It was a bit of a wake up call going from the warm waters of Raglan to a real biting southwest swell here in Dunedin this past week. I used the same wetsuit for both locations – a new high-end 4/3 zipperless number from O'Neill, but I was expecting the worst in Dunedin as we headed into hood and booty territory.
Sure, I was sweating in it up in Raglan, but would it be up to the task in the south? Turns out that all the new technology that makes the latest wetsuits warmer, lighter and flexier actually translates beautifully to our chilly waves. It's easy to get complacent and drag an old wetsuit through a season more than it is capable of, but as soon as you invest in new technology the sooner you get to enjoy the benefits. Seems like a no-brainer, but I get caught behind every time. It's the slow-boiling frog phenomenon. Like the surprise you get when your barbecue finally runs out of gas.
The crazy part is that each surf I get is hard-fought for and a highlight of my day, so why would I take the edge off that experience by persevering with sub-standard equipment? Sure, it costs money to stay up to date with technology, but where does surfing sit on your lifestyle value radar?
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We're heading to the Gold Coast! We've teamed up with Mauricio Gil, of MG Surfboards, to shoot a week on the Gold Coast with a bunch of our ex-pat Kiwi surfers and some of the MG rippers in the first week of May. Very exciting to be working with a shaping talent like Mauricio who honed his craft with the legendary Hawaiian shaper Donald Takayama. Bring it on.
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