Goretex automatic vent testing

My 145lts Fanatic Allwave SUP, many years old now, no vent or gortex vent plug and never an issue. I do wonder if they are needed at all unless you fly with your gear.

Epoxy softens at anything over 90?c, using heat is how we disassemble bonded aviation parts. Leaving a board to cook inside a board bag in the hot Sun is a really bad idea. Try putting your hand inside a the bag one day on the surface of the board and feel how hot it is. I doubt a gortex vent would relieve the increasing pressure fast enough before delam occurs, especially if the vent is old.

Great testing Mark, good to know these vents are mostly crap.

It's interesting the goretex vent is more expensive than just a bung.
I guess it's a marketing thing, or maybe ignorant customer pressure.

(edit)
It's easy to get sucked in, I put goretx vents in a few of my boards until I accidentally discovered that water on the inside prevents venting.

DarrylG ............ so you reckon gortex or no bungs at all ?

I had my Carbon Art Speed SP40 for 18 years and it never de-lamed with it's membrane plug. That included taking it to Africa and back by air! That one was destroyed in the trailer fire.
I now have 3 others on hand, and a Mistral 41 speed of the same vintage. (One CA SP40 has had repairs), and they are still sound. Maybe I was just lucky? All used in salt water.

A mate did have one if his CA's delaminate. There could have been water in it from a repair though?

My old Starboard Isonics from 2008-2010 have the steel plugs and I very rarely undid them. Both are still in my shed and perfectly sound (again), although the IS87 is very tatty and the IS110 has has some repairs after I punctured it on some snags.

I have not been undoing the vents on my new Isonics, but after reading all this I think I will from now on.

If it is simply a M12 course thread, there are all different headed plastic bolts on Ebay.

Just says "silver finish" not necessarily marine quality stainless.
You'd probably have a blob of rust after not very long.

That is a super simple part that can be done in aluminum. I have a wing board with the goretex plugs Bought it used and just replaced the vent. I only use it in fresh water so I have a couple of years to learn how to make threads in my mini lathe.

The ones I showed are a couple of bucks each, with a nut.

I'm a bit surprised, reading the posts in this thread.
I have had no issues using Gortex vents in my current boards, here in the UK.
The lack of a removable vent screw has meant I can just leave the board, even for air travel.

I do understand that the board then adjusts to ambient temperature and to the humidity in the air, on its own.
In winter, I keep my favourite wave boards inside my home, to store the boards in low humidity, and which then keeps them lighter.

For sure, it's still important to check the rest of the board laminate for water ingress.

The problem some people are missing here, is that when the board is holed, a Gortex vent allows air to escape as water comes in. So the water comes in more easily.
The key problem however, is still the puncture hole in your board, and not the vent.


In summary: Fix any hole in your board!
And then store your board in a dry space so that it dries out - or stays dry on those damp/high humidity days.
Stop blaming the style of vent!

I'd prefer a normal screw vent to a Goretex valve, seeing as Goretex doesnt last forever and it wont be obvious if it fails. Living in the UK there isnt the same high temperatures as in Oz. I've kept boards inside a van permanently, never touched the screw valve, always left it shut and never had a problem. I generally keep boards 5-8 years or longer, replacing them when they are worn out. Before I got a van, boards have been left inside a car during the day. The only delamination was due to other factors, on the deck of a lightweight slalom board from gybing where the feet go and a very small area on the nose on another board from catapults.
That included a board painted black. After one session I noticed water bubbles coming out of a tiny hole in the hull. The board was up against the van in the sun so it heated up. If it had a Goretex vent the air expanding would likely have come through the vent. So having a screw in vent was a bonus there as the hole wasnt visible.
The only board I unscrew the vent on is an AHD as the importer stressed it should be undone. Maybe AHD have had issues.
My newer AV board has a Goretex vent, and I am thinking of putting a screw in vent instead of relying on the Goretex.
Of course, the board is probably already knackered by now, as I havent kept it inside my house in the winter, according to Basher. Jeez.
Thanks to Mark for doing these tests, it has further convinced me to avoid Goretex vents in the future.