Early season scars

Some early season riding has left my board slightly bruised and
battered. After my last day out, I was surprised to see just how much
of a beating my board took. That got me to wondering...how much of a
difference does a three-inch shallow scrape in your P-Tex make (doh!)?
Aside from looking nasty, what kind of performance hinderances do dents
and dings to your base and edges present to an intermediate,
groomer/bowl rider? Does all of this matter if you're not an expert?
Just wondering
Eric

"Eric" wrote

Some early season riding has left my board slightly bruised and
battered. After my last day out, I was surprised to see just how much
of a beating my board took. That got me to wondering...how much of a
difference does a three-inch shallow scrape in your P-Tex make (doh!)?

And that you call "much of a beating"? Mine has a couple of neat
almost tip to tail scratches of about a coin depth (~1mm) and ~3mm width.

The worst thing is the diagonal scratches. They tend to mess up the edges
and they do slow you down if not filled up. It's much better to hit a stone
head-on than while scraping off speed.

That got me to wondering...how much of a
difference does a three-inch shallow scrape in your P-Tex make (doh!)?

If it is pointing lengthwise and isn't within an inch or two of the edge -
just use some super-fine grit carbide (usually black) sandpaper to round off
any sharp edges.

If it goes across the board or even diagonal, it mnay hang you up on flats
or make the board turn differently one way than the other. Read on....

Aside from looking nasty, what kind of performance hinderances do dents
and dings to your base and edges present to an intermediate,
groomer/bowl rider? Does all of this matter if you're not an expert?

The answer is, do you notice the board performing differently?

Edge dings are IMHO more noticable than minor to moderate base dings. Base
damage will make the board tuirn kind of funky but if you're not an advanced
rider you may never notice the difference.

And that you call "much of a beating"? Mine has a
couple of neat almost tip to tail scratches of about
a coin depth (~1mm) and ~3mm width.

Nice.

The worst thing is the diagonal scratches. They tend
to mess up the edges and they do slow you down if not
filled up. It's much better to hit a stone head-on
than while scraping off speed.

Edge dings are IMHO more noticable than minor to
moderate base dings. Base damage will make the
board tuirn kind of funky but if you're not an advanced
rider you may never notice the difference.

I did have a diagonal the width of my board that is probably ~1mm deep
as well...it sounds like that *might* cause problems. I must not have
noticed much of a difference, since I was surprised to find some of the
larger scratches at the end of the day. I guess I'll look for problems
riding the flats.

Thanks

Eric

I've had big giant gashes in my board that have been ptexed and waxed
over 500 times in 5 years and the only thing that it ever does to my
board is slow is down until I wax it again. Noting, I could use a
new board.

When I first started boarding I had this false belief that a shallow
gash in my board would steer me in the direction of the gash. This
was because I was a novice and couldn't board anyway

Boarding glades last weekend I was running over (and landing on)
branches sticking up (only 24" powder) and I just checked my board and
its scratchy looking but its still just fine.

I honestly don't think even major gashes ever really make much of a
difference but slow you down (in my experience).

Now edges are a different story. Especially for a
novice/intermediate. I think good sharp edges are important for a
non-expert. However, just as important as your bindings and stance so
its sort of a combination of things. You could have dull edges and
great settings/bindings and it may not be so bad

imho




On 9 Dec 2004 11:19:25 -0800, "Eric" wrote:

Some early season riding has left my board slightly bruised and
battered. After my last day out, I was surprised to see just how much
of a beating my board took. That got me to wondering...how much of a
difference does a three-inch shallow scrape in your P-Tex make (doh!)?
Aside from looking nasty, what kind of performance hinderances do dents
and dings to your base and edges present to an intermediate,
groomer/bowl rider? Does all of this matter if you're not an expert?
Just wondering
Eric

Cheers,
-sd
http://www.zoom.sh