R and D - 70/40 Construction

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Surfmat 40 denier super light weight 70/40 Research and Development R&D Little Boy Blue RB-JMC

For some time I've been interested in finding lighter fabrics than 70 denier material. Back in the day, Dale Solomonson (Neumatic) built a few mats out of 30d Taffeta. There are a few mats still kicking around made from this mythical fabric, but not many. Rare as hen's teeth, this weight of fabric is hard to find in anything other than Ripstop. And ripstop sucks for mats.

Fast forward and I've got to know talented newby mat builder Zac Garfield over at Valley Pool Toys pretty well. Zac managed to source some 40d Taffeta and was good enough to share where from.

Fast forward a little more and I've built the first of a few mats to see how this fabric is. Like Zac, I found that this material is really not easy to work with. No surprise there though.

As I've said in previous posts, it is tempting to get excited about something new and immediately put it out into the market but you need to know how it works in terms of performance, quality and durability before putting it out there. I am excited about this though.

Surfmat 40 denier super light weight 70/40 Research and Development R&D Little Boy Blue RB-JMC

Having ridden this 70/40 (70 denier deck and 40d I-beams and bottom) prototype named "Little Boy Blue" 3 times in varying conditions, it seems to be holding up well and it is super-duper light! Initially I wondered if this mat was more sensitive but no faster but I have tested in comparison with Night Rider (my 70/70 RB-JMC) built to the same dims. I have swapped with other surfers between the two mats and have to say it is quicker too. That means that Little Boy Blue is quicker than the mat that is quicker than any mat I'd ridden before it.

Before people get excited though, there are a few things to keep in mind. Testing isn't done yet. This mat needs at least 10 surfs to test durability as a bare minimum. I also need to get this under the bellies of better mat surfers than me. Also, if this works out then this configuration would only suit experienced mat surfers who comfortably ride 70/70 as a go to mat. It would be easy for someone to buy the 'idea' of this only to find that its not at all suitable for them. It's not about competition or anything just important to make sure people have the right mat.

Cheers

G