Surf in cold water 🥶

Surfing in cold water often involves wearing neoprene gloves. These gloves usually have a plastic coating on the palm to increase grip on your surfboard. Unfortunately, this plastic material is not compatible with GryptaLite as it is too slippery, which is not the desired effect. Regarding wetsuit boots, there will be no compatibility issues regardless of the brand (otherwise you wouldn't be able to walk on a wet surface without slipping).

You can find neoprene gloves without a plastic-coated palm (this will also mean fewer pieces of plastic ending up in the ocean over time). Any reference will be suitable for GryptaLite as shown below.

Neoprene gloves without plastic coating on the palm.

Using a brand new wetsuit 🩱🩳

When you buy a neoprene wetsuit, it is impregnated with a plasticizing oil to give it elasticity and softness to the touch, but above all to prevent it from drying out and cracking, especially during storage. In addition to making the wetsuit a little slippery on a surfboard, it is the oil that bleeds onto the wax leaving a dark mark where pressure is applied, most often at the chest level. Once again, this oil will end up in the ocean along with the pieces of wax that come off the board, which is bad for the environment.

This oil will also penetrate the GryptaLite and visually darken its surface over time without damaging its performance. If you notice a light stain appearing on the grip on torso area after your sessions, it is most likely your wetsuit, unlike the rest of the surface which will remain like new.

The solution is to rub the new wetsuit around the chest, belly, buttocks and thighs with a little soapy warm water and then rinse it to remove this oily layer. Remember to also rinse the GryptaLite on which the oil would be re-impregnated. Note that used wetsuits will not have this problem.

Visible stain of a new wetsuit bleeding onto the wax.

Polished surfboard ✨

Even though GryptaLite is almost invisible in the water, it's important to know that the surface is not perfectly smooth. Therefore, the surface treatments by shapers (craftsmen who make boards) to make a board shiny like a mirror, a process called polish, will be altered and lose its polished appearance. This is a point to consider regarding the aesthetic aspect!

However, the visual side (patterns, illustrations, drawing) remains intact and even protected underneath the GryptaLite (particularly useful for drawings made with Posca markers or spray paint).

Use of a traction pad 🔰

The universal GryptaLite is only available for shortboards that have a traction pad at the back. Indeed, the multiplicity of tails would not allow for a standard shape that would adapt to every shortboard. Thus, the installation of the universal GryptaLite is appropriate for shortboards of different widths according to the sizes below.

• Size 1 : 18.2" to 19"
• Size 2 : 19.5" to 20.1"
• Size 3 : 20.2" to 21.1"
• Size 4 : 21.5" to 22"

Furthermore, for aficionados of boards without a traction pad (fish, twin, mid-length, malibu, etc...), they will need to turn to a custom-made GryptaLite that will fit perfectly to the board. 👉A slight additional kicker remains a solution for those who want to be able to hold their foot for the most radical maneuvers or simply to find a reference more easily.

Invest for the long term 🛒

Yes, innovation has a cost, but when you want it to last, it's much better!

Let's take the example of an intermediate level surfer who practices regularly all year round and consumes about 2 bars of wax per month for their quiver. Assuming they would buy the bar at 4€ :

for one year 2 bars of wax at 4€ per month = 2 x 4€ x 12 months = 96 €

And in this example, we're not even taking into account the base coat that is reapplied every time there's a change in temperature from winter to summer or the larger amount of wax that melts in the sun during the summer period!

The lifespan of a frequently used surfboard often reaches 3 years, so the investment in an alternative to wax like GryptaLite will be paid off from the 2nd year onwards, and then you'll only be saving the wax bars not consumed (without even mentioning the advantages already mentioned earlier). Plus, it will always be an additional selling point when reselling your board since it will have remained impeccably clean.