This article was inspired by a conversation with our customer Erik, who asked me why are our hexagons smaller than the ones developed by the other guys :) While I was writting the reasons down I realized that despite we have solid reasons to developed our surf grip pads with the actual size and shape, I never wrote it down. So, here are the main reasons why our magic hexagons measure 104mmx95mm:
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Grip traction pads - The bump effect
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Wasteless surf grip
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Freedom to create your grip pattern on the surf board
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Hexagonal grip and water drainage
GRIP TRACTION PADS - THE BUMP EFFECT
Most of surf font grip pads (and back foot grip pads as well) have deep bumps to provide the correct amount of traction. Our tests indicate that smaller hexagons provide better traction, as the gaps between the hexes help to provide traction as well. With that info, we decided that the hexes size keeping in mind that your feet should step 2 or 3 hexagons. Larger panels work great on front EVA or cork grip pad, as they have more and higher bumps, on thin materials as is our case, the gaps between the hexagons help to create those bumps effect.
WASTELESS SURF GRIP
Among the question above, we wanted to avoid as much waste as we could. Based on the width of the rolls that we produce of our surf grip, we calculated the best ratio between the width of the hexagon vs rolls width to reduce as much waste as we could. That’s also why since 2020 that we sell (optionally) half hexagons in our packs.
Right now, we are trying to found a way to transform all our current waste into something new.
FREEDOM TO CREATE YOUR GRIP PATTERN ON THE SURFBOARD
This one is quite simple: the bigger the pads, the fewer options to place them on the board in a way to fit your surf style and surf grip needs. Our hexagons are big enough to don’t become a pain in the **s applying them on your surfboard but small enough to provide you as much freedom as possible to create your own surf grip pattern.
With so many surfboard shapes, we needed a traction pad that could adapt seamlessly to any kind of surf board.
HEXAGONAL GRIP AND WATER DRAINAGE
On our first tests we tried almost any kind of shape you can imagine: diamonds, circles, squares, L shapes, and so on. In the end, we found that hexagons where the best shape to create channels that allowed water to drain. With that in mind, we decided to go ahead with the hexagonal shape with a small gap between them to create a water drainage channel. After watching some tutorials we found on how to apply ceramic hexagonal tiles, we recreated the small guide piece that allows you to create the perfect gap and pattern on your surf board.