Surfboards are made of a lot of things. Wood, mushrooms, and of course, foam. One company, though, is changing the way foam is used. Varial Foam is actually a super high density foam originally used in the aerospace industry. Because it’s so dense, a stringer isn’t necessary, and because there’s no stringer, Varial Foam changes the flex patterns of the surfboard.
Shane Dorian’s been riding a handful of board that John Carper shaped from Varial Foam, and he is impressed. “I’m loving them,” he said. “They’re lighter and they’re stronger… but what I really like about them is that they have like a snap to them; this release that, especially in little waves, that I feel like is the performance aspect is greater than my normal boards.”
