If you pay attention to surf media, you’ve undoubtedly seen the new Carbon Wrap surfboard construction being championed by bros and pros everywhere: in instagram feeds, web clips, …Lost’s website and more. There’s lots of information and buzzwords floating around about this new construction method, but what does it all really mean to you, the surfer who wants a quality board that feels good under your feet?
To provide some context, surfboard construction methods always seem to be on a sliding scale between boards that feel amazing, and boards that are extremely durable. Looking at the evolution of surfboard construction over the past few decades, we have seen lots of construction methods that feel amazing to surf but don’t last that long (hello, “team” glass jobs!), and we have seen even more construction methods that are extremely durable but sacrifice some of the positive feeling you get when you’re riding the wave. What …Lost has created using the Carbon Wrap construction method is a board that has the lightweight and lively flex characteristics surfers are looking for, without sacrificing durability or longevity.
…Lost’s Carbon Wrap construction is based around a stringerless EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) blank. EPS is lower weight than traditional PU (Polyurethane) foam blank, so right from the start you are saving weight compared to the industry standard PU/Polyester construction method. A stringerless blank also has more ability to flex compared to a blank with a centerline stringer, allowing the board to flex and load going into a turn and rebound/spring out of a turn, propelling the surfer forward.
The Dawn of …Lost Carbon Wrap Technology
The Carbon Wrap inlays are laminated into the board when it is glassed, beginning at the nose and moving down and out towards the rails near the fin cluster. The Carbon Wrap continues around the rail onto the deck of the board, and traces the tail outline all the way to the end of the board. The Carbon Wrap provides some structural reinforcement like a stringer would, but the big difference is the Carbon Wrap works WITH the torsional (twisting) flex forces you apply to the board while surfing.
The result is a board that seems to “spring” off the tail, allowing you to load up the board with even more of the energy you have going into a turn, and use that force to unload and explode out of a turn with a lively, springy feeling. When driving off the back foot, the Carbon Wrap technology allows you to engage the entire board, utilizing the flex pattern and allowing you to store as much energy as possible in the board with each pump and turn, and then use that energy to propel you down the line, up to the lip, or into the air.
Carbon Wrap construction boards use carbon strips to reinforce the deck and prevent the deck from caving. The carbon strips are strategically placed with a tapered design to evenly disperse the forces applied to the deck. After surfing the board for a few sessions, some heel/toe dents will start to form in the deck, which is an intended part of the design; most surfers prefer a board that will dent a small amount where their feet usually go, creating a great “locked in” feeling when your foot hits the sweet spot.
…Lost Carbon Wrap boards use a unique 45-degree angle weave fiberglass cloth. When you look at the board closely, you will see the weave running one direction nose to tail, intersected by the weave running at a 45-degree angle across the board in both diagonals (think of an “X” pattern that also includes strands running straight up and down from nose to tail). This unique fiberglass weave disperses energy more evenly throughout the board and allows you to engage more of the board when you are loading up power while driving the board through turns. The 45-degree angle weave optimizes the performance benefits of the Carbon Wrap and is the final ingredient in the “magic recipe” that is Carbon Wrap construction.
These boards are laminated with optically brightened epoxy resin, which is stronger than traditional polyester resin and gives you a board that stays white and looks fresh longer. It’s important to note that the epoxy resin is only one of the many components used in this construction, and surfers should be careful not to fall victim to the “epoxy cloud of confusion”. We are constantly helping to educate customers about the differences between the MANY different construction methods that use epoxy, and you will see everything from low-cost funboards to premium performance surfboards using epoxy at some point during the construction process. One should always keep in mind that epoxy resin is only one ingredient in the special sauce- in terms of performance, these Carbon Wrap boards are light years ahead of some of the other lower-quality construction methods out there.
Carbon Wrap construction is amazing for all types of shapes from grovelers and small-wave shredders to hybrids, performance shortboards and beyond. You typically won’t see “gun” style surfboards or boards for larger waves built in this construction, where mid-weight or even heavy-weight surfboards are preferred to help hold the board down into the wave face and remain stable at higher speeds.
So why do you want a …Lost Carbon Wrap surfboard? Because you love the benefits of a lightweight surfboard with a lively flex pattern, but don’t want to sacrifice durability and longevity. The groundswell behind these boards has been incredible, with top-tier pros raving about Carbon Wrap boards and claiming them as a game-changer. When you combine the shaping genius of Matt “Mayhem” Biolos with the performance benefits of the Carbon Wrap construction, you create a board that will help you push your surfing to the next level of performance and fun!
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