July 9, 2009 at 11:17 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
While reading the latest Movement or Riptide Mags this month you might have noticed NMD and VS ads featuring a new logo and a new core technology which Nick Mesritz developed recently. The new core is called 3D Core Technology (Triple Density Core) and is a layered core composed of PE, PP and a thin layer between both cores. The new core technology is quite innovative and is definitely something you’ll be hearing about or surfing on very soon.
We were curious and teased with these new ads and new core announcement so we decided to talk to Nick Mesritz himself and learn more about the new board core than what was written on the ads.
We contacted Nick early this morning and here we are tonight, editing this really quickly at 11pm ! Yeah, web is magic and Nick does reply to his email faster then most !
READ THE INTERVIEW HERE
July 9, 2009 at 5:50 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
While reading the latest Movement or Riptide Mags this month you might have noticed NMD and VS ads featuring a new logo and a new core technology which Nick Mesritz developed recently. The new core is called 3D Core Technology (Triple Density Core) and is a layered core composed of PE, PP and a thin layer between both cores.
The new core technology is quite innovative and is definitely something you’ll be hearing about or surfing on very soon. We were curious and teased with these new ads and new core announcement so we decided to talk to Nick Mesritz himself and learn more about the new board core than what was written on the ads.
We contacted Nick early this morning and here we are tonight, editing this really quickly at 11pm ! Yeah, web is magic and Nick does reply to his email faster then most !
Here’s the quick interview:
First of all the core looks like the perfect solution between a stiff and a flexy board. Sounds amazing. How did you come up with the idea ?
My team riders had been complaining for years that PP is too stiff and PE is too soft, so the aim was to find or develop a core that was somewhere in the middle. I couldn’t find a single extrusion core material suitable. I tried beaded PP, but due to it being completely closed cell, the boards were too buoyant and sat too high in the water. It became obvious that to find the perfect compromise between stiffness and flex, I had to somehow combine the PP and PE cores we had available to us. It didn’t make sense to vertically bond the PE to the PP, as there would be an unnatural nose to tail flex, depending on where you placed the PE. Horizontally layered sandwich construction made much more sense to me. It had been used in snowboards for years and by layering the various foams, it was possible to achieve specific flex properties with natural, undistorted nose to tail flex.
How did you figure out how to make it work ? Coz i know PP and PE dont bond together too well without an intermediate layer. Must have been hard to make it all work ?
The next step was how to manufacture the core. I won’t go into too much construction detail, but in order to heat fuse the PP top layer to the PE base layer we are using a specially formulated substrate that allows us to achieve the PE to PP bond. This layer also adds to the flex properties of the board so we have selected a density and thickness that best serves our requirements.
I bet you made multiple tests with the riders ? and tests in the factory ?
As for testing, once I knew I could fabricate the board in production, I made up several samples for Ben which he has tested over the past 2 years. I’ve also made boards for other pro riders and some knowledgeable industry types to get their feedback. This feedback and input is what has helped me to dial in the right core layer thickness, which, in-turn, dictates the overall flex pattern of the board. That’s the beauty of this design, in that we can vary the flex of the boards by changing the layer thickness.
Is there a stringer in 3D core boards ?
Yes, we use a stringer in the 3D core boards. With today’s advanced levels of riding, there’s is not a core out there that can withstand the impact without some sort of stringer based reinforcement.
What’s the stiffness like ? between PE stringer and PP stringer boards ?
In its current construction, the flex of a 3D core board is pretty much in the middle between PE Stringer and PP Stringer boards.
The core is available in NMD’s and VS’s from what i’ve seen but will it be available in other board brands you build in your factory ?
All brands produced in our Indo factory will have access to the 3D type, multi-layered core technology.
Regarding the 3D core why did you choose PP on top and PE on the bottom ?
I chose PP on the top and PE on the bottom simply because this combination gave the best flex response and overall performance in testing.
Are you working on other cores in the future ?
I am working on a new PE blend core with my supplier. I hope to have test samples later in the year. But I’m mostly focused on the 3D multi-layered core technology and different variations dialled in for specific conditions.
3D Core ad Preview
Another 3D Core Ad Preview here
Thanx Mez for the quick chat !
Cheers,
Theo
July 5, 2009 at 4:19 pm | Spongercity Spongercity Store News
We just received the new Spongercity Baseball caps the other day and havent even had the time to let you know here on our one website ! What a shame ! Anyway, check ‘em out in the Spongercity Store. They’re like Flexfit™ caps but better, kinda in-between a Flexfit™ cap and NewEra™ caps. We’re using the best 6-panels Otto™ caps available for this with a flexible fitted thing. We went for the high end wool blend sort of caps with a nice Spongercity embroided logo in the front. Can’t be wrong with these ! We’ve got picture here (side), here (front) and here (back) for you to see.
Here are the tech specs if you even need them:
Stretchable Wool Blend with Flat Visor.
10% Wool – 86% Acrylic – 4% Spandex
- White embroided Spongercity logo in front
- Closed back
- Structured
- Firm Front Panel
- Flexible Fit
- 6-panel Flexible Fitted Cap
- Seamed Front Panel with Full Buckram
- 6 Embroidered Eyelets Matching Visor Edge Color
- Pro Stitch on Crown
- 6 Rows Stitching on Visor
- Matching Fabric Undervisor
Size is S/M and it’s flexible so it fits almost everyone except really small or really big heads.
We’re almost running out of the logo tshirts (the red ones with the logo in front, screenprinted on American Apparel tshirts) but we’ll try to re-stock them soon ! We still have some trucker caps and Bodyboarding Is Not A Crime tshirts. Anyway, if it says we’ve got them in store you can order them, we’re tracking the inventory correctly ! Die-cut stickers and badges are also available, limited edtion gold stickers are selling fast though !
The Spongercity Store
July 5, 2009 at 3:43 pm | Spongercity Links, Moving Pictures News
Incinerate Productions just uploaded a short clip from Portugal (Ericeira) featuring Portuguese riders as well as Australians James Kates, Jason Finlay and a few more friends. Check it out here: http://www.incinerateproductions.pt.to
July 2, 2009 at 11:26 pm | Spongercity Links, Moving Pictures News
There’s another cool edit from the Pipeline Turbo Pro on our friends’ website RookiesUSA. It’s the “Whale to winny revo in your face” video edit and you gotta watch that !
Link to the video.
July 2, 2009 at 11:16 pm | Spongercity Magazines News
Movement Mag issue 29 is now available. Check the cover here and visit the Movement Mag site for more. Ben Player on yet another classy cover, flying above a Chopes’ lip.
Here’s what’s inside (excerpt from the Movement website issue 29 page)
Bodyboarding can gift you many things, and not just the metaphysical; we’re talking the good shit, the tangible shit, the real shit. It might be the result of being marginalised from surfing so like any self-respecting minority group we banded together, built crude homemade weapons and made noisy intonations with the same hotheadedness as Indian student migrants (except we don’t have a country of billions standing behind us).
So nowadays you can book a ticket to Europe and bounce between gracious hosts who are always at the ready to show you around, if not house you. The Elit’ team arrived in Morocco with nothing more than a scrap of paper and some loose assurances given by some other loose acquaintances when they left France. They exited the airport in Casablanca and the Moroccan rep is waiting by his shiny red sports car, the country’s top rider, Adnane Benslimane, is happy to squeeze all four and boards for the eight-hour drive down the coast, his sound system that fills the entire boot is loaded with enough R’n’B to do the drive four times over. It might not always be pretty but it’s always appreciated.
What is becoming an annual feature for this magazine, the Balinese board test, should be one of the hottest tickets of the year. We won’t be surprised if pros start ditching contracts in future years just to land an invite. Seven or eight mostly unsponsored guys posted up in a luxury villa, courtesy of Dean who runs Secret Sumatra, with 28 plastic-wrapped presents and two weeks of scouring the island in search of waves, arak and Scandi babes.
It was Dean who also met Lackey, Hardy and Tom Smith at an isolated airstrip on the island of Sumatra, joining his driver on a fourteen-hour round trip so he could personally greet the guests, loading bags into the four-wheelers that could navigate the mountain towns back to the bodyboarder-owned oasis in the jungle. Perfect right out the front, Blackrock-style left a short drive and all the mod-cons for which a twittering iPhone kid could hope. This spot was little more than a jungle clearing when Hardy first visited in ‘05, discovered a couple of years prior on a surf trip Dean and fellow owner Chris took while they were teaching English in Taiwan. It’s now Hardy’s favourite Indo hang and one he’s been back to three times since.
Jono Bruce recently took a trip to South Australia with Thom Robinson as part of an overdue profile but bodyboarding never gave him much else. As talented as Rawlins in his prime, he drifted on the outskirts for reasons of his own and reasons that weren’t. He still lives on the Sunshine Coast, where we visited him, but isn’t the quiet young kid you might remember. For everything given, just as much gets taken – but remember the real shit.
- Movement
July 1, 2009 at 12:21 pm | Spongercity Magazines News
Movement Mag has a new website ! It looks good and clean, sort of like a site / blog thing with a neat design, pretty much like the mag itself. Nice job and nice re-design !
http://www.movementmag.com
June 29, 2009 at 8:54 pm | Spongercity DVD Reviews, Reviews News
A great DVD from the creators of SAME BUT DIFFERENT (Claws & Teeth – Dan Nicholls & West Matteeussen) with fresh faces, fresh waves, fresh footage, fresh editing and a lot more. The quality of the footage is really really good with a clean and clear image and not a single pixel of fuzzy stuff. The angles are sick too with a good mix of water footage and land footage and good original filming. There’s quite a bunch of riders in the vid as well as classic “everyone” sections. Continue reading this review by clicking the link below.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 29, 2009 at 7:43 pm | Spongercity Industry News
The new MS Viper fins will hit the Oz market in the coming month, and hopefully the rest of the world ASAP ! Check the pictures here, and also here.
The following press release was waiting in our mail box today:
MS VIPER FIN TO HIT AUSTRALIAN MARKET
GOLD COAST, QLD – Science is proud to announce the release of the MS VIPER fin to the Australian market, the new fin designed by Mike Stewart will be hitting stores Mid August.
We are extremely excited to be releasing the new MS VIPER fin to the Australian market. The fin market has been flooded with angled blade fins for years now and we believe that it is time for change
“MS Vipers are a shorter, wider design that incorporates a delta tail, a design which I have found to be very effective at enhancing control yet minimizing drag and loss of speed. The sidewalls are more beveled like a bodyboard and less vertical, which also enhances control. They have over three square inches of drainage for the foot pocket, the most drainage of any fin on the market, which work great to eliminate any sand or pebbles. They also feature a “rivet grip” pattern on the bottom of the fins that is designed not to snag onto coral or sharp objects, Mike Said.”
“ Mike Continued, Material wise they are similar to the original Vipers; they float and use the best natural rubber available. Natural rubber is a lot more environmentally friendly. Shape wise; there similarity to Vipers is they are symmetrical and shaped out of pure function. But that’s where the similarities end.”
Look out for the all-new MS VIPER fins at your local store in the coming months
June 27, 2009 at 4:06 pm | Spongercity Magazines News
Riptide Mag has revamped their website. Riptidemag.com.au. It’s better and easier to navigate than before, it looks like a classic blog more or less. We love Riptide and have been subscribing to the mag and reading it forever but we have to confess that we werent big fans of the previous Riptide website and althought this new site is better we’re sorry to say that it could have been revamped in a better way. Colors ? Ergonomy ? Navigation ? Origininality ? Design ? We’re sorry but we had to say it.
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