Here you will find surf products that I have tested and researched. Hopefully, it will make your Christmas buying experience a little easier if the one on your list loves surfing. Also, if you would like to have your product reviewed, please email me at surfing.guide@about.com for all the details.
Loaded Skateboards' Dervish is a longboard skateboard that blends speed and flex. I took one for a spin in my mission to find a perfect surf-skate crosstrainer. Did this longboard skateboard live up to Loaded's claims? Read more...
The Freedom! The Freedom! That is at the core of David Rensin’s newest book.
All for a few Perfect Waves takes on the mammoth task of making sense of one of surfing most loved and reviled figures: “Da Cat” Miki Dora.
Balance boards are helpful for staying in good surfing shape(if you can’t find some waves). One such board is the Holoholo Board, a wooden balance board that is designed to strengthen the calf muscles and improve balance skills. No doubt these are both important to improved surfing performance.
Yeah, from a surfer’s perspective, the Loaded Pintail is a sweet and sweaty speed board that is set up for serious carveage. No slipping and sliding here…No flicking and flapping...trickin and trippin’.
You’ve read my reviews of products that give surfers a place to lock away their keys, a spray that helps you slide out of your wetsuit, a heating pad that keeps you warm in the winter,even a handy gizmo that wards off predatory sharks with sound waves. But here’s another quandary: Is there some way for a wave rider to cart around all his surf gear in his car without ruining the interior?
Known globally for their commitment to surfing style and performance for decades, the folks at Quiksilver have been spreading their influence as the surfing boundaries have expanded and the surfing attitude has made its way to the inland masses.
Contrary to the “surf at all costs” attitude and exploratory nature of his previous work(In Search of Captain Zero), Allan Weisbecker’s newest memoir "Can't You Get Along With Anyone?" treads a much different and at times more unsettling path.
Surf writers have always had it tough in the “real world.” The real literary world, that is. Somewhere between “Dude, that wave was awesome!” and the extolling of the metaphysical implications of harnessing natural energy, many readers have been railroaded into thinking that surf writers are too far “out there” to be taken seriously.
Surfers have done it all when it comes to finding a way to get to the beach. Stuffing multiple boards and bodies into compact cars (fins and arms hanging out the windows), frying and drying in the open bed of a pick-up truck, or lashing a pile of board bags to the roof are all surf travel standards. Heck! I’ve hitch hiked or paid off strangers just get from the airport to the beach many times.
Radiator Wetsuits caught my eye with the following statement: “Radiator Wetsuits are the lightest and most technologically advanced wetsuits ever made.” For the love of all things sacred, that sounds great! But is it a factual statement or just a bunch of hot air?
It’s January. The water’s about 40 degrees. You have a solid full suit, but with the freezing offshores blowing at your back and the blistering cold of the water biting at your ankles, you are pretty sure that you won’t totally enjoy your session. Plus, you don’t have the cash to buy one of those fancy new heated wetsuits. If only some innovative chap would come up with an affordable way to infuse your old wetsuit with a blast of heat. Enter: the Hotsuits heated surf belt.
The Flexdex RT Classic 29 is perfect for the modern surfer who is looking for more than just cruising and carving in the off-season. Its short, flexing deck coupled with state of the art trucks and wheels designed for speed and traction make for a ride that is fluid and radical.
About.com's Jay DiMartino recently put a set Protech Flexible Performance fins to the test. Surfco claims the fins will signifigantly improve a surfbaord's performance. These Protech Performance fins are flexible and will fit FCS, Future, O'Fish'l, Lokbox, Red X and longboard center boxes. The fins have a rigid core but fexible edges. Do they work? Read on.
That said, in my search for hardcore surf luggage that affords the traveling surfer all the needed items while keeping the hands free to carry boards and slap malaria bearing mosquitoes while slashing at the thick jungle foliage en route to some mythical left point just beyond a booby-trapped Mayan temple, I stumbled across the aptly named
Surf Pack from Quiksilver.The Freestyle Lockdown is an interesting and functional innovation in timekeeping that enables the user to keep some secrets while being punctual. Check out the review at About.com.
Truth be told, most surfers try their darndest to look like surfers. A lot of it comes out naturally, but a Billabong tee or a pair of Quiksilver board shorts almost guarantees you won’t be mistaken for a land loving kook (Even if you happen to be one). However, there are those hardcore and non-conventional watermen (and women) who couldn’t care less if their logos match the fashion wave of the year. [b]It’s all about function![/b]
Californian surfboard company, 9:Fish, has developed an interesting and innovative product for surfboard transportation. Somewhere between boardbag and surfboard roof rack lies the Bag-a-Rack which makes surf travel a little less difficult.
The sun floats low in the morning sky, and a stiff offshore breeze blows open a perfect empty barrel as you paddle past the shoulder. That would make a great picture you think as the moment collapses in a bubbling mass of foam lost to the shore forever. Now imagine that same barrel filled with your best buddy in his most spectacular surfing experience to date.What an insane image…gone!
Ka-Boom! The Freestyle Audio drops like an atom bomb on surfers who really love their tunes. Subtract the bogus cassette tape from my 80’s surf-rock-opera fantasy and add the blinding future shock of the digital age.
Countless surf companies offer boardshorts and walkshorts, but these are not functional for exercising. Boardshorts don’t breathe and walkshorts don’t stretch. So Quiksilver has rolled the dice and unveiled a new line called EQPT (Elite Quiksilver Performance Technology).
With an extremely wide platform that utilizes both Concave and Camber, the Custom 35 is a great board for flatland pumping or downhill speed. Wider trucks keep it more stable, while the concave camber combination powers you through the transition, allowing you to retain more speed through each carve, and in many cases carve to maintain, or increase speed.
The T-Board is an interesting addition to the boarding family. It’s not a skateboard although it looks similar. Instead of four wheels, the T-Board has only two, which come in rubber for downhill or urethane for flat ground, and are attached to the board’s bottom via two large metal trucks.
Edited by Paul Diamond and packed with stories from some of surf journalism's brightest stars as well as some our sport's most daring and misfortunate souls, Surfing's Greatest Misadventures is a fun, exhilerating read that will make you cringe, make you smile, and surely make you glad that you are a surfer.
If you have ever spent any time in Hawaii (or on any island for that matter), you would know that there is an interesting culture that surrounds the local footwear. There is only one truly local way to cover your feet. Some call them flip flops or slaps or thongs, but in Hawaii, they are "slippahs".
Rising up from the land of King Arthur and crumpets, Extreme
Horizon has solved two problems of the common surfer. The first
product is the Key Pod which solves the above problem. Heartily
constructed, this heavy duty storage unit is big enough to fit any
key, yet small enough to covertly connect to any of your car’s firm
extremities (suspension coils, towing eye.
The Channel Series backpack and the Split Roller from Da Kine thread the line between function and fashion with a heavy nod towards “Utilitarian Funk.” Well, that’s my term, but I feel it’s an apt description since the ample compartments, zippers, and pouches cater to a surfer’s real needs while the snazzy patterns and designs on their sturdy skin scream style and fun to everyone in the room.
However, there is no doubt that beaches in Florida, New York,
California, Hawaii and beyond are regularly found to be loaded with
bacteria that can make us sick. That sad fact makes Ocean Solution’s
existence possible. This natural dietary supplement offers something
unique to the surfing world: a defense against the bacteria that may
be floating in the petri dish that is your home break.
Sea Specs are sunglasses specifically designed for surfing, kite boarding, skiing, windsurfing, fishing, and bodyboarding. They are great for surfers with pterygiums or dry red eyes. They protect sun lovers form uva and uvb rays for while enjoying the beach.
After spending a good portion of my life living and working in Hawaii, I always look back at the casual style and Aloha attitude with a smile. There is not another state in America where an untucked flower shirt and slippers are considered accepted work attire. That's why I was excited when I received a handmade Aloha shirt from Wave Shoppe, a grassroots operation out of San Diego, California.
The Wet Dry Duffle measures in at 28 x 15 x 11 inches and weighs about 3 pounds empty. It boasts several zippered compartments, a tarp lined wax pocket, a clear vinyl hardware pocket, a padded shoulder strap, and most importantly, a seam sealed wetsuit compartment. My particular bag is black with camouflage embellishments, but the Wet Dry Duffle also comes in black and gray as well as charcoal and red.
After searching several wetsuit styles, I decided to try the Insulator L/S from DaKine. I spent my youth burning bareback in the sun and then moved on to a full neoprene longsleeve, but it did nothing for windchill on dawn patrols or late afternoon sessions
Da Kine Surf Stash Travel Kit gives surfers and any water enthusiasts a cool, convenient spot to stow away his/her beach necessities and accessories in the car, in a suitcase, or on the beach.
The NEW Pulse Stick On Tide Chart is a device that allows you to calculate tidal times for places anywhere in the world for an entire year form January through December. You can even calculate places where tidal data has never been collected.
About.com guide reviews surfing accessories from Poorboy USA.
Optic Nerve sunglasses are high-quality, affordable, and stylish. Being a surfer suffering from pterygiums, I take my eyewear seriously, so I have reviewed the loanshark model. Check out how they rank.
A great new traction company out of Cali...Check out the review.
Suite Juice is a wetsuit lubricant for competetive and recreational surfers. Here is a review of that product written by Jay DiMartino who has written many articles surf technique, competition, and culture for About.com.
Shark Camo decals, laminates, and surfboards could just save your life.
A revolutionary way to repair dings quickly and easily, even under water.
Check out these wonderfully warm sol socks for your beloved foot soles.
A wonderful product that delivers loads of soul, quality, and beauty. Click here because you dig that.
Brave Soldier makes protecting your skin fun and easy with their unique line of sunscreen, lip balm, and wound care products. "For athletes who refuse to set limits."
Taj Burrow's Book of Hot Surfing is a wonder to behold for any novice surfer and a delectable explosion of mind blowing maneuvers for the seasoned veteran.
Surfers need to wear sunglasses religously! Here are some tips to help surfers and beach enthusiasts get the most from their eyewear and avoid eye problems such as pterygiums.
