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Lost C3 Carbon Cork Composite Surfboard Review

The Lost C3 Carbon Composite Surfboard story is one of the highlights of the year so far. The most amazing build quality we’ve ever seen in a surfboard, absolutely faultless and loaded with innovation.

Construction

The lightweight stringer-less eps, blank is machine cut and then hand finished in the Far East. The warmer climate is perfect for helping the EPS cure. The deck and rails are then vacuum wrapped with an exclusive uni-directional, carbon fibre cloth. This carbon fibre gives the board strength and reduces the amount of unwanted side to side (torsional) flex. The carbon fibre runs from nose to tail and is held wrapped with an ‘S’ glass fill running across the deck. ‘S’ Glass is reckoned to be the strongest glassing option out there right now and is widely used in Lost surfboard production.



The Cork on the deck comes from Amorim, a 100 year old Portuguese company and is sustainably sourced. The Cork sheeting is vacuumed to the deck (Cork is naturally damping and so reduces vibration, giving a very smooth ride). The Cork deck isn’t glassed which keeps the weight of the board down. It’s vacuumed to the deck and adhered through the process of sucking the resin right through the cork, bonding it to the deck. Any surplus resin is then removed off leaving the beautiful raw cork to stand on. Once wet the exposed cork becomes naturally grippy. A big bonus of using Cork is that when wet it only increases in weight by 2-3% and its dries out very quickly post surf. It doesn’t need wax for average conditions but, if you’re Mason Ho you do add wax for extra traction, (there aren’t many Mason Ho’s out there so for you and us, the no wax option should be fine)!


The more high performance boards in the Lost Carbon Cork line-up don't have cork at the tail, allowing for a tail pad to be added.


The bottoms of the C3 boards are glassed with layers of 4oz Warp Glass which neatly overlaps the Cork on the deck permanently bonding it to the rails. The end result is amazing, a light weight performance surfboard that out performs its PU counterpart.

The Models

Boardshop is stoked to have the European exclusive on these boards (for now anyway) and we’ve kicked off with the Lost V3 Rocket and the Lost Short Round models, there are more to come.

Lost V3 Rocket in Carbon Cork Composite (above)

The Lost V3 Rocket surfboard is a big favourite and has been on our roster of boards for a couple of years. It works well for a wide range of surfers in a wide range of conditions. The board has a double v-wing tail. The reduced width behind the back foot enables precise control when surfing tight in the pocket. Basically you’re looking at riding the V3 in stomach high waves to well overhead, compared to a board like the Puddle Jumper, it doesn’t have the bottom end, small wave performance of that board but, excels when it’s a bit more lined up and carrying a bit of punch. Combine it with a traditional groveler and you’ve got the perfect quiver for 90% of the waves you’ll come across.

 

Lost Short Round in Carbon Cork Composite (above)

The Short Round is another board that’s been a big hit. Launched at the end of 2015, this is the third construction after PU and Carbon Wrap (we love it in the C3 set up)! The Short Round bridges the gap between easy riding hybrids and your regular, high performance shortboard. If you like a traditional squash tail and surf in waves from waist to a bit overhead, then you should consider the Short Round. Watch the videos of people surfing it and you’ll see a fast turning, lively board that generates heaps of speed even in small waves. The wide entry point and low rocker help it paddle in nicely but, as always, Biolos works his magic to get the rocker line spot on, making the board push into turns easily. Rail to rail surfing in the premium surfboard construction is out there!  

C3 versus Carbon Wrap versus PU construction

We all know PU construction, it’s the norm. When new it’s lively and responsive, just like Christmas but sadly that feeling doesn’t last forever! Carbon Wrap has the same feel but with an epoxy blank and the carbon wrap acting as the stringer it has the same new board feel as a PU but retains that ‘new’ feel indefinitely. The thing you notice about Carbon Wrap straight away is that it surfs faster than standard PU. It’s really noticeable whether you’re surfing it yourself or watching your mate surf one, main reason is that the truer flex as a result of the wrap makes it driveier. The C3 apart from looking great takes this theory to the next level. The carbon set up puts an end to the side to side twisting of the blank, which creates even more drive than even the carbon wrap. The key is that the C3 isn’t heavier than the Carbon Wrap so you get all the benefits of that set up and more.

The price tag might put you off which is understandable but you are buying at the top of the tree here... you’re investing in board tech that is the future and will make you surf better (probably!)

Watch our review of the Lost Short Round in Carbon Cork Composite 

Watch our review of the Lost V3 Rocket in Carbon Cork Composite