With the economy barely edging by as gas prices start to creep up again, Europe continuing to fall apart at the seams, and Iran getting nasty with its nuclear toys, there’s no doubt that what’s first and foremost on your mind is how the heck you’re going to afford a new wetsuit! Sadly, you probably aren’t. So you’re best bet will be to keep the wetsuit you do have in tip-top condition. Under warranty, you say? Ok, have fun with that. What’s on order here is not repair, but preventative maintenance.

The fact is, nothing wears on a wetsuit more than the way we store it. For most of us that means tossing it over a railing to dry or draping it on some flimsy clothes hanger – sometimes overnight, sometimes for days, and sometimes for an entire season. These sharp edges of a railing or hanger can destroy a wetsuit over time. Allowing a suit to dry like this also places an incredible amount of stress on the length of the wetsuit causing it to stretch and ultimately compromising its ability to retain heat.

Hang It Like A Pro

This was not lost on Phil Ritchie when he first fashioned what would later become the “SlideHanger” wetsuit hanger from scrap pieces of PVC pipe and plywood. The genius was in its simplicity – a sturdy open ended hanger that allowed for a wetsuit to be dried and stored folded along the waist rather...

There are few sports, or activities or pastimes for that matter, more steeped in history and cultural influence than surfing. How many sports can you think of that predates the written language as far back as 1700 BCE (before common era)? Since when does a sport correlate with your station in life as royalty or commoner? How many sports do you know of that was once not just an integral part of a society, but the core upon which the society functioned? How often do you see an activity or pastime banned by religious influence on a wholesale basis? Even in modern day, how often do you see a sport influence the arts from music to movies to overall counter cultures? Thus is the history of surfing and to know its history is to gain a new found level of respect for this, our “Sport of Kings.”

From Peru With Love

Although most historians suggest that surfing took root in Hawai’i when Polynesians first arrived on the islands in 300 CE (common era), evidence points to the existence and widespread practice of wave riding in Peru as early as 1700 to 750 BCE. That’s 1,500 to 2,000 years earlier than when humans first set foot on Hawai’i. Peruvians in the northern Pacific coast are said to have ridden waves on reed boats. Still referred to today as Caballitos de Totora, they are similar in shape to today’s surfboards but are made from the hollow, buoyant reeds of the indigenous Totora plant. Additionally,...

The last time we looked at GoPro’s line of waterproof cameras (see the SD HERO review), we were stoked to finally be able to see video of ourselves wiping out. Imagine our delight when GoPro released their high definition (HD) line of cameras allowing us to see the same wipe out in all its 1080p glory! We had the chance to put the GoPro HD Surf HERO through the paces during a recent trip to Oahu. The little wonder performed as advertised and we were able to get footage we would otherwise have been hard pressed to capture. We did run into some fogging issues, and I may have underestimated the computer resources needed to handle HD video files but overall I have absolutely no regrets in paying the much heftier price tag of the HD HERO over its standard definition (SD) predecessor.

Here is some sample footage from our recent trip using the HD Surf HERO (be sure to set all HD HERO footage in this review to 720p or better yet 1080p) …



And here is some sample footage from the SD HERO taken a few years earlier in Maui …



Suffice to say, the video quality of the HD HERO is light years ahead of the original GoPro camera.

An HD Primer

Before we get too much into the geek speak, it might be worth a second to go over what all this HD hoopla is about for those of us that are less geek inclined. You know those...

Any surfer will tell you, there’s nothing like a nice set of racks. In particular racks that have a soft touch but are firm enough to hold up where it counts. The angles are just right and there’s enough surface area for most anyone’s taste. And for under $30 bucks ... we’re talking about surfboard racks right? Did I mention these particular racks are eco friendly?

Mother of Invention

They say necessity is the mother of all invention. And in the case of Nice Rack, necessity came in the form of an accomplished surfboard shaper needing to make room to store his wares. In 2001, shaper Darryl Matsui brought his engineering mojo to bear in coming up with what would later become Nice Rack. Taking inspiration from his son’s Legos® and industrial shelving systems, Darryl fashioned surfboard racks that were both easy to install, modular and structurally strong.


In 2009, surfer and entrepreneur extraordinaire Michael Russell took over Darryl’s design bringing them to the general surfing public through a company called Nice Rack. Based out of San Diego, California, their stated mission is to provide reliable, eco-friendly surfboard storage racks at an affordable price. Not to mention employing some smokin’ hot models for good measure.

Closer Look

What sets Nice...

Tides are probably the most often used yet least understood reference to explain why the surf is breaking the way it is breaking. “The tide push will help.” “There’s just too much water – tide’s drowning everything out.” This all sounds very guru, but what does it all really mean? More importantly, how can we use tide information to help us find better waves? The good news is that tides are predictable. You can open up any almanac and know that Huntington Beach is looking at a 0.65 feet low tide at 9:32 a.m. ... ten years from today. The bad news is that the movement of the Earth, moon, and sun which are the extremely predictable drivers of tides are only half the story. There are typographical (shape of the ocean’s surface) as well as meteorological (changes within the Earth’s atmosphere) factors which are less easier to predict and interpret. This is why what you read on Surfline may not always jive with what you end up experiencing once you’re out in the lineup.

Cosmic Tango

There are two primary forces which influence the rise and fall of the ocean. The gravitational pull from the moon (a lunar tide) is the primary force. Although the gravitational pull from the sun (a solar tide) certainly comes into play, the Earth’s own rotation is actually the secondary force. Contrary to popular belief, the moon does not rotate solely around the Earth. Rather, both the Earth and...

When surfers are willing to pony upwards of eighty bucks for a pair of boardshorts, you know it’s no joke – avoiding the dreaded boardshorts rash. Everybody gets em. Nobody likes em. And it happens to the best of us whether longboarder or shortboarder. And it always seems to happen on the first day of a long weekend or, worse, an epic surf vacation. The old school remedy is the tried and true slathering of Vaseline. Good luck trying to get that petroleum gunk off any time soon. You can also throw on some long legged underpants. But then what’s the point of the boardshorts? Ultimately, you can fork over the dough for those high tech boardshorts. Having built up a nice collection myself, imagine my shock to realize that I still get rashes every now and then – from my most expensive pair of boardshorts.

The SurfSleeve is a simple enough idea – leggings that cover only the areas most prone to chaffing. The idea was conjured up in 2008 at a beackbreak in mainland Mexico. After developing a particularly gnarly rash on his upper thigh, Monty Roach and his wife came up with the idea of ultra-thin tubes to protect the upper thigh area from chaffing. Since then, Monty has been improving upon the initial design coming up with the elegant solution he sells for a mere fraction of high tech boardshorts - $20.

Keep It Simple

On the surface, the concept of the SurfSleeve is as simple as it gets....

Surfers spend inordinate amounts of time idolizing the up and coming rider or mesmerized by the most progressive shaper. Yet they rarely give a second thought to the person they interact with most – the surf shop owner. And yet it’s the surf shop owner that fights the good fight to preserve our culture so we might experience it a stone’s throw away from our local break. Whether it’s the sudden closure of a sole supplier, the invasion of mass produced imports, the encroachment of corporatized big box “surf shops,” or even a worldwide economic meltdown, these unsung heroes leave it all on the field so that we might still have that local shop experience. The kind of experience that’s on a first name basis; where surfboards exude history; and where local knowledge is held in high regard. The kind that is the last bastion of surf.

Few are more intimate with this concept than Robert Howson, owner and operator of Harbour Surfboards in Seal Beach, California – arguably one of the standout shops preserving the surf culture. Located right on the main street walking distance from the local break, the first thing you’ll notice is the quaint facade and the hand written surf report updated at each crack of dawn. A friendly greeting is always given by the handful of staff that have all been with Harbour for some time – and actually surf....