the day: Triangles and hexagons are the only polygons besides quadrilaterals that will tessellate (or tile) a plane.

ninjamurf

Is it me, or does the underside of that board look an awful lot like really tasty fish scales?

robinandtami

Distribute as open source and we all be more happy.

MarlboroTestMonkey7

It's like, what if Keanu from Point Break, and Keanu from The Matrix, where like the same guy! Wooooooooo!

But seriously though. That looks awesome.

Lazarus511

I wonder which "3-D modeling software" he used? I use both UG and CATIA, maybe I can get a copy of the model...

But then I'd have to build an accruate sim, 'cause going outside with all that icky UV...

/shudder

Kuato

@sharkilepsy, hey don't nit pick or I am gonna give you a "shellacking" like you never had.

Oh, also the act of applying shellac is "to shellac"... sort of like painting something with... paint...

1. shel·lacked also shel·lacked, shel·lack·ing also shel·lack·ing, shel·lacs also shel·lacks To coat or finish with shellac.
2. Slang
a. To strike repeatedly and severely; batter.
b. To defeat decisively.

kazmodo

@nunzio910: I'm pretty sure there are no adult great whales that come in at even less than 10-13 tons =P

Kaiser-Machead

Damn... Pretty. Wish I was a surfer.

Maybe I should just buy one and use it as a wall sconce. It just looks... *cool* with the light coming through it...

Thud

weight, impact strength, and price?
- at 1 to 2 lbs per cubic ft, an EPS (stryrofoam) blank might weigh 2 -4 lbs before it is glassed with epoxy and fiberglass; probably less than a cardboard blank.
-what keeps your knee or heel from denting all of those 2" gaps? I think it needs a deck skin and fin reinforcements, that or an absurd amount of fiberglass.

- that EPS blank can be milled to the final shape in half an hour on a shaping machine, much less time than it takes to cut, glue, and assemble 400 pieces of cardboard.

detailed build process :)
[www.swaylocks.com]

sofa2000

Wonder why he went with cardboard instead of corrugated PVC...

lpranal

That's fucking awesome.

Metropolis

funny, i was just thinking this morning about how surfboard should make the move from fiberglass to fiber carbon (though a quick search shows someone already thought of that). just happened to be on my mind as i'm getting a new board this weekend.

dhaberer

This looks cool, but it's no new technology or anything - honeycomb core composites have been around for years. It would be cool to see the core made out of PP. That's make it very cheap and (almost) completely transparent.

@Pope John Peeps II
The cardboard acts like the vertical component of an I-beam. It will be very strong when loads are applied to the top and bottom. Forces applied to the sides or ends could potentially collapse the honeycomb, so could a force in one direction on the top and a force in the opposite direction on the bottom.

greimel

"shellac it with fiberglass and epoxy resin."
shellac is a material not a verb. you can't "shellac" anything with fiberglass...bra

sharkilepsy

As a packaging designer who has everything to do this at his fingertips, I shamefacedly admit that I have never thought about this.

But it does start me thinking about ways to build that kayak I've been wanting...

y_chromosome

Yea, looks pretty sweet..especially if you are a two ton great white. Does that look like a fishing lure to anyone?

nunzio910

@DeanOfAllTrades: thanks. I knew that... but good sharing.

sonburn

With the demise of ClarkFoam, there is pretty much only one manufacture of surfboard blanks, causing drastically inflated prices of boards in the past year. As far as rigidity goes, it doesn't take much to snap a current board in half. I would think torsion would be a huge factor though. As far as riding one, surfboards are like sports cars - the lighter you can build them, the more maneuverable they will be. I can't wait to see how this plays out. Its hard being a geek and a surfer. Surfing lifestyle is always leery of innovation.\

poppageorgio

@Pope John Peeps II: i'm pretty much talking about side to side. you put torque on it and it should snap pretty quick.

but to anser your question, yes, a physicist would be able to explain this.

valarmorghulis

Wait, wouldn't the force only be distributed evenly along certain axes???

I mean, say if you twisted that board, surely there are some directions in which it does not distribute force....

You can make a bed out of cardboard, but if you kicked it from the side it would still collapse.

Can a physicist explain this?

Pope John Peeps II

@sonburn:@giyad: Fiberglass in surfboards is not the same as fiberglass insulation in your home. Well it is but it isn't. Think of boats and cars. These are long strands woven into sheets and held together with resin. Fiberglass insulation is the small itchy scratchy stuff that you are thinking of.

DeanOfAllTrades

Nerd don't surf.

SpudMills

@GadgetPlay: from the article: "Clear Seas: This surfboard's frame is cut from 16.6 square feet of cardboard and covered in transparent fiberglass."

nate4096

@HDC: "hopefully he can make them transparent like that so you can see underneath."

No problem! He'll just use some of that new transparent cardboard thats all the rage these days.
--------------------------------------------------------------

On a more realistic note, about 40 years ago I read about a way to make furniture by cutting cardboard into shapes and laminating layers together with varnish, and shaping, sanding and painting. I think I like this better, but it's the same idea.

GadgetPlay

wow, cool idea
i say whats gonna happen is that hes about to launch the site and some douche company is gonna offer him a few grand, he'll take it, and then the company will make millions off it.

bigpolla

Genius can't wait to get my own

cchromy

Even sharks will be more attracted by that.

billcanada

i'm more into boogie boarding then surfing...still though...if its not too much money...who knows...

jrghoull

@RiceBandit: hows that? only three are made, and one gets turned into a time machine then run over by a train?

myotheralt

@HDC: Picture this: you wipe out and.. wait.. Where's my board?

Next thing you know it shatters your jaw/nose because you couldnt see where it was coming from either.

Vonn64

@giyad: um... fiberglass is already used in the production of traditional boards... won't be any more uncomfortable than other fiberglass coated boards dating all the way back to 1946 when the first one was made.

sonburn

@geedots: $500-$600 is crazy pricey for a shortboard. You must not be buying local or only thinking of big name guys like Rusty and Merrick or thinking of some high-tech stuff like the firewires, avisos, or XTR/EPS boards. Course it also depends on where you live. I'm in San Diego so there's a ton of local shapers here.

superbalde

Hopefully he can make them transparent like that so you can see underneath. Glass bottom surfing! Good for seeing the Great White coming at you from below.

HDC

I read about this the other day. I'd love to try one out and see how it feels in comparison to my foam boards. Thanks for showing the surf community some love today Giz!

surfer88

@doofusgumby:

I hope you're right. I wonder how much longer we're going to feel the effects of Clark shutting down. Until new boards go below $500-600, I'm buying used.

geedots

fibreglass doesn't sound too good on your skin...

giyad

great way to recycle cardboard. Sweet board. Wished I surfed!

phijef

Looks like a Jewish surfboard to me...

rdldr1

with the impending demise of styrofoam, he might be ahead of the curve on this.

doofusgumby

let's get the TMNT/Shredder reference resolved aready...

"rafaello tried it, and came out parmesan"

NEXT!

discounteggroll

pretty shnazzy

baldingnerd

This will forever be known as the De Lorean of surf boards.

RiceBandit

Looks like the soles of my Vans.

j4sk868

That board looks pretty sweet. The scary part is the guy hopes to make a kit that you put together yourself. That could be bad news for people who don't like to read directions.

...goes and throws out hardened pile of fiberglass resin and cardboard

Delaportas

@shenanigans61: Neither am I, and I agree 100%.

djtooshay

"And, since they are made from inexpensive materials, it should make a day of surfing at the beach a lot more affordable."

... after he recoups R&D costs and if he doesn't mark them as "high performance" boards and if they can be produced at the same rate (and with the same amount of labor) as traditional boards...

chaoslink

I'm no surfer, but that's pretty sweet.

shenanigans61