Where are the Weights?

[Six Feet and Glassy]

Why is WEIGHT not a regular spec given by board manufacturers?  Almost all of them have the word "lightweight" in the descriptions - seeming to agree that weight is an important characteristic - but no actual weight.  It is something that is simply measurable, like the rest of the given specs.  So why not just do it?

I did a quick search and see this was brought up here before in July 2008.  And there was no real reason given by manufacturers then.

Maybe some of the shop owners or reps have heard the manufacturers' reasoning behind this?

[NLCHAWAII]

One reason is that weight for a product can vary . It would be misleading for a manufacture to label a board model at a particular size at a certain weight and it end up not being that exact or near weight . As a paddle builder myself , I have a target weight I try to hit for particular sizes , but there are a number of variables that occur during the build process than can influence the final weight . I won't know the exact weight until the finish is applied and I've done a quality inspection . If I had printed and laminated the expected weight on my paddles before completion and under the finish , there's a 99 % chance I'd have labeled it wrong . Another reason would be if a build process needed to be changed during a production run to accommodate a design flaw . Professional labeling for graphics and logos are not cheap and it's very easy to spend $1000 on an envelope of labels . Personally I'd hate to spend that money on misleading labels . It's a safe bet for production board builders to just simply leave that information out of the picture .

[RainWaves]

 This lack of info is something I have noticed myself. I can see a finished weight varying to some degree (glass, resins, foam/shaping anomalies), and I don't think anyone would expect a production board to be labeled "29lbs, 13.6 oz." and all of them hitting the mark.

 But maybe something like "average weight around 30 lbs" on the website, or in brochures isn't rocket science, and doesn't need to be on the board label. It is a spec that buyers are interested in though, and is part of the buying process. 

[Philn]

The windsurfing companies usually report the weight of their boards and usually also state that the boards can vary by +-%
e.g. http://exocet-original.com/products/xwave_spec.asp

[kurtr]

A while back, there was some discussion on the forum to list the weights of all our boards to provide a data base of info we all could refer to, but I guess it never got off the ground.

So in that spirit, I'll list the weights of the SUPs I've owned (incl. deck pads and fins):

11'9" Angulo Nui: 30 lbs.
10'8" Angulo Beach Boy: 28.5
9'3" C4 SubVector (Pohaku version): 22
10' ULI Lopez GL X-1: 17
14' ULI Race/Touring: 34

[zacksc]

Coreban performer, red, 25.5 lbs (11.5 kg) with deck pad and fins

10'6" person laird , custom, 27 lbs with deck pad and fins

[colas]

One reason is that weight for a product can vary .

That is a bad reason. Gong for instance has always quoted they weight saying things like:
"Highteck weight : 9.6 kg (indicative weight ± 5%)"
And in doubt, they indicated an heavier version to be sure. Some boards were lighter than 5%.

Not indicating weight means the manufacturer is either trying to hide things from you or is trying to sell you bad samples at full prices. A saner approch would have QA put aside heavier boards to sell them at reduced prices. Gong for instance weighted the boards after glassing, and the heavier ones were finished more quickly sold under a different construction type label, 30% cheaper for 1kg heavier... or you can think of it as selling lighter boards for 50% more for 1 kg less... which makes for quite good business sense :-)