[hongkongstuey]

surprised no ones posted any of the recent drone surf footage yet - this one of Rincon and the one of Pipe seem to be the best on offer so far;

[hongkongstuey]

and the pipeline one:

[Johnny Brown]

Seen the Pipeline one but not the Rincon one, ta. Clearly the future for this kind of thing. Would have been amazing to have had one when I was shooting the Longhope route last summer.

[SA Chris]

Great footage, but not sure I would want one buzzing round me when I'm trying to have a quiet session. Although judging my numbers at Rincon I guess quiet isn't an option.

[fatdoc]

As someone who cannot surf, but wished I learnt back in the day... The light and angles were incredibly beautiful. I'm sure given a lottery win I could at least ride it there when small... let's face it... I'd have the time to learn... There is nothing wrong with dreams...

[chummer]

Thinking of getting some Patagonia R4 boots as me feet are already cold in my Alder Plasma 7mm's after a couple of hours at the mo....had frost nip on me toes before so think my feet feel the cold. I think the Alders may just be on the big side and admittedly this could be a contributing factor.
Wondering if anyone has any experience of these boots as they don't seem to get by good reviews. Also any alternatives people with similar cold feet would recommend?
Cheers

[Falling Down]

I'm sure given a lottery win I could at least ride it there when small...

I doubt it, it gets even busier when it's small.  One of our mates has surfed Pipe and he's a really good surfer, said it took him about ten hours to get a single wave.

[SA Chris]

Thinking of getting some Patagonia R4 boots as me feet are already cold in my Alder Plasma 7mm's after a couple of hours at the mo....had frost nip on me toes before so think my feet feel the cold. I think the Alders may just be on the big side and admittedly this could be a contributing factor.
Wondering if anyone has any experience of these boots as they don't seem to get by good reviews. Also any alternatives people with similar cold feet would recommend?

I've got a pair of the Alder Plasmas 7s and think they are brilliant, I can surf North Sea in Dec / Jan / Feb and my feet are starting to get cold after 2 - 3 hours. Might just be fit. No idea on Patagonia boots, sorry.

[chummer]

think your're probably right Chris, they were toasty last year...

[johnx2]

Something to watch for is that if your suit's getting on a bit, cold creeps up on you and you feel it first in your feet/hands. Better boots/gloves might make some difference but that's not the main issue. Conversely if you're warm in a new suit you can get away with thinner boots.

(Totally different to say cycling where your core can be a furnace but the wrong footwear means misery.)

Forgive me if this is teaching granny to take her teeth out before she sucks eggs. Sidetracking myself... Ten years ago I used to think that surfing the north sea in Feb, of course you're going to be cold but with the right gear there's just no need for that to happen.

[hongkongstuey]

Thinking of getting some Patagonia R4 boots

Have some R3's that i tested out this morning as the mercury dropped to 7 deg in HK - the first time this winter its felt vaguely justifiable to use them (and even then would probably have been fine without as water temp was still okay). 

Pretty happy with them on the whole but they'll probably be relegated back to the cupboard - i doubt it'll get much colder than today again this year

[chummer]

Funnily enough I have been wondering this since I learnt how neoprene degartpdes over time..my winter suit is three years old and has had heavy wear even though it still looks in reasonably good nick...I could feel the cold just seeping in...new suit ordered...

In the mean time I went for the Excel dri lock 7mm booties and they're the shit! Toasty toasty with virtually no water ingress. My Alders were defo too big in comparison.

Anyone with size 8's looking for new booties?..

[gme]

Wetsuits dont stay leak free very long at all. If you truly want to stay warm they last one season. I usually get a new one every winter then keep my year old one as a second suit for those two session days. By season three they are not worth wearing so i give them away.
I didnt get a new one this winter as due to how shit the east coast has been i have not surfed as much. But even with less use the suit is nowhere near as warm as it should be, so i can only surmise that the neoprene does deteriorate with time rather than use.
I do look after them pretty well, washed after every surf (in the washing machine rinse and spin, which i have found does not harm the suit at all), hung up to dry and stored out of sunlight.
Re boots, i have got 7mm and 5mm and dont see any difference when they are new, but the 7mm are definitely better a few seasons in. Generally keep them for 2 seasons but usually because i rip them rather than leakage. Like climbing boots get them tight, i wear size 8s when my street shoe is 91/2-10.

[SA Chris]

By season three they are not worth wearing so i give them away.

Such generosity. Was in the water just after new year and it was first time I really felt cold around my back and shoulders for a while, so guess it's on its way out. I've got a 12 year old GUL 5/3 Steamer which I still wear as a summer suit. No leaks, just neoprene is getting really thin, probably equivalent to a 2mm suit.

[gme]

I could sell them but cant be arsed with ebay.

Been know to give boards away before for the same reason. I now take my old boards to Indo to leave them from the locals.

[SA Chris]

I've heard of folk doing the same with old boards in SA. Good move.

[gme]

Only problem is the locals now rip much more than i do making it harder to catch waves over there. 

[SA Chris]

Here's a cross for you to bear.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Wednesday afternoon. The storm is raging now with wind between 80 and 105 mph. Several trees are down and there is a lot of branches and other debris on the roads. I managed to snag this bit of film to show what the sea (close in and protected) looks like in a force 11 -12.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Coast-Surf-Shop/201563109294
 

[Falling Down]

That'll be inside the shelter of the Abersoch headland...

[ben]

Arkem? I never managed to figure out what went where on that arete.

Yep! That's the one..  Bum Start, left hand on pinch right in crack thing with thumb over top of crystal, right foot on low edge under crack, left heel on low slopey edge around arete, pull on slap up with left to fat sloper, bring right foot up to little crystal foothold... Etc..

The wonders of ukb, had a session on arkem y'day and got close but ran out of skin and wasn't sure i had worked out the right beta, got home and did a search for it and found the above blow by blow beta from granticus 7 years ago on the surf thread

[hongkongstuey]

finally something resembling a swell arrived in HK this morning - gave me a chance to test out the new toy strapped to the front of my board before heading in to work:



session didn't end to well when a botched duck dive resulted in a board in the face and half a tooth being knocked clean off... time for an expensive trip to the dentist this afternoon...

[SA Chris]

Good session, no luck with the tooth.

I was out Sat am for the first time on new log



Fluid Juice semi-pig. 9ft 6 x 23 1.2 x 3. Boughght second hand (nearly new) from someone who's teaken up SUP boarding. In spite of the short period paddle fest, got some brilliant rides on it.

[hongkongstuey]

Good session, no luck with the tooth.

very annoying as i could have squeezed in another half hour of good waves with only 3 other people out (normally bad waves and about another 30 to 40 people out...)

the way things have been out here lately i think i need to start looking for a big beast similar to that one you've just acquired - i even went out climbing for the first time in three months last weekend as its been so flat of late...

[SA Chris]

Don't know what conditions are like your way, but useful to have, especially up here when waves are often slack and gutless. I tend to default to it unless it's big.