Slater Designs Great White Twin I-Bolic Volcanic Surfboard

The Story Behind The Shape
During a trip to Bali in 2020 Kelly Slater’s longtime friend Rizal Tandjung introduced him to Mike Woo, a Bali based surfboard designer with Hawaiian roots.

With years of experience designing surfboards for Balinese waves, Kelly shared an idea he’d been carrying for years - design a surfboard inspired by The Great White Shark.

Kelly and Mike opened a folder of photos Kelly had been collecting for years and they traced outlines of the sharks as seen from top and bottom, tracing surfboard shape outlines within the shark’s bodies.

After several iterations on the computer, they decided to cut he first shape. Kelly surfed it immediately, and called it perfect from the first go. It was perfect from the first go, and ready for manufacturing in I-Bolic Technology with Volcanic Lamination.

I-Bolic Core Technology

The Firewire patent pending I-Bolic core technology is an engineering feat developed for performance, without the need for external carbon layups or heavy laminations. These models offer the stiffness of Linear Flex Technology (LFT) with the flex and spring-back of their best-selling Helium technology. This is Kelly Slater's favorite technology to ride, offering speed, control, strength and response.

I-Bolic Performance
I-Bolic cores have the stiffness of the Firewire old Linear Flex Technology (LFT) with the flex and spring-back of their best-selling Helium technology. The I-beam ensures firmness underfoot and unparalleled break strength, while the high density foam parabolic rails enable flex and recoil through turns.

I-Bolic Construction
The Firewire I-Bolic technology is a 1.5 lb EPS foam core with a 18mm high density foam stringer in the core, 16mm high density foam parabolic rails to control flex, and a 5mm high density foam springer on the bottom. Paired with their standard fiberglass lamination, on the deck it has a 3mm high density composite deck skin on the deck sandwiched between the double 4 oz E fiberglass cloth layers, and also has double 4 oz E fiberglass capping the bottom.

Volcanic Lamination Technology

Volcanic lamination technology is made from basalt, a natural element that comes from volcanic rocks. These volcanic rocks are crushed, melted down and then extruded into woven fibers that make up the basalt cloth Firewire uses in this lamination technology. This process requires the basalt rock to get to about 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,730 degrees Fahrenheit.)

The cloth has the same functional characteristics to carbon, making it a sustainable alternative to carbon, which is very bad for the environment. While basalt fiber has been around for decades, it's relatively new to fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) and structural composites used for surfboard manufacturing. It has a similar chemical composition to glass fiber, but better strength characteristics.

Volcanic Performance
Firewire's most durable construction with elevated response. This sustainable alternative to carbon is stronger than carbon and can also withstand higher temperatures than carbon, making it a top choice for the aerospace industry in the manufacturing of rockets and jet engines. It also has higher elasticity than traditional carbon, allowing the board to have more flex for a natural feel underfoot.

Volcanic Construction
The Firewire Volcanic lamination schedule is double 4 oz basalt cloth on the deck, and single 4 oz basalt cloth on the bottom.