Mikey's Board Room: The Stand Up Experience

Back in 2006 I was living on the Big Island of Hawaii, Kona to be exact, and there wasn’t much surf while I was there. I was cruising around checking the surf at Banyans and that is where I saw stand up paddling for the first time. I introduced myself to the paddler after watching him on a the board for almost an hour and found out that he owned an SUP board company, Hypr Nalu. They were some of the first production boards back then, complete with flashy graphics, shiny paint and what I thought to be some pretty aggressive designs.

Hoping on for the first time was a challenge, it wasn't very wide, under 29” for sure, but I was determined to get the hang of it. I didn’t do much surfing while I was there but I did a ton of distance paddling. If you haven’t been to the islands, the underwater sights are amazing, I was paddling with everything from little brightly colored fish to sea turtles. I fell in love with Stand Up.

When I got back to San Diego 6 months after my first SUP experience, I did my research and found THE SUP guy at the time, Steve Boehne of Infinity Surfboards. Steve had experience building big boards from his days building tandem surf boards and had a great transition into Stand Up in the early years becuase of it. A deal was struck and I came home with a 10’6 Infinity Ku Ku Hoe Nose rider and an Infinity Ottertail paddle. I wish I had pictures of the thing, it was heavy for today’s standards, no handle, constructed bomb proof, and was a tank on the waves, but it was a blast!!! It still lives on at a local lifeguard station as physical training equipment.

Fast forward to 2012, I’ve been on more boards than I can count, seen a ton of different constructions, built boards, been to overseas factories, paddled in amazing places and worked with some great people in the industry. The experiences I’ve had and the contacts I’ve made over the years has turned me on to builders doing great things for the sport of SUP. So I asked John if I could do write ups on all the different boards, designs, and creations I’ve run across over the years, SUP or not, and with his blessing Mikey’s Board Room has been created!

Stay tuned for the next installment of Mikey’s Board Room!

Stand Up Paddle Racing: My GPS set up Garmin Etrex Venture HC

A month ago I saw a little video bio of Hobie team racer Byron Kurt. Byron's biggest piece of advice was to mount a GPS on your board to see if what you're doing out on the water was really helping you to go faster. In fact, I remember that in a certain part of the clip he said that during a workout or race (I can't remember the exact quote) he's pretty much got his head down and his eyes on the GPS trying to give the board what it needs to keep his speed up. The logic of that struck me- so I went out and picked one up and have been using it for the past week's workouts. Here's my setup:

I choose the Garmin Etrex Venture HC. Why? Because it was cheap!

I went with the second cheapest, waterproof GPS that I could find. It's the Garmin etrex Venture HC. It works off of two double A batteries, has a color screen, a large number display (good for seeing your speed from the standing position) floats and is waterproof. I can't remember for sure but I think I paid somewhere between $100 and $120 dollars for mine and had it shipped overnight from the WalMart website. I read a couple reviews about the model and noticed that one of the eTrex's best qualities was  the ease of reading the display in full sunlight. That's obviously important for us stand up racers since we're generally creatures of the sun. 

This is what the unit looks like mounted on the board. Be sure you mount it far enough forward- you don't want it in the path of your blade as you swing it from one side to the other.

The next thing I had to do was purchase a mount. My friend, Kiwi, made a nice mount from plastic that he bought at Home Depot. He attached it to the board with industrial strength velcro- that's a great idea, you want to be able to remove the GPS from your board when you've got it on the racks or in a bag. I opted for a Garmin dashboard mount with a flat base that is stuck to the board/dash with an adhesive disk. Here's what it looks like:

The disk has a lock that keeps the GPS mount from popping off of it. I thought it was pretty cool, I purchased two of the disks, one for my new race board and another one for the dashboard of my truck... why not?

I've never used a GPS before so I'm sure that I'm not using this thing to it's full potential. But, so far, it's been super fun and informative to have it aboard. It's been great for getting the true distance for my route and for getting a look at how fast I'm really going (I'm not that speedy... my best average so far is 4.6 mph over the 4.5 mile course). Eventually, I'd like to use it to fine tune my stroke and for determining where I should be standing to keep the board in trim. Of course, this will take time. I'm still getting used to having the thing right in front of my face and I do find myself fixating on the ever changing numbers on the screen. Hopefully, with enough practice, I'll get them to change in my favor.

Killer New Travel Bag and the last of the GEAR GEEK!

If these were available for stand up boards 9'6" and smaller, I'd buy one right now. Check this thing out.



I especially like the part where he chucks the 50lb suitcase onto the board and says, "Oooops". Kind of like when the 300lb United luggage handler plants his size 15 boot right into the guts of your new $1500 stand up board. It'd be sweet if you could stuff an additional prone board in there too.

For better or worse, here it is: The Last of the GEAR GEEK!

19. Ipod and Sony Sound Canceling Headphones: Our return flight out of Zihuat. was brutal... all of Club Med loaded up and each one was packing at least one toddler. Gnarly. At one point, even the four Coronas ("On the house" said the shell shocked flight attendant), couldn't dumb down the cacophony.

At this point, you just want it all to go away... and it does when you slip these puppies over your flaps and redline your 'pod (my recomendation? The SteelDrivers- some of the best bluegrass out there). Instant bliss. The combo is so effective that I peacefully missed out on the projectile vomit episode that went down a few inches behind my head. If you've got the big bucks go with the $400 Bose version but if you're like me, and don't like to travel with things you can't bear to lose, pick up this Sony headset for about $40.

20. and 21. A lesson from two trips ago: Always bring more than one paddle... and pad it up. I use full length paddle bags and haven't had a problem since my first run down south.

20b. Oops, I listed the number 20. twice! No problem, check out the O'neill, SPF 30, long sleeve rashguard. The best thing about this particular model is the back zip. You can stuff all kinds of things in there for a long day of paddling: Powerbars, small bottles of water, car keys.

One thing to remember about rashguards in the tropics, they're not just for sun protection. At certain times of the year, beaches can become infested with jellyfish or, even worse, broken up pieces of stinging jellyfish. The second option is horrible, you'll never see the stinging part before that branding iron burns itself in. Ouch. When it get's bad it can drive you from the water, that's when you'll be glad that you brought the long sleeve version; you've effectively up-armored yourself. Surf on.

22. Tropical Wax: be sure to rewax before you get to your destination. Best spot? The air conditioned comfort of your living room (try waxing up on a hot day in the tropics- no dice) Throw on Beyond Blazing Boards and mix up a gin and tonic. Shoot, it's like date night- just you and your board. It's good to be a grom again- especially on the eve of a surf trip.

Hot tip: Bring a couple of extra bars for the local kids- a little regalo goes a long way down south.

23. and 24. Buy good boards! Here's my trusty travel quiver: 9'4 Stand up and 6'4 quad fish, both boards made by Tim Stamps up in Seal Beach. I'm pretty well covered with what I've got here. The only gap I've got is if it gets super, hollow, heavy and scary. At that point I pull the cap off a couple of Pacificos and plant myself in the shade- it's good to know your limits.

25. FCS 9'6" Stand Up Travel Bag: I haven't found a better bag out there. This one comes with an interior paddle bag and velcro fasteners. The bag is well built, looks good and is big enough for me to stuff my two boards (and the 6'4" is even in it's own bag inside the FCS!) and two paddles inside of it. The inflatable SOMA bag looks good but until they've made a SUP version, this one will be the go-to.

26. DaKine Day Bag: This one's for my 6'4". On my last trip down, I super wrapped the fish in bubble wrap- kind of a pain. Kelly Kraus told me to just stuff it the board in it's own bag and pack it- what a great idea! The big plus is that when you've got to chuck your board in the back of some local's pickup for that once-in-a-lifetime trip to that forbidden, mysto point break- your board will get there intact.

Mexico Travel Gear: Part IV

More gear info:

13. Waterproof wallet: small enough to fit in your wax pocket yet large enough to hold your passport, credit cards and pimp roll. If you're staying in a semi-sketchy zone or have to park the rental car off the beaten path, you'll want to know that the paperwork that'll get you home is safe and secure.

14. Mexican TelCel pay-as-you-go cell phone: Pick one up, they're everywhere. Load the thing up and make your calls. You lose it, it get's stolen or you break it? Who cares?

15. Ding repair kit: Tube of Solar-Rez (in my case, epoxy Solar-Rez, since I ride epoxy boards- make sure you use the right kind or you'll end up with a disaster), sand paper, screwdriver for installing fin nut, length of shoelace for leash plug and, most importantly, a roll of sail repair tape. The plastic film sail repair tape sticks like crazy and is totally impervious to water. I buy mine (it's the white roll of tape) from West Marine- don't get the nylon fabric kind!

16. Dell Mini-Inspiron Laptop: This thing's rad- and it's cheap enough that if it was stolen, I wouldn't be too worried about it (which definitely wouldn't have been the case if I'd sprung for the $1600 + Apple laptop I was drooling over). I picked up this little laptop (10" screen, 2 lbs) for $320 bucks. It's the perfect size for throwing in a backpack (super lightweight and small) and it does everything I need... and not much more. Which is okay because this thing isn't my primary workstation it's just meant to keep me in touch with this site and my email... and maybe a surf report or two. Only downer is the 2.5 hour battery life- maybe there's a better battery just around the corner.

17. RadioShack rechargeable AA and AAA batteries and Energizer Rapid Recharge station with cigarette lighter adapter: Everything I need to keep my Canon S5 IS and GoPro powered up and working. The Energizer charger is great; go from dead to full charge in about fifteen minutes. Fire the thing up in the rental car or the casita- a super versatile piece of equipment.

18. Photo gear: Want a killer little camera that snaps fairly sharp photos, decent video and has a zoom that's the equivalent of a 650mm lens? Pick up a Canon Powershot S5 IS. This is a tough little unit, it's not an SLR so there's no worry about dust infiltrating the body when you change lenses. The camera is simple to operate as a point and shoot but does allow for a moderate level of control if you're into messing with all the different photo controls (I really like the exposure compensation button). I've carried this camera all over Mexico, treating it badly every step of the way and I've never had a problem with it. I use the thing to shoot most of the photos you see here on p.net and almost all of the video that has been posted. This model is last year's version, the newer SX10 IS is also very nice but its lens doesn't allow you to add aftermarket telephoto accessories. If you can find one of these out there, grab it.

Mainland Mexico Paddle Surf Trip: My Gear...EXPOSED!!!

These next few posts are dedicated to the gearheads out there... those who love to anyalyze, re-analyze and over analyze equipment and its performance. I'm flying out of here tomorrow for ten days of surfing the left points and reefs of mainland Mexico. Here's a breakdown of my travel kit.

If you're a gear nut you're going to dig this- I give a play-by-play description of what I bring and why. If you're the kind of guy who jams it all into a duffel and sleeps in your board bag you'll be bored to tears. The best part of this whole deal? By the time you see this I'll be 30,000' in the air sinking in to my second beer... enjoy!



1. FCS Leashes: I'm not sponsored by these guys- in fact I pay full retail (well close to full retail- SurfHut, the local surf shop helps me out on equipment) so I've got no bias when I say that these are the BEST stand up leashes that I've used. Check out the yellowing one with the black core, it's survived two trips down to mainland- that's almost a month of continuous (three session a day) use.

That particular leash is battle tested. I've trusted it in double overhead surf where it's been stretched to twice it's length. I've treated it bad, it lives in the open bed of my truck- I just chuck it in the back after each surf. And still, like Old Yeller (pre-rabies) it's never let me down. I've used the others and have reached a verdict: FCS leashes win hands down.

Here's a tip: Buy a new leash before each trip, be sure to switch out your old leash string with new one that comes with your fresh leash- when it gets gnarly, you'll be happy- and so will your board.

2. Patagonia Paddler Trunks: These are basically the only trunks that I own- I've got five pairs of them. If you're like me, meaning you possess a basically square, Torso-Man physique, these are your trunks. They are the most comfortable, durable, best-fitting trunks I've ever had. The inseams are cut a little bit shorter than normal so you don't look like some gangster-vato with your trunks hanging down to mid-shin. The best part is that the trunks have a hanging inner polyester liner (no, it's not a mesh brief-type liner like the shorts you wore in fifth grade) that allows the shorts to slide over your upper leg when your moving around.

Hot tip: Buy the solid black or the dark blue patterned trunks- the dark colors hides guacamole stains, beer dribbles and fish blood. The light green ones look good (I've got a pair) but they get dirty fast and don't stand up to the trunks-as-a-napkin for all meals test. On my two week trip I brought just two pairs of these (and one pair of "go home" shorts but we'll deal with that later)... and wore them the whole time- they're that good.

3. Short sleeve button up shirts: In the tropics, tee-shirts turn into sweat soaked, clingy layers of cotton insulation. If you want to stay cool you need to take advantage of evaporative cooling- and for that function, shirtsleeves are the way to go. Standard wear for me is my white Guayabera- this one's a total crack up. Think more Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray's excellent King Pin character) than Don Johnson; it's got embroidered roses, white on white, running down the front of the thing. Cheesy? Completely. But totally comfortable and there's no better way to fade into the back ground than to sport one while chugging a Ballena at the taco stand.

Hot tip: Throw in a long sleeve version to keep the sun off your arms and the mozzies off your back.

Check back for more (I'm hoping to update from the road).

Fin Review: Future Fins Gerry Lopez Thruster SUP Fin Set

I just got hooked up with a set of hot looking fins. Check 'em out: Future Fins Gerry Lopez Thruster set. These ones look really good. So good, in fact, that I jammed right home, pulled out my G-10 3-2-1s (my bread and butter side fins) and screwed the entire thruster set right in. I'm on it tomorrow- hopefully it won't be blown out by the time the 2:35 bell rings. I'm telling you, it doesn't take much to get me excited.



These are beautiful fins. A set runs in the hundred dollar range so you'd expect that these would possess top-of-the-line craftsmanship. Futures definitely delivers in that regard- the look and feel of the fins is top notch. In fact, the things are so precisely foiled and feel so light that you'd swear that just locking them down ratchets up your board's top end. The fins just ooze speed.



The things come in at almost five and half inches- which is about a half inch taller than the side fins I've been riding and half an inch shorter than the six incher I've been running in the box. Changing fins on a board is always a compromise between concern and hope: The concern with running a shorter fin in the middle box is that you'll lose drive, that is, the board won't have that "squirt out of the hole feeling" that a larger fin provides. The hope is that a smaller set of fins will loosen the board up, give it some release and snap off the top.

What I've decided to do is this: I'm going to start by running it fairly far back in the center box. The idea is that I'll make up with fin position the drive I've lost with fin height. My hope is that I'll produce that magic combination of drive and looseness that we're all searching for; that's the idea anyway. We'll see what happens.



Lilly was wondering what these things were made of. The Futures website says they are "resin transfer molded". To me they feel like fiberglass. Interestingly, these fins have some definite flex in the tips. The G10, 3-2-1s that I was riding were rock solid little chunks of fiberglass. They were fast but had very little flex. The GLs (Gerry Lopez fins) look to be a very different ride than what I'd been on. Especially since the 3-2-1s are basically triple foiled- a fin designed to provide super lift and drive, kind of like adding a turbo to your vehicle. The GLs, on the other hand, have a very slight inside foil. In fact, this fin set looks very conventional, almost like a super-sized version of a short board fin set. Perhaps the idea with these fins is to provide a more neutral, predictable, organic ride (did I just say "organic"???). Regardless, I can't wait to get them into some good surf.



A final comparison photo: Check back for a ride report!

Portable Shower: Ultimate SUP Vehicle Accessory

Want to trick out your SUP ride? The boys at Isle Surf turned me on to the Big Kahuna Portable Shower- believe me, you're going to want one. Check it out:



Here's local grom, Mikey, messin' with my shower. Check out the super cool coiled hose and sweet nozzle- nice arc on that thing! Really though, I'm hooked on having an easy-to-use freshwater rinse that I can take with me anywhere I go. Not only are you going to keep the sand out of your truck but you're going to make a bunch of new friends when they see what you've got going on.



The whole unit comes as a clean little package: the big gray thing ("hey, that's what you store dog food in") is an eleven gallon water tank (I opted for the big one- the small version holds around five gallons). I keep mine filled and locked to the back corner of my truck bed. At first I thought I'd just use it for an after surf rinse. Lately, though I've found all kinds of uses for it; my stand up paddle students use it to rinse off after lessons, my dog gets rinsed off after beach romping- no more sand in the back of my truck!



Inside the tank is a 12 volt bilge pump that's submerged under your shower water. The pump is cleanly wired to a cigarette lighter.



The cigarette lighter comes with more than enough wire to stretch the length of an eight foot truck bed on up to the cigarette lighter in the cab. I thought about hard wiring it into my truck so that I could just flip a switch and fire it up but the thing is put together so nicely, and it works so well that I've decided to just use it "as is".

I suppose you could try to throw one of these together for yourself but, really, why bother? Big Kahuna offers them at a reasonable price and for a couple clicks you could have one sent right to your door. Order one up, and the first time a random hotty asks if she can borrow your shower, remember who to send your thanks (or photos) to.

New Blade: Powerex Stand Up Paddle

This is the paddle that you won't break. I'm certain of it- and so is ex-professional windsurfer turned stand up paddle fanatic Cort Larned. Cort's the driving force behind the production of Powerex's blade and he's straight up stoked on how it came together.



Photo: Cort with the new Powerex paddle. Take a second to check out that blade, there's a lot going on there. Powerex recruited veteran stand up paddler and consumate free-thinker Sean Ordonez to build a better blade. In short, the thing paddles itself- no wander, no fishtailing... I was very impressed with it's functionality, there's really nothing like it out there.



Of course, there's nothing like putting your money where your paddle is- which is why Cort assured me that Powerex will be fully supporting their product with a "you break it and we buy it" iron-clad guarantee. I don't think they'll be paying out on too many of these. Cort basically challenged me to snap the thing. Happy to oblige him (and curious to see how much I could actually abuse a paddle) I grabbed the Powerex and went at it. I was unmerciful to the thing laying all of my 235 lbs into it, bearing down as hard as I could in mixed surf. Basically, the thing just laughed at me.

Powerex is no stranger to strong carbon fiber. As a premier manufacturer of high end wave sailing masts, these guys are masters of the ways and wiles of hardcore, carbon layups; that expertise definitely comes through in this paddle. If you get a chance to demo one, jump at it- it's a sweet paddle worth checking out.

Check back for more photos and a surf review of the Powerex stand up paddle.

Learn how to stand up paddle surf here in sunny San Diego! Click here for more information about our award winning stand up paddle lessons. SUP lessons are for everyone so get on out here and give it a shot! Call John at 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net

Here's a weird one: Propeller Fin

Kevlar and carbon fiber... that's all I know about these. I've been told they generate insane drive. I get the feeling they might work in a stand up board. Check all the curves in these things- definitely not an off the rack type of fin... And that's all I know!



Future Fins: Propeller fin... crazy.



You got me.



I have it on good information that they work really well. I handled them and I can tell you they are insanely light and I believe each one is hand made. Good luck getting a pair.

A Hot Fin: Future Fins 7'0 Center

I paid a visit to the Stamps board factory last weekend and came home with some goodies. I ordered up a new surfboard (not a stand up- this one's a 6'4" quad fish, a second board for my upcoming mainland Mex trip) and brought home a new center fin. This one was freshly cut, a 7" hand shaped concept fin from Future Fins. It's a smaller version of the 8.5" fin I'd tested earlier. In short, this is a killer fin- but it does take some dialing in since it's a much different fin then anything you're using now. Check it out:



The fin's got a similar template to the big 8.5" fin I'd received earlier. The last fin worked well as a single fin setup in my 10' and over boards. The 8.5 was loose, pivot turned nicely and delivered a nice, drivey, solid feel. It was a good noseriding fin. In the 9'4" Viking, however, it was just too much fin.

I thought that the fin might do better in a smaller board if it was scaled down a notch and in passing, mentioned this to Stamps. Next thing I know there's a little "care package" waiting for me- are you kidding me??? Stoked! You should know that the Futures guys are full on fin specialists- it's all they do- I was amazed at how quickly they could go from idea to prototype. And I was blown away to find the smaller version waiting for a willing test pilot- I was on it!



The first thing I noticed was the thickness of the fin's leading edge. The thing is actually pretty darn bulbous from the tip to the base. The leading edge reminded me of the nose of a nuclear sub, rounded without any really sharp edges. Stealth fin. Nuke subs are made to slither through the water with maximum efficiency- I could only guess that this was the idea here.



Check out the foil of this fin and you can see how wide the guts are on the thing.



Here's another view with a pencil for scale- beefy!



The thickness carries all the way through to the tip of the fin.



The template of the fin is much different than the typical dolphin fin shape. It has a reduced base to it and is not tapered much towards the tip. To me this one looks like the wing of a plane.

The ride: I've surfed this fin four times now in conditions ranging from clean two foot peelers to four foot chunky beach break dumpers. It's been an interesting ride. At first, I positioned the fin in the same spot as my standard fin. Right of the bat, I was disappointed. The fin made the board feel really stiff. Even worse, the board tracked down the line with no release off the bottom. I was bummed. I surfed it a couple more times and went in ready to switch it out for my regular fin.



As I was backing out the fin screw I started to wonder if all the rake in the template of the fin might allow the fin to work well from a forward position in the box. On a whim, I slid the fin up in the box as far as it would go and tightened the screw back down. In the past, I've favored my fins back in the box (check out the photo above and you can see the pencil marking for my regular fin position, compare that to how far forward I've moved this fin and you can see what a big change this was) preferring a solid, drivey feel to the skitteriness that comes with fins placed too far forward. But I moved it anyway figuring I'd give the thing one last chance.

What a change! Something clicked with the fin in the forward position- it came alive! I remember the first wave I surfed with the fin pushed forward. The little wedge came fast off the edge of the sand bar. As I took off, I thought I was a little too deep to beat the little section setting up in front of me. Serious speed was required. Dropping in, I pumped hard off the bottom of the wave. Driving through the turn, I unweighted hoping that the fin would release, letting me complete the transition from inner to outer rail. My mind knew where I had to fit the board to make the section but it was up to my equipment to get me from point A to point B.

That fin, however, is FAST, and it released off the bottom seamlessly. I was flying down the line. It's hard to describe the feeling when things come together like that- what happens is your equipment begins to feel like a part of your body. You think it and it happens. That's the feeling you get when you start to dial in your gear- it takes work and experimentation but it's worth putting in the time to get it right.



I'm stoked on Future's latest offering, these guys are risk takers and innovators. Here's a fin that looks the total opposite of most fins you see in the surf shop display case, it's bulbous leading edge is weird... but it works. If you've got a board in the sub-10' range and you're looking for some extra speed and looseness, try this one out in the 7" size. Take my advice and start this one forward in the box, work it back until you find your sweet spot. It'll take some time but believe me when you hit that magic groove, it'll be worth all the fiddling around!

Oh yeah, and I'm not giving this one back- this fin is SICK!!!

Future Fins: G10 3/2/1 and the new Future Center Fin

I'm a lucky guy. I've got great friends. Tim Stamps heard I was experimenting with different fins and materials and next thing I know there was a "care package" at my door. You should know something about Tim; Stamps is always experimenting with fins, fin placement, cant, angle, foil etc., etc., etc.. I think what happened here is that he saw an opportunity to spread the sickness.



These ones came straight from the Future fin factory - sweet 3/2/1s made out of the buttery G-10 material. I'm sold on this stuff. If you want to go faster and come out of turns with more speed than you went into them- you've got to switch over to serious fins. Futures made of G-10 are just so much more positive feeling- put your board on a rail and all the torque that you apply is directly transferred through the much stiffer G-10 material.

I'm going to report back about the plan shape of these particular fins (3/2/1s) and how I think they uniquely apply to stand up boards- I've got a lot to say about them and I think they deserve their own posting.

Check out the new Future Fin stand up paddle center fin too. Interesting shape- this is Future's dedicated SUP fin. I surfed it in shin-knee high surf and can tell you that it's a great nose riding fin. The long blade produces snappy drive and the narrower base makes it a nice fin for step-pivoting the board when you're turning to catch a wave. We've got some better surf coming this weekend so I'll report back once I've got this thing up and flying.

It's killer that companies, like Future Fins, are stepping up to produce SUP specific products. We need 'em. Fins are such an important part of the stand up paddle equation- get out and try some different bites- you'll be glad you did.

Olympus 1030sw: Early Thoughts

Here at www.paddlesurf.net we're not quite big time enough to get expensive digital cameras sent to us for review. So I'm going to have to be a little restrained in my testing of this camera because, after all, I shelled out my own bucks for it. Which kind of sucks because I would've liked to film myself dropping the Oly a couple of times onto a concrete floor- it'd be fun if it wasn't my camera. Here are some first thoughts:

The Olympus 1030sw just feels good. First of all, the thing is pretty darn heavy. It kind of feels like a little metal brick. That's not a bad thing- it feels solid. Strong. Supposedly I could sit on the thing and not smash it- that's good because I could see myself doing that sometime.

Actually, it'd probably get smashed by my big, white, marine-grade (that just means it's white and more expensive), Igloo cooler. Or I'd forget it in the bottom of my daypack and jam a sandy, wet, wetsuit on top of it and then put the cooler on it. I think you get it, I abuse stuff. The camera feels like it could take it.

I'm a fan of the amount of metal used in its construction. How many times have you reached for some gadget and been kind of let down by how "plasticy" it felt? There's a lot of good, old fashioned, metal in this camera. In fact the only parts that were obviously plastic were the waterproof doors covering the battery and cable compartments and the big screen on the back of the camera. Speaking of the screen, it seems to me that if something's going to get messed up in the rough conditions this camera will be subjected to, it's the screen. It'll probably be a good idea to buy some kind of protective cover for the screen.



As far as photos go, I like it better than the X-acti. There's all kinds of controls and options that you can monkey around with. To be honest, I haven't done too much of my homework as far as what I need to do to take really bitchin' pictures (check out this guy's blog- he uses an earlier version of the 1030sw and get's unbelievable images). I've been messing with the "Scenes" settings for taking photos indoors and for sunsets and photos around the fire- it's been fun and for my purposes seems to work well. Favorite photography feature so far? The rapid fire mode- you can set the camera to fire off bursts of photos for as long as you hold the shutter button down- can't wait to use it to capture some lip schwackin' action.

All photos in the last two posts were taken with the Oly- check 'em out and let me know what you think about them. I'm still learning about this camera but so far- I like it. It feels really tough and the pictures have come out fine for me so far.

Got something bitchin'

It's been a pretty lackluster summer for surf here on the California coast; the dry spell gave me enough idle time to realize the board shack in the backyard was a total mess. Take a peek, there's thousands of dollars worth of gear stacked on the floor or on saw horses just gathering land dings.

So I went out and got something bitchin': custom made metal surfboard racks. Check these babies out, they're freestanding, fully welded, steel racks. I'm able to get almost all of my boards into them including two paddleboards and a crazy hollow, all wood surfboard made entirely of Home Depot items and cast off redwood fencing (this board is worthy of its own blog).

Tom Huber, the owner of Metal Trends, specializes in custom fabrication. He does a ton of work for local surf shops and would be more then happy to fabricate any type of surfboard rack that you can dream up. In my situation, I didn't want to bother with lagging the racks to a cinder block wall so I had him make the racks freestanding and extra deep to hold paddleboards. I've got Tom's card stashed away somewhere- check back and I'll post contact information and more pictures of Tom's work.

Also: Can anybody identify the guy laminated to the blue 7'0" leaning on the back wall?