Extreme Outdoor Supply awhile back dropped a new Custom Board Builder application on their website. You can customize Exile Normal shape, Exile’s Dude Cruise!, Apex, Victoria, Sqauare, Grape and Dashboard. According to EOS owner Paul Barker,  “I wanted to create something that would make it possible for you to see the board before you bought it… there was nothing like it out there at the time when we came out with our first one… we have since made huge improvements on our original builder with a ton of more options.” Instead of going on MS Paint to design your new shred stick head on over to EOS to do it the right way.

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EOS Custom Board Builder

Xtrak Traction based out of Florida has a new series of traction pads coming out entitled “Tech2 Series”. What turned my head at the new pads is the unique grove pattern of the pads. One of the biggest questions I had…how are skimboarders being brought into the fray when it comes to designing and building pads?

Most traction pads these days are designed solely for surfers but it’s not the case with Xtrak. Skimboarders are harder on traction pads than anybody out there.  One of the big debates in skimboarding due to the intense demand put on a board and traction is “Which pad sticks better?”. Xtrak’s have always stayed on boards well but now it’s even getting better with the Tech2 Series. Xtrak’s VP Jason Gardner explains, “We’ve been working on new lamination processes that are helping us bond the individual pieces of foam together better than ever before. We are constantly working with our glue, foam and PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) suppliers to improve formulations and create a higher quality product.” And that new lamination process is being built around the demands of skimboarding.

Xtrak is owned by Hyperform, Inc., which is the last US manufacture of traction in the United States. Jason explains why that’s so important, “We can turn our CAD guys loose on groove pattern design, walk out on the factory floor, make the pad and then test it in the water the same day. That’s a lot more efficient than going back and forth with a manufacturer overseas and then hoping that what comes off the ship is what you wanted. If gives us a lot of flexibility and allows us to put out new designs all year long. “

The pads are just starting to get into some shops and in the coming weeks you will be seeing the Tech2 Series at most shops.