Product Drop: Limited Ed Colours, new prints

Ho, ho, ho! Like some sort of awesome Santa, we're dropping stuff all about the place.

Now, we were looking back at some of our early stuff, which really was pretty rubbish (we didn't realise it at the time, promise!). It's funny how you grow as a company, and many of those on our mailing list have watched this from the start (I see a few of them who have been with us since we started in May 2002).

But we're very stoked on our new stuff, we think it's getting better and better and the feedback we're getting from our sales crew and from emails seems to agree.

Anyway, here we go - most of our stuff will be running in predominantly unisex sizing - after speaking with our female crew, they tell us that girls stuff slightly loose is hot this summer - plus we think girls look crazy good in slightly loose tees and singlets - just ask the kids over at Hayley Mei.

First up we have Roots. This design, Heresy loves it. It's from one of our designers over at Messy Design. It really does speak to what we're all about, not just as snowboarders, but as humans. It symbolises the symbiotic relationship we have with everything around us. No Earth = no humans. We have to look after this planet, really we do. We've run this on unisex tees and singlets (down to small for ladies), and a girls-only cap tee.



Next up we have Shark/Amaze. As previously posted about shark finning
, we think it's very lame - in fact it's fricking shaky what goes on - so we want to help stop it. This beautiful artwork from Messy Design once again (love you long time Jase) is designed to make people look twice. Maybe you can explain why shark finning is so wrong (you know, sharks being finned and thrown back to drown or be fed on alive ... that old chestnut).

Next we have Snowboarder. I like this one because the message is simple but the implementation requires you to look twice and decipher it...."WHAT does that SAY?". It's pretty strong too, "I'm a snowboarder." Says a lot by not saying much. We're going to run this on some other stuff too, but we wanted some bright stuff now for the southern hemi summer and bright for the northern winter to cheer you all up. We printed this low as it's a bit different and keeps the chest pretty clean. The stripey singlets we did this on look rad - we will post some photos in the next few days.

Below we have 'Heresy, J'adore' - thanks to Kat for this art. This is for girls only. We love it.

Keep an eye out on the store for these soon.

-tim|heresy

2009 Boards

Hey crew, well we are pretty stoked out on the 2009 boards. We're keeping the range tight and using the unnnbelievable talents of our Collab peeps - this is the kick off of our long dreamed-of Art Incubator (more on that later).

Both these designs have the brand ethic (and what we believe in) intrinsically woven into the design.

All boards are rocking 1 year manufacturing defect warranties, sintered 7500 bases, triax top sheets, rockwell 48 edges, our sweet timber sidewalls...why is timber so rad? POP! SNAP! CRRRRACKLE!....therefore more awesome. And we've got banana boards this year, but we're calling it Smile. Why? Because when you're floating that nana on some pow and spinning a two-seven onto that box, you're going to SMILE.

Developed in collaboration with Messy Design, the Amaze celebrates the amazing creature that is the shark. Scary? - yes. Amazing? - YES! We're killing this being at a rate of around 200 million PER YEAR...and why? For sustainable feeding of humans? Oh no. These animals are being pulled into boats, having their fins cut off and being thrown back into the sea; where they sink the bottom - unable to swim - and drown and/or are fed upon by other fish. Sounds fantastic.


You check out more about this at Sharkwater.com.
Watch the trailer below.


Heresy is pretty intent on helping reduce stupid, ridiculous carry on like this, so 5% of ALL sales of these boards are going to Sharkwater, so Rob and the crew can keep working toward protecting these beautiful beasts.

Seriously, I LOVE this board. Even though I am pretty not-stoked of sharks when I'm surfing, they don't need to be slaughtered. I have to throw down some serious props to Messy Design on this one, those guys have some unreal chops and design skills to pay the bills. Thanks Messy girls and boys, we love you long time. Sharks love you long time too.

Sharky (not Fergal), is coming in a 146, 153, 156, 159, and longer by order (drop ship 2 week turnaround). Bananas are by order only, and we can custom-make the board and tweak it so you can get some serious tweakage off sweet jumps.

The second board, which we've called We Love This Earth...what can we say? Kat has done a RAD job on this one. We all love this Earth, right? ... RIGHT? It's the only one we at Heresy know about, and we're pretty much in love with this planet, and don't really want to see it chopped up, so 5% - in addition to our 1% For the Planet commitment - is going to Greening Australia for carbon abatement and biodiversity programs.



WLTE is mainly for the chicas, but I personally will be rocking one. These come in 146, 149, 153 and we might have a few 156s floating around.

So there you have it crew. Buy one of these collector's editions, help save the sharks and save the world, and we're going to throw in a free tee for whichever one you get.


These boards will probably fly, and will be a collector's item, and will certainly be in our exhibition (more on that on another day), so keep your eye on here, and on the store, for their release around Jan 2009. We'll actually have a few in a fortnight, so if you're interested, drop us an email to see if you can snaffle one.

Drop us your comments and feedback, and if you subscribe to our mailing list, we're known for offering specials to our mailing list.

Australian Ski Fields under threat

Now, I don't know about you guys, but this report from theage.com.au is frightening.

No Australian ski season by 2100.

"So what, Heresy Dude. That's 92 years." Or, "So what, that's just Australia."

Let's take a step back here. Firstly, this doesn't just affect the Australian snow season. The global environment is a closed system with a lot of positive feedback that doesn't respect borders.

Down here in Australia, we're pretty marginal already given the nature of our precipitation events, the temperature of precipitation and our generally low alpine elevations. We're not the only ones though. Switzerland, Austria, Germany and others are next in the gun barrel. I don't know about you, but I want to see my kids skiing and boarding and experiencing the miracle of snow-sliding.

I'm seeing more and more daily reports of this nature.

Ok, some think this is rubbish. It's a conspiracy. Or, just a natural warming period.
More and more organisations - industry and NGO and GO (NASA for instance) alike - say we're having a devastating effect.

I have two issues with the conspiracy/skeptic theory.

1. What if that theory is wrong? What if human-induced warming is a reality, and we do nothing? I'd much rather do something and be wrong. What's the worst that can happen then? Investment in solar, geo-thermal, clean nuclear. New jobs. Less carbon-pollution. Less cars on road. More trees planted to offset carbon from flights whilst chasing the snow. Hmmm, doesn't seem so bad.

2. See the graph below [1] - you can see clear increases in temperature, with accelerated gradients as we industrialise (I mean, REALLY industrialise). Seems pretty clear-cut to us at Heresy. C02 levels have a lag in the environment, meaning


Now, with all this, it's really easy to feel helpless, however, grassroots programs and support for change is growing. You've got Protect Our Winters, 1% For the Planet concentrating on snow, and many, many others, driving grassroots awareness of this issue. Here at Heresy, we've joined 1% For the Planet and continue to put our money where our mouth is (we're at 4% of sales to 1% FTP program so far) on this issue.

So. Where do you stand? What will you do.

Money where our mouth is: that's how we roll.

[1] Giss, NASA - http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/

How to Make a Snowboard - Part 4

How to Make a Snowboard - Part 4
This is part 4 in our series showing how to make a snowboard from start to finish.

In Part 1 we learned about the printing of the base and topsheet graphic and the transfer onto the actual base and topsheet material.

In Part 2 we cut the base in preparation for the next steps - attaching the rails and cutting the core and attaching the sidewalls.

In Part 3 we attached the rails (step 4) and prepped the core with the inserts, tipfill and attached the sidewalls (step 5).

In part 4, we'll cut the fibre glass, prepare the topsheet and see how the board is actually layed up - the guts of the board that goes together to create the magic!

Step 6: Cutting the fibreglass
Here we cut two lengths of triaxial fibreglass for use above and below the core.  Triaxial glass is stiffer than biaxial and gives better edge hold and flex performance.  Two sheets of glass offer a good compromise between absolute indestructibility of say 4 layers (with hugely increased weight and stiffness), and the softness of 2 layers of biax (very soft).  We'll be looking at introducing quadrax very soon in some incarnation to slightly increase the stiffness of some of our boards.  Currently Heresy uses carbon stringers in some boards to add stiffness, but this also adds weight.


Step 7: Prepping the Topsheet
In this step, we take the printed topsheet, and apply a layer of thick masking tape to it as a protector from scratches in the press.  The heat in the press will not affect the topsheet now that through the transfer process it has permanently taken on the print.


Step 8: Layup
Although all the work up until now has been fun, and important, this is where we have to pay really careful attention.

This step must be completed efficiently, accurately and quickly.  The resin used when activated, starts warming up by dint of a chemical reaction, and we must get the board layed up and into the press reasonably quickly.  So, let's see what happens inside the board!

First we can see the mold base.  This is cleaned before every press to ensure freedom from foreign particles and residue from the last press.

First up, we put the base+rails in, applying a layer of resin.

We then apply the vibration dampening foils.  These are applied along the contact edges and under the bindings, to help reduce vibration through the board.


Next, we lay up our first layer of fibreglass, pouring some more resin on, and spreading evenly, ensuring the glass soaks the resin up equally to ensure an even distribution in bonding throughout the board and a uniform flex characteristic.


Next, the core is layed up, with a dash of resin applied.

We apply another layer of fibreglass and resin, again making sure we coat the glass with resin equally.

Lastly, we lay down the topsheet.

The board is now ready for pressing and curing which is part 5 of our series, so stay tuned and check in for the next series.  You can always subscribe to the blog feed to ensure you get the latest info to your RSS reader.

Someone asked in the last part if we would show the core creation.  This is done external to the factory, but involves sections of poplar and beech which are then milled according to the board shape we want.  So, generally speaking, we maintain cores for specific board lengths, but can alter them slightly, i.e. make a 163 wider for power, without affecting the performance or structural integrity.

In the meantime, you can check the boards out at our online store.

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