Surfing | Evolving Consumer

Made in America: Magic Mushroom

We’ve seen a lot of efforts to make surfboards a whole lot greener, and this has included boards made of recycled and reclaimed materials, but the guys at Mushroom Surfboards are growing boards – via mushrooms. In other words Mushroom Surfboards by Ecovative Design isn’t just a clever name, it is actually what the boards are made from!

The company has created a Myco Foam technology that was first developed in 2007 and uses shroom-based materials for its structure. This means the surfboard “blanks” are entirely biodegradable but also produced from what would otherwise be agricultural waste, such as plant stalks and seed husks, and mycelium. Video after the jump

Weekend Reading List (09.28.2013): Big Descent, Race Nerves, Go to Google, Newbie Boards

Big Descent

From GearJunkie: Ski Descent Of Fourth Tallest Mountain On Earth
A three-man Italian team will attempt the first complete ski descent of a coveted line high in the Himalayas this fall. Skiers Edmond Joyeusaz and Federico Colli plan to climb and ski down Lhotse, the fourth tallest mountain in the world at 27,940 feet, with videographer Carlo Limonta in the Lhotse Ski Challenge Expedition. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (09.28.2013): Big Descent, Race Nerves, Go to Google, Newbie Boards

Get Your Skate and Leather On

Leather isn’t something you typically need for surfing and not really for skating, but that hasn’t stopped Leatherman from announcing a new line of pocket tools designed specifically for both sets of action sports. This follows the company’s new line of snowboard tools that were rolled out earlier this year.

The Grind and Jam pocket tools are aimed at the skateboarders while the Thurster and Shooter are for those who like to catch some waves. The former are designed to be carried or clipped on a belt, and feature flat and Phillips head screwdrivers, file, bottle openers, multiple open ended wrenches, hex driver, truck key and carabiner – in other words all the things to do some work on the board while on the go.

The surf tools feature bottle openers, bit drivers, wax comb, spring hooks, a lanyard hole, easy outs and a rubber bit holder.

With these tools small repairs won’t let the good times end.

Leatherman Official Website
[Via Gizmag: Leatherman announces new pocket tools for skaters and surfers]

Against the Wall

There is nothing wrong with simple, especially in today’s world where often the complex is used when something basic would do. The El Gringo Wall Mounted Surfboard Rack is about as simple can get. It is made of steel or stainless steel with cork pads to protect the surfboard and it is being produced by Make by Consult, which previously made a similar bike rack.

At $125 it isn’t exactly cheap, but it probably beats trying to make your own.

Make Official Website

Swell Idea Indeed

Most surfboard designers tend to be old surfers, but two Delaware teens are looking to launch their own surfboard business. Delmarvanow reported: “Clay Reynolds, a 15-year-old sophomore at Indian River High School from Ocean View, and Amber Starr Davis, a 19-year-old sophomore at Delaware Technical & Community College from Dagsboro, are joining forces to create a series of custom boards for surfers and surfing fans, alike.”

Reynolds might be just 15 but he has reportedly been surfing most of his life, and has been building boards for more than a year. Davis has been painting custom skateboard decks and now it has blossomed into a custom surfboard project.

To build a board takes about a month, which for these young builders might seem like ages.

[Via Delmarvanow: A swell idea: Local teens create custom surfboards]

Body Glove Goes Tech for 60th

This year Body Glove celebrates its sixtieth anniversary. To celebrate, it released the 60 Year Anniversary Prime Slant Zip wetsuit. The celebrated suit uses a number of innovations to advance the wetsuit used by many surfers over the years.

The newly-created suit features advanced pyrostretch insulation, and is made with a high-performance super stretch EVOflex composite material that is 25 percent lighter than comparable materials currently on the market. The Prime Slant Zip suit also offers Nano Tritec kneepads, and vaporlock seams that create a 100 percent fluid seal. Of course the suit features the EZ-Entry slant zip that makes it possible for the wearer to zip up the wetsuit.

Find out more about the sixtieth anniversary of Blody Glove.

Body Glove Official Website

BA Boards

When we think we of BA, we think of Mr. T’s character from The A-Team. But BA Surfboards is something completely different – and they are launching an Indiegogo project to launch a line of eco-friendly surfboards.They want to create boards that are free of toxic resins and will instead use a UV curing resin that will ensure boards can be recycled when they’re not fit to surf anymore.

We wish them luck at catching some investors and waves. And we pity the fool that thinks toxic resins are OK. Continue reading BA Boards

Trace Your Activity

The ActiveReplay Trace is not your run-of-the-mill fitness tracker. This new device is designed to help make action sports measurable, sharable and comparable. It is the first piece of technology that can correctly and automatically identify data and tricks as they are being performed by skaters, skiiers, snowboarders and surfers; while ActiveReplay’s Kickstarter campaign is aimed at helping to boost awareness of Trace and raise funds to continue its development.

With 9-axis sensors, advanced multi-Hz GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and its own processor, Trace is a small device that measures a huge amount of events and tricks athletes perform in skiing, snowboarding, surfing and skating, and it allows athletes from all these disciplines to compare and share those metrics with leaderboards and networks via social media.

The pocket sized device offers more than seven hours of battery life and is durable, shockproof and waterproof. It consists of two parts: the data collection pod and the mount. Attaching and activating Trace is easy: The mount is attached to any hard surface like a board or helmet. Trace slides in the mount. The athlete pushes a button and begins their sport.

It can pair with a smartphone, and comes with three mobile apps including AlpineReplay (for ski and snowboard), SkateReplay (for skate) and SurfReplay (for surf). The apps are compatible with Android and iOS. Video after the jump

3D Printing Takes to the Waves

We’re in a golden age for the DIY set. Not only can you build it if you can envision it, but now you can print it as well. Start-up Made Smartboards is looking to revolutionize the customized surfboard industry, where the board can be made based on your body size, your surfing style and even the conditions in which you ride.

To create a truly customized board Shanon Marks, the founder of the company, is looking to 3D printing, which also means no material or resources are wasted. Moreover there is no Styrofoam to use or discard he said. Only what is needed is printed, and each frame is wrapped in bamboo, sealed in fiberglass and ready to catch the wave.

Sounds like a board that was made right, made smart. Video after the jump

Anti Shark Suit

Despite what movies such as Jaws or Discovery Channel’s Shark Week might suggest, shark attacks are actually not all that common. However, about 100 people are attacked by sharks each year and this isn’t all that comforting to surfers and divers.

Researchers have suggested that black wetsuits could make wearers look like seals, which just happen to be a shark’s favorite snack. Australian based Shark Attack Mitigation Systems (SAMS) has developed a line of wetsuits that are designed to look a little less appetizing to sharks. These feature a disruptive pattern that sharks may have trouble seeing, or even make them think otherwise about taking a bite.

While sharks can reportedly detect small amounts of blood in the water from miles away and can detect electric currents in the water for the kill – or rather bite – the shark depends on vision. This is where the SAMS suit comes in as it could provide enough to confuse the shark, and give the wearer time not to be the catch of the day. Video after the jump

Peugeot Hits the Waves

Back in the day Peugeot produced a line of bicycles that rivaled Schwinn. Those days are long in the past, but the Peugeot Design Lab continues to innovate, and recently created a unique concept surfboard that combines original balsa wood of early planks (nose) with carbon fiber (tail). It is quite a concept indeed, and the GTi Surfboard Concept – as it is being dubbed – will be displayed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2013.

[Via Surfer Today: Peugeot unveils futuristic surfboard]

Show Your Surf Shape Skills

Can you see a surfboard in a big chunk of foam? We can’t but probably someone with more vision than us likely can. To that end the Chuck of Foam Challenge will kick off this September in Orlando as surfboard makers show what they can do.

Four shapers in total will take the foam and in just three hours will likely turn it into surf pieces of art at the Boardroom’s Surf Expo, September 7-8 in Orlando Florida.

The Boardroom Official Website

Press release after the jump

Made To Wear

Many wetsuits are in essence “ready to wear,” but the Swami Made-to-Measure Wetsuit will provide that perfect fit. This means better waterproofing, increased weather and most importantly better range of motion in the waves. The Swami suits are made of ultraspan stretch neoprene, and feature smoothskin on the arms, chest, back and neck.

The single lined “smoothie” neoprene on the arms and chest promises to be durable while also helping to repel wind and water. It might be a “wetsuit” but this one will help keep you warm and dry.

Swami Official Website