Roons Surf Wax - Tested

If you are a regular visitor here at Surf Bunker you may have noticed we have had a few articles recently concerning various new products that help your feet stay stuck to your surfboard.

Today I am going to have a look at some good old fashioned wax!!!

"Wax is wax" I hear you proclaim. Surely there isn't much more to say really. You put it on your board, sometimes with a bit of basecoat, and it has a nice fruity smell. Essentially as long as it does what it's supposed too, that’s the end of the matter.

All of you out there probably have a particular brand that you prefer. What unites all of the major players in the wax market, is the ingredients that they use. Some of which are not particularly friendly to the environment. Sex Wax, to their credit, are very open about their products' composition and actually have an information page laying down it's pros and cons.Unfortunately, the main purpose of this page appears to be trying to discredit soy based wax products as being no more environmentally friendly than Sex Wax's own petroleum based product.

As my father always used to say to my sister and me " two wrongs don’t make a right"

It is possible, however, to make perfectly functional surfboard wax, using only a handful of non-toxic, biodegradable, natural ingredients!!! That is exactly what two very likeable, conscientious young men from Guernsey have been doing. Remy Laine and Adam Le Gallez are producing homemade surf wax that is super sticky and super sustainable. Made from just 3 ingredients: non-chemically bleached beeswax, 100% raw virgin coconut oil and tree resin. Fantastic.

Recently I had the opportunity to try out Roons Surf Wax and I was suitably impressed. It does its job as well as my normal brand, costs less and is 100% better for the planet all the way down to the packaging made from recycled paper. After a week of using their wax I decided to reach out to Remy and Adam and find out a little bit more:

SB: How difficult are you finding it, to get your product out there?

Roons: We have found it hard work to get our product known. We use a lot of web based advertising, both organic and paid for. But what we find best is getting real face time with customers so we make an effort to visit all the surf shops as often as we can.

SB: Have you had any outside help? Finance, marketing etc.?

Roons: So far we have kept Roons 100% internal, however, we aren’t opposed to the idea of outside help and are hoping to get a little marketing assistance this summer.

SB: How did the name come about?

Roons: Adam came up with the name, he’s a really creative guy, but this was a more random choice. He was thinking of the colour maroon and then thought Roon(s). An online definition of Roons is a nickname given to people acting silly, dorky, or roon-ish and we liked that.

SB: Are there any other products in the pipeline... do you see this as a viable career option going forward?

Roons: We’re currently in the R&D process for after surf skin care products utilizing avocado oil and beeswax. We’ve also been collecting a lot of plastic from the beaches which we are hoping to start turning in to our own recycled wax combs. Aside from this, we have a few specialist waxes in the mix and we’re going to be expanding our clothing line. I do see this as a viable career option one day in the future but not for some time.

SB: We all know just how hard it can be to get a new venture up and running, particularly in the cut-throat world of surfing. We wish Remy and Adam every success in the future, they certainly have our support and hopefully yours too!!!