» Gear

Shark eats anti-shark device

kris — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:30:33 +0000

The folks at SharkShield must be feeling pretty disappointed right now. Recently, while testing one of their anti-shark devices in the shark-infested waters of South Africa, a shark actually attacked and ate the device. I can only imagine the looks on their faces when it happened.

This spectacular product failure has fueled speculation that the electrical fields, that serve as the basis for SharkShield’s shark-repelling technology, may actually attract sharks and compel them to attack. The company claims that their shark-repelling technology works fine when you’re stationary, but not so much when you’re paddling or riding a wave. Since roughly 52% of a surfer’s time in the water is spent either paddling or riding waves, I’d say it’s a safe play to avoid using the SharkShield device. Link

Instant Ding Repair Kit

kris — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:35:41 +0000

Check out this new instant ding repair kit developed
out of South Africa. It works by filling the ding with a special powder, adding drops of a special liquid, waiting seconds for everything to harden, and then sanding. Sounds pretty cool to me, especially for when you’re traveling.
They claim it’s a more permanent repair than something like Solarez. It’d be great to get some data on the strength of the repair as well as how it affects the overall weight of the board. Still it’s cool to see some innovation in ding repair technology.

New fin technology

kris — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:14:21 +0000

Check out Shredda’s new fin configuration. The company claims to use 100% recycled materials and that the cost is under $100 (presumably AUS). They also make the claim that their new steering system “has increased the speed ,stability and turning ability by at least 20%….”

Read more about it at http://www.shredda.com

How to make your own surfboard

kris — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 03:27:50 +0000

Interested in making your very own surfboard? Who isn’t, right? Surfer Steve does a good job of walking you through the process. And if you do get around to making a board, send us a picture.

Hollow wooden surfboard construction

kris — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 20:27:39 +0000

70percent.org posted a cool thread from Swaylock’s Surfboard Design Forum that documents the construction of a hollow wooden surfboard, so I thought I’d offer a little more on the history of hollow wooden boards.

Back in the 1930′s, when people were riding boards that were basically just solid planks of wood that weighed up to 100 lbs, an innovative waterman by the name of Tom Blake started producing hollow boards that were nearly half as heavy. Back then this was a major technological leap by any measure, especially when you consider the fact that Polynesians had been riding solid wooden boards for about 2,000 years.

You can read more on the history of wooden boards at http://www.woodsurfboards.com and you can ogle pictures of some nice modern wooden boards at http://www.hollowsurfboards.com.

It’s nice to see people still making them like they used to.

Anti-shark gadget

kris — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 18:00:11 +0000

The Aussies have made an advancement in anti-shark technology. SeaChange Technology’s SharkShield device attaches to your ankle like a leash and creates an electro-magnetic field that deters sharks up to 6 meters away.

Link

Surfboard with built-in tablet pc

kris — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 03:15:51 +0000

Although this story is a bit dated, I feel it deserves a mention. It’s a surfboard with a built-in wirelss tablet pc, so surfers can surf (the internet) while they’re out in the water.

From the looks of it, the whole thing was more of a gimick to demonstrate wireless technology. Two years have passed since the product’s unveiling and I haven’t seen any further developements, but still it goes to show that they can do anything with computers.

Link

A pillow that tells you how good the waves are

kris — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:49:55 +0000

The Aussies have done it again. This time with a pillow that eliminates the need to get out of bed to check the surf. It communicates wirelessly with special surf-monitoring software that you install on your computer. The pillow vibrates according to the size of the waves, i.e. bigger waves make the pillow vibrate more vigorously. The pillow even mimics the period of the waves, so you can get a sense of how often the sets are coming in.

They should make a seat cushion for desk chairs, too.

http://www.wavepillow.com/

Link

City Wave

kris — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:14:00 +0000

The Germans have developed a way for wave-deprived people to experience the feeling of riding a wave. City Wave, as they’re calling it, is basically a fake standing wave formed by fashioning a large wave-shaped conveyor belt out of a special non-sticky material that people can ride with special boards. It doesn’t require a drop of water and can be moved and setup anywhere.

We’re seeing more and more ways for people to experience the sensation of riding a surfboard without having to get their feet wet in the ocean. I think it’s great that inventive people, who are passionate about surfing, are developing ways to make surfing more accessible to the masses. Hopefully, the more people learn about surfing (when they’re on land), the more they’ll feel drawn to the ocean. That’s not to say I wish the line-ups were a little more crowded. I do wish people had more respect for the ocean, though, and surfing in the ocean has a tendency to earn people’s respect for the ocean.

When people start showing more respect to the ocean, hopefully they’ll think more about taking better care of it. If that comes at the cost of having to ride a wave with 200 other yahoos, then so be it. I’ll just go and find myself a City Wave that I can ride all by myself.

Sun screen that protects against sharks

kris — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 17:25:35 +0000

I love it when a plan comes together. Teeka Tan Products, a company that produces sun care products, and SharkDefense, a R&D company that focuses on chemical shark repellent technologies, are teaming up to produce a single lotion that not only protects humans against the sun’s harmful rays, but from sharks, too. Teeka also offers a lotion that they claim inhibits jellyfish stings.

It’s good to know someone’s working on capitalizing on people’s anxiety and at the same time actually trying to mitigate some of the risks that come along with playing in the ocean.

It’ll be interesting to see how well this stuff works…