Entropy Surfboards, a division of Entropy Sports, Amroy Europe (Amroy) Ltd., and Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) LLC have teamed up to deliver a new line of custom-made surfboards that incorporate carbon nanotubes from BMS.

Entropy Surfboards believes that epoxy systems are the future of and a key ingredient in making a more durable and lively surfboard. For that reason, the company is using Hybtonite®, an advanced epoxy system from Amroy that incorporates Baytubes® carbon nanotubes from BMS, resulting in composite structures that are tougher and more durable than standard epoxy systems. The surfboards combine performance and durability with the traditional feel of a custom-shaped board. The dimensions and weight of the boards will vary per the specifications of each customer.

The basic construction process for surfboards has remained basically unchanged for over 50 years, making customers very particular about how their boards look and feel. The core consists of a type of foam with a stringer made of wood or plastic that spans from the nose to the tail, and is then wrapped in fiberglass. It is the final step that sets Entropy surfboards apart from traditional boards, when the Hybtonite system is used. The incorporation of BMS’ Baytubes carbon nanotubes allows Entropy to achieve increased toughness without sacrificing the flex properties of the board.

The epoxy systems used in Entropy Surfboards, as well as other Entropy Sports high performance products and materials, are lab tested at the Berkeley Composites Lab on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Entropy surfboards, featuring various materials, shapes and construction methods, are also tested year round in a variety of surf conditions.

“The Bayer carbon nanotubes increase durability by a factor of two to three, while also decreasing the fatigue that is often seen in traditional boards subjected to everyday conditions,” said Rey Banatao of Entropy. “Because of the benefits they offer, we decided to pursue using carbon nanotubes in our products once they became available and affordable.”

“BMS has succeeded in producing high-quality carbon nanotubes in a cost-effective process,” said Joe Ventura, business development manager, Baytubes carbon nanotubes, Bayer MaterialScience LLC. “As a result, our Baytubes are helping create entirely new materials with revolutionary properties for applications, like the Entropy Surfboard, in numerous fields.”

Bayer MaterialScience LLC is one of the leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with nearly 15,100 employees at 30 sites around the world and 2008 sales of 9.7 billion euros. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical, and sports and leisure industries.

Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2008 net sales of approximately 8 billion euros (about $12 billion) and employed 17,000 at year end. Bayer’s three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve people’s lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose, prevent and treat diseases; protect crops and enhance yields; and advance automobile safety and durability. For more information, go to www.bayerus.com.

story via

A recent article on ESPN’s website really got under my skin, so I apologize now to all the non-kooks who enjoy ESPN (Disney) coverage of their sporting events… hum not really.

The kook author, Jake Howard, ESPN blogger and senior writer for Surfer Magazine, makes arrogant remarks and furthers the misconceptions by saying, “most surfers can hardly add let alone figure out Kelly Slater’s career win/loss ratio.” This remark seems surprising coming from a guy who writes for surfing culture magazines and internet blogs. (Well, I guess this is one reason surfing mag went bankrupt, poor choices.)

The “journalist” Jake Howard notes that there is no “database” to search surfer data and, admittedly, their is not an official “database” although their are countless records, if you know where to look.  Despite the many shortcomings of the article, Howard unknowingly unearths some interesting questions about surfing.

Should surfing become another stat filled commercially covered game like baseball? I question the good databases would do for the surfing community and I defiantly have my reservations. But as more and more $money$ comes pouring into the “cool” sport of surfing, is it inevitable? YES.

Stats and coverage will drive sales and boost bottom lines of both companies and the pro surfers, but what is the affect on the line up? I think we can all admit we don’t need any more kooks out there. I think we are all aware of over crowding in every line up around the world.

One of the central problems with stats and surfing is the subjectivity of the sport and what is considered a 10.0 ride. We all know what good surfing looks like, but there are often variations in style and form that are often subjectively viewed as good and bad. Ultimately, stats raise the question of how to really judge surfing contests and how the events should be formatted.

Surfing as a pure sport with stats and live coverage is in its infancy and we are only just figuring these things out. Go back to the begining of any sport, including baseball and you’ll find only weak stats available.

Well, I look forward to comments…

Although, Luxxotica, the parent company of Oakley, Ray Ban, Arnette, and others, Q1 sales were down 11.6%, Oakley/Ray Ban sales helped off set the companies weak performance in other sectors.

“The positive sales performance in all markets by Oakley and the success of Ray-Ban’s optical collections only enabled the Group to partially offset the effects of the challenging macro-economic environment, which triggered strong measures by clients to cut inventory levels. Wholesale sales for the period were Euro 501.6 million, compared to Euro 619.6 million (down by 19.0% at current exchange rates and by 19.8% at constant exchange rates). Regarding sales in key geographical regions, Luxottica’s performance was substantially positive in Continental Europe and South America, while sales were down in Southern Europe, North America and the Far East. “

story via