What Is Thunderbolt Surfboard Construction?

What is Thunderbolt Technology?

So, what is Thunderbolt construction and what’s new with Thunderbolt for this year.

Well, this blog is here to unravel all your questions and reveal the magical surfboard construction that is sure to change the game on where surfboard construction is going.

We will be breaking down the three current Thunderbolt constructions, which are Black, Red and Silver. Further to this we will dive into why certain boards are chosen for certain tech’s and how the different make up of each board affects the way they surf.

There are some high-quality shapers on board with Thunderbolt, our faves are CJ Nelson, Skindog Surfboards and Harley Ingleby Designs Tolhurst Surfboards the shapes and styles of boards these guys are producing are right on the money for all of us everyday surfers out there.

Each shaper has set boards in set versions of the construction, and we are going to dive into these now.

These boards are not pop outs, they are hand lay ups, 100% of them. Starting life as an EPS core. They then have a carbon “T” stringer, with multiple other carbon fibre ingredients that are engineered to control and allow the board to flex and twist to liven up the boards and give them a wow factor.

Each board will have a PVC core shield which levels up the durability and strength of the board without sacrificing any performance or flex.

This is the core make up of each Thunderbolt board, and then the external glassing and other components change to make the three levels, which we are about to break down for you.

New Models

Thunderbolt construction surfboards have been super popular over the last few years, and we now have a whole new range of boards to choose from; CJ Nelson has the Outlier X amongst others and Harley Ingleby introduces the Mini Moe and Mini Mid 6. The Outlier, Moe and Mid 6 have been the top sellers historically and these new shorter versions are going to open up these boards to a whole new set of surfers. They carry the DNA of the original bigger boards but in a shorter package, so you still get a high wave count but also a board with improved performance, we love the look of these boards.

Harley's Moe Mini

This Moe mini is leading the mini mid length charge, now available in the new lengths of 6’ 6 and 6’ 10 and both in the excellent Thunderbolt Red and Black construction. This shorter package really works, our initial thoughts were that there would be a loss of paddle power but that just isn’t the case these new sizes get in just as early as the bigger boards.

The original Moe was designed to have an easy ride and good paddling, while keeping good stability and support, the mini version gives it a whole new dimension. The bottom is pretty flat with a double concave between your feet, a really good combination for carving turns in a wide board. The rails are not too thick, for sensitivity, and they transition from neutral round forward through round tucked edge to the fin area and low hard behind the fins which gives this new shorter length a really responsive feel. The rails are foiled from forward of centre toward the tail for drive through turns and speed around white water sections. The new shorter length Moes open up one of our favourite boards to a much wider surfing community and they really blur the line between the mid length and full performance surfboards. It really doesn’t matter what your size, weight or skill level is, there’s a Moe to suit what you need. 

Harley's Mid 6 Mini

The Mini Mid 6 designed by Harley Ingleby is a board that carries on where the longer versions of this board left off, now available in 6’ 4 and 6’ 8, guaranteed performance all day long. We all loved the longer Mid 6s, the fine, round pin tail, curvy plan shape, smooth rocker, with a bit of nose flip made this board happy turning deep in the pocket or carving long open face waves. The high nose rails, medium though the mid-section and then low and hard into the tail gives the board a really responsive feel in all sizes, in the new shorter lengths it actually feels like a much smaller board. While the Mid 6 fires in everyday surf, it is tuned enough to handle some pretty serious surf too. The 6 channels work perfectly, they are not so aggressive that they track in turns at all and it’s very easy to get the board on a rail. With the channels balanced between your feet, when you push hard through a turn the response is immediate and the acceleration throughout is like no other board you’ll have ridden. The Mid 6 breaks the channel bottom stereotype that they’re only good in clean waves.

The new shorter length Mid 6 still has the performance element of the original but now has a wholly new dimension, snappier turns and a feeling of precision that you just don’t get in longer boards. The Thunderbolt tech really suits this board, you can feel the energy release as you get propelled out of a turn, feels like you’ve got a turbo booster strapped on. It’s a great compromise for those still wanting to surf a shortboard but needing a little paddling help.

CJ Nelson's Outlier X

The new OUTLIER X is CJ and Thunderbolt's answer to the performance egg. This new take down of the classic Outlier shape is now available in 6’ 3, 6’ 6 and 6’ 9. Sometimes you just need the board to do more of the work for you; the OUTLIER X will paddle and catch waves with ease and perform like a modern day hybrid shortboard. The rolled entry rocker helps the board trim and avoid unnecessary pumping while the performance rails and rocker still pivot and turn with a little bit of release when needed. The outline has a constant curve paired with a modern rocker, which helps the board ride and feel like a much shorter board. A reliable all-rounder that flies in poorer conditions but still performs in bigger surf. The only limit size wise is your ability! The Outlier X stands a notch above other eggs and funboards out there and carries the DNA of the longer Outlier which has been a hugely popular board. We are very excited to bring you the Outlier X, the mini version of which will deliver a high wave count and heaps of fun but all in a smaller package. If you normally ride a longboard or shortboard, and don't have a mid length in your quiver you are of course missing out but this new mini mid length concept bridges the gap for those who don't fancy a conventional mid length. If you already surf a mid length surfboard but want a more responsive surf without going back to a shorter board then this is the way to go.

The 2 + 1 fin set makes for a wide range of fin options too, we played around with a variety of centre fin sizes, we found a 6.5” centre worked best in the 6’ 3, a 7” in the 6’ 6 and a 7.5” in the 6’9, standard medium side bites in each.

Thanks CJ and Ryan, it’s a great board.

Thunderbolt Black

As soon as this board is in your hands you feel how incredibly light the board is, and you can thank this to carbon fibre that they have used in the board.

The carbon features heavily. You have a “T” shaped stringer, which is multi component carbon stringer, and then you get a couple of levels of internal carbon components which control the flex of the board and then the final layer of laminate is a 6oz carbon fibre lamination paired with a 2oz Fibreglass cloth.

If you see the image below it details exactly how the board is put together, sandwiching all the components together to give you a high performance construction.

The boards design pairs perfectly with the Black edition of the thunderbolt tech, to give you a board that can manoeuvre and surf with progression in mind.

BUT… the Black construction also opens the door to blend a modern, progression performance technology with a classic style of a longboard, to bring old school into the new age.

Thunderbolt Red

Red is the middle ground between your classic construction and your space age, groundbreaking board build, like the Black option.

In simple terms, the Thunderbolt Red construction has all the same components as the Thunder Black, BUT, the external lamination of the board is a 6oz + 4oz fibre glass cloth for the deck and 6oz + 2oz on the underside, so no carbon fibre in the make external make up of the board.

What this construction produces is a board that is lighter than the conventional PU longboard but not as light as the Black… Which again incorporates a blend of performance with traditional feel. This is probably the reason why Harley Ingleby decided to offer models such as his Moe Mini and Mini Mid 6 in this tech.

For a forward thinking, progression pushing board tech, this is a winner.

Also, a as a note, on the weight of the RED vs BLACK, Black is lighter, so yes easier to turn, but if you get a strong wind when surfing the boards that are lighter can become chattery and harder to control (Do note, this would have to be a very strong wind) whereas the RED is a little heavier, so can handle the wind better.

Thunderbolt Silver

Again, carrying the same DNA as the Red and Black, with the same stringer, internal carbon parts and EPS core with PVC core shield, the difference in the silver is the glassing externally again, which is blend a 6oz fibreglass cloth with a 6oz carbon fibre layer on the deck and then a 6oz fibreglass cloth with a 4oz carbon fibre layer on the underside of the board.

By making this change, the boards have more weight, under the arm and in your hands the boards feel very traditional. This allows the boards to have the classic feel that all longboards search for, but they benefit from additional durability and flex when you are surfing these beauties.

With this being the most OG feeling thunderbolt construction it made complete sense for CJ Nelson to use this make up with his longboard models, the board I picked up and instantly feel in love with was the Sprout. These look insanely good and surf even better.

The extra weight in the board gives the Silver more glide and cruise to them rather than the turning ability and whip you get in the Black and Red.

Boardshop is stoked to be a key partner for Thunderbolt technology and the Skindog, Harley Ingleby and CJ Nelson surfboards across Europe and beyond. Having these boards here, all of us have been lucky enough to test almost every model between us, which has given us a great insight and knowledge on how the models and tech works, which we hope to pass on to you.

You can jump online now, and purchase from us online with the confidence that we ship worldwide daily and we incur a less than 0.5% damage in delivering boards (Thanks for how we package the boards).

You can trade in up to two old surfboards against your new board, using the trade in scheme we have here at Boardshop, all of this is fully outlined on the website and we do all the work for you!

Finally, you can take advantage of our fantastic 0% finance option to purchase your new surfboard, it takes literally 2 minutes over the phone.

Again, this is all outlined on the Boardshop website and is a simple and easy process.

if you have any questions about this, we'd be delighted to answer them and advise on any potential board choices or enquiries you might have, just drop us an email to [email protected] or call us on 0044 (0) 1243 674250.