mikel45 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Any DIY-selvers or OEM builders experimenting with eco-friendly materials, e.g. bamboo sidewalls or hemp stringers? Apparently provides a damp and stable ride with pop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Boomtown sports Nelson BC makes skis and boards from bamboo no Alpine boards though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 I rode a Salomon powder board which claimed to be made from bamboo. It rode the same as other powder boards from what I remember. I'm not sure snowboarding can be "eco friendly" in any real way unless you're riding the hills outside your back door. Well that's true for where I live at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Donek was working on bamboo cores a few years ago. Not sure how that worked out-maybe Mr. Martin will chime in. Of course, if you're riding lifts for your turns, board materials are the least of your environmental impacts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel45 Posted August 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) Absolutely, you guys bring up overall important point - our sport is far from carbon neutral. Since the majority of us are vintage, [poll: how old are you] wondering if the younger environmental sensitive SICK generation, as in . . . "Your awesome new snowboard is sick! . . . performance being equal, might prefer to purchase eco-friendly alpine boards. Edited August 2, 2013 by mikel45 Senior moment - forgot to put in link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeho730 Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 For donek, bamboo core (one has to ask though), non-toxic and biodegradable ink for base and 50% non-oil based resin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wampum Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 The fundamental reality is that all boards are composite in construction- Made up of laminating or gluing layers of different materials together with pressure and possibly heat, means that even if one uses a sustainable material, you will probably not be able to separate it and thus recycle it in any way. Sorry, that is the cold hard fact of boarding :( Want to be Eco - Buy a board, use it and love it for a while, then let someone else use it and love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 For donek, bamboo core (one has to ask though), non-toxic and biodegradable ink for base and 50% non-oil based resin? Im riding a bamboo core donek and love it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Ace* Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Some manufacturers use Entropy resins. http://www.entropyresins.com/super-natural-materials Been using it myself, great product! Hemp is one of those natural composite fibers being employed, something similar is flax. I have thrown around the idea of trying to construct cores from old skids/shipping pallets, in due time. I think Mervin Manufacturing, aka Lib Tech, use some sort of soy bean based plastic for topsheets. There is a lot of tech in the industry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykcuz Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Absolutely, you guys bring up overall important point - our sport is far from carbon neutral. some think that buying "carbon credits" would offset, i come from the school of thought that you should do your homework, buy the right board, treat it well, and ride it for years. Of course im not a competitive rider so theres that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel45 Posted August 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 Green Ma-chine by Prospect Snowboards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donek Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 There are two bio based resins on the market. We have tried them, but have not made any commitment. They are 1.5X the price of the stuff we've been using for years that has never let us down. The benefit of changing is dubious if we start to have problems with the system and wind up replacing boards because they don't last or work as well. For now, we've chosen to stick with old reliable. Bamboo sounds really cool, but it has to be put on a boat and shipped from China. In the end, it is my belief that purchasing rapid growth lumber from the US that is sustainably harvested is better for the environment and the US economy. I have looked into flax, but the companies that manufacture fibers and cloth never provide responses to questions, so we are unable to proceed on that front. As stated, snowboards are next to impossible to break down and reuse or recycle. The end product is decidedly non-green and the materials used in their fabrication are largely petroleum based. Most of the materials used in today's alpine boards are also produced in Europe, so must be shipped great distances. Titanal, rubber foil, and the best race base is all produced in Austria. As a former employee of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, I have always been extremely conscious of the environmental impact generated by what I do. I am also very aware that a large degree of environmental impact comes from how things are done as well as what goes into the board. We make every effort to keep our power consumption to a minimum and use only the chemicals that are completely necessary. Our epoxy resin is one of the lowest toxicity resins available, meaning it does not require extensive protective gear when using it and it can be washed from the skin with soap and water. The environmental impact therefore results in very low atmospheric pollutants. The only solvent or volatile chemical in use in our process is acetone in the accelerator used in the edge tacking glue we employ. This amounts to less than a pint of acetone per year. While most manufacturers use petroleum based grinding fluids that claim to be biodegradable, we use grinding fluid derived from corn which is so harmless you could put it on your breakfast cereal. While such practices don't give you the warm fuzzy's prevalent in the green washing campaigns most other manufacturers employ, they tend to be far more effective at minimizing our impact on the environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 The fundamental reality is that all boards are composite in construction- Made up of laminating or gluing layers of different materials together with pressure and possibly heat, means that even if one uses a sustainable material, you will probably not be able to separate it and thus recycle it in any way. In the case of bamboo it is not so much that you can recycle the material, rather that the resource itself is renewable, it's basically just giant grass that grows very quickly. Sean makes a good point about the impact of shipping.I have an S9 bamboo longboard. I have no idea if it is environmentally any better than wood, but it looks cool and performs well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTS-V Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Absolutely concur w/Donek's comments about shipping. Also...those DHL 757 Cargo planes shipping all of our stuff from Europe really negates any benefit an "eco-friendly board" may possibly have....when it's all said and done. Not to mention all the energy that goes into making the base materials (i.e. "titanal, rubber roil, etc...") like Donek mentioned.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Sean writes well. An easy, intelligent read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Sean writes well. An easy, intelligent read. Green, Environment friendly, minimize impact, " Semantics". We are humans we leave a mess wherever we tread. My contribution to the cause is to buy what I need and use it forever.As far as vehicles I still have my first one bought 43 years ago. My daily driver is a 79 minivan 2.5 turbo 5 speed. I'm always the oldest car in the parking lot. Don't even try the phrase it's old or it pollutes it's nor as efficient as ...... for the miles I drive it's not a factor. When it come to boards putting an isolation plate on anything makes it as good as the latest board without. You guys keep chasing after the holy grail and i'll buy up your junk and keep it purring (money in my pocket):lol::lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacopodotti Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 AFAIK Plasma uses bamboo and Sense use flax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel45 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Re: Shipping bamboo Despite its image as a product only shipped from China - the United States has productive bamboo farms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donek Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Re: Shipping bamboo Despite its image as a product only shipped from China - the United States has productive bamboo farms. There may be farms, but none of that material is being made into useable lumber products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel45 Posted September 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 Heck, I would be the first to admit I know next to nothing about bamboo, or for that matter OEM construction requirements - so I stand to be corrected regarding lumber availability. Though I was wondering if it might be hypothetically possible to use Georgia farm grown bamboo poles for snowboard sidewalls. The Thigpen Trail Bamboo Farm caters to wholesale customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donek Posted September 3, 2013 Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 Heck, I would be the first to admit I know next to nothing about bamboo, or for that matter OEM construction requirements - so I stand to be corrected regarding lumber availability. Though I was wondering if it might be hypothetically possible to use Georgia farm grown bamboo poles for snowboard sidewalls. The Thigpen Trail Bamboo Farm caters to wholesale customers. I believe the way it is turned into usable lumber products is by splitting the bamboo while it is still green and laying it flat. Those sheets are then dried, surfaced, and laminated into boards. Purchasing dried bamboo poles is not going to be useful and would result in huge amounts of waste in trying to generate strips for sidewalls. It just isn't a viable option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted September 3, 2013 Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 Sidewalls isn't necessarily where you would want to use bamboo. The core is the area where bamboo's traits are most useful. Making sure it is sealed off from moisture is one consideration that would be difficult if used as sidewall material. When used in ski's (Boomtown Sports Ullr skis as an example) it is important to seal off the binding mounting holes with epoxy to preserve integrity of the woods fibers. In the plates i have made i have used recycled plastic wood for the sidewalls and it has stood up well ( it is less dense and therefore lighter than ABS sidewall material. Recycled plastic may not be as green as wood environmentally but perhaps one step better than virgin plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boarderboy Posted September 3, 2013 Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 (edited) a terrific book about our country's evolution in relation to its forests and the products they've enabled. I seldom read non-fiction, but American Canopy is a must-read for those who're interested in the history and ethics of our use of trees. What People Are Saying David Oshinsky “A beautifully written, devilishly original piece of work.” Business Week "An even-handed and comprehensive history that could not be more relevant...The woods, Rutkow’s history reminds us again and again, are essential to our humanity." San Diego Union-Tribune “Rutkow has cut through America’s use and love of trees to reveal the rings of our nation’s history and the people who have helped shape it.” BB Edited September 3, 2013 by boarderboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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