The Great Unbiased Wetsuit Review Thread

[rowjimmytour]

Duck diving is not something I think consciously about, the only thing would be to try and go deeper depending on the amount of whitewater and power in the waves. I don't try and hang on if it will be unsuccessful, just let the board go underwater and hopefully it's still attached to the legrope when you resurface.

One time I buckled a board I held on and very lucky I did because break was a shallow coral reef that tubed top to bottom. Ever since duck diving regardless of bottom I hold on death grip rails and try to get as deep as possible. Seems to help my leashes last longer as well

 

[Hazrus]

@Mr J - one more question because I'm curious about your technique:

Do you start the duckdive in that position? In other words, is that how your are sinking your board, or is that the position you are taking for strength once you are underwater?

 

[Swallow Tail]

All you need is a goat on your back n you’ve got a sweet take on goat yoga shredz
…kidding

so you do the elbow thing mid-duck dive when there’s a lot of power So you don’t get smashed in the face?

When there a bunch of juice & I know/feel my boards gonna probably get ripped away, I bear hug it and go kinda sideways (but no where near perpendicular to boar) so I dont get smashed in the head by boar. Bailing board is always last option for me.

 

[Mr J]

.... I don't try and hang on if it will be unsuccessful, just let the board go underwater and hopefully it's still attached to the legrope when you resurface.

I don't believe in trying to hang on to a board at all costs either, on a really crunching wave that just risks spraining something or other.

However, making a habit of letting go underwater is a bad idea. That would be the absolute last resort for me. It is better to make a judgement as to whether a successful duckdive can be made before going into one and bail in advance. That way you get clear of the board. When you are forced to let go underwater the board is underneath you and as it gets ripped backwards the nose might make contact with body. I don't always get it right, but that would be a rare occurrence and while I can't remember getting hurt it does not feel at all safe. I have some protection from my elbows on the deck. You would be taking a bigger risk.

It goes without saying that we don't bail our boards if there is someone behind us. Its a good idea to avoid getting someone behind is in the first place. Of course we must always be able to swim ourselves back to the beach in the event of a broken leash. Its a good idea to be comfortable with swimming in a buoyant winter wettie if you surf where getting dragged into deep water channels is a possibility. The usual swimming pool head down front crawl does not work because the buoyancy of the wettie causes the feet to come out of the water making the kick ineffective, or are you built like a beefy brick and its not an issue? Regardless being able to swim with the head out of the water at all times is an advantage for being able to see.

 

[Mr J]

coffee on the sheets , man. dying.

yeah well, I'm still alive and kicking. I reckon that our resident strongman would be heaps stronger than both you and @LifeOnMars combined I know I'm being a bit of a troll, but LifeOnMars provoked me!

I ordered a new Sword of Light today. Its going to be a while because the shaper is away, but they got the custom file from my last order, so I am going to be able to get another one the same.

 

[Mr J]

One time I buckled a board I held on and very lucky I did because break was a shallow coral reef that tubed top to bottom. Ever since duck diving regardless of bottom I hold on death grip rails and try to get as deep as possible. Seems to help my leashes last longer as well

I've never surfed coral reef, Rowjimmytour. Shallow tubing rock reef waves are not for me either. There is a slab near me which I surfed over 20 years ago, but I won't do it now. I'm a bit of a kook at surfing and rubbish at tubes, but I have naturally high enthusiasm levels which help the experience. My neighbour took a picture of me recently while I sat on my board in some horrendous looking bumpy conditions and texted it to me accompanied with several of those tears of joy emoticons. He couldn't believe that I was keen enough to go in those conditions. I insisted that I found some corners of fun amongst the junk

 

[Mr J]

@Mr J
... .
Do you start the duckdive in that position? In other words, is that how your are sinking your board, or is that the position you are taking for strength once you are underwater?

I'd need to do another self observation to get the exact sequence. But it is something like one foot goes to the tail while the board gets pushed away with the hands. The free leg then does a donkey kick upwards to provide Newton's third law effect of opposing downforce on the foot on the tailpad to sink the tail. Simultaneously to the donkey kick the elbows come in on the deck. Yes I will be underwater in that position.

I'm not sure if you should take my technique seriously, although I swear my account of chiropractic type adjustments is true! You would be doing the leg raise/donkey kick too yes? I'm sure you would have your own personal optimum technique sorted.

 

[Mr J]

..
so you do the elbow thing mid-duck dive when there’s a lot of power So you don’t get smashed in the face?

Yes exactly, to avoid getting smashed in the face and only when there's lots of power.

When there a bunch of juice & I know/feel my boards gonna probably get ripped away, I bear hug it and go kinda sideways (but no where near perpendicular to boar) so I dont get smashed in the head by boar. Bailing board is always last option for me.

Sounds good, there is sure to be some individuality in our techniques and it is a case of what works best. So are you holding one rail close to your body and letting your legs/lower body hang off the side of the rail furthest away from you?

 

[Swallow Tail]

Yes exactly, to avoid getting smashed in the face and only when there's lots of power.


Sounds good, there is sure to be some individuality in our techniques and it is a case of what works best. So are you holding one rail close to your body and letting your legs/lower body hang off the side of the rail furthest away from you?

im gripping my hands together -not holding board with hands and legs are off the board. This is in situations where it’s big n powerful enough that the board would most definitely get ripped out of your hands- start a regular duck dive, then “assume the position.” I rather get dragged in a bit and be able to get right back to paddling vs bailing.

Nathan Florence takes a similar approach I believe

 

[Mr J]

I'd need to do another self observation to get the exact sequence.
...

@Hazrus , today was a good day for that - big swell. Considering that I have already broken one sword of light this week decided to pass on sheltered spot number 1 and go to sheltered spot number 2 which was enough of a challenge.

I am definitely not trying to teach anyone how to suck eggs here, just interesting to observe technique. Am I remembering right that you have been a competitive surfer?

So it seems that the dry land re-creation I posted where elbows are on the deck during the donkey kick is not my usual state of affairs. My elbows usually come in at some stage after that. However the more crunching the wave, the earlier my elbows go on to the deck. Some duck dives are messy and I can even end upside down with elbows on deck.

 

[Mr J]

im gripping my hands together -not holding board with hands and legs are off the board. This is in situations where it’s big n powerful enough that the board would most definitely get ripped out of your hands- start a regular duck dive, then “assume the position.” I rather get dragged in a bit and be able to get right back to paddling vs bailing.

Nathan Florence takes a similar approach I believe
... .

Cheers, together with your explanation and Nathan Florence's I understand now. I have no doubt that it is a good thing to do, but I don't do it. However I do have a legs off the side of the board technique! It wouldn't be as effective as yours for hanging on.

In that perfect duckdive the board seems to do a perfect arc underwater and we can even get a sensation of moving forward - probably an illusion from water moving backwards. That sometimes goes wrong for me and I start to get dragged backwards. So when that happens I hang my legs off one side of the board - again with elbows on deck. This seems to reduce the distance dragged backwards.

 

[Hazrus]

@Mr J I can understand what you mean now and see that it has merit for sure. For myself, I have no idea exactly what I do underwater during a duckdive - it's all muscle-memory at this point.

Having said that, I think I do something similar with the elbows when duckdiving bigger sets, except they are more splayed out off the sides of the rails. I've certainly never had any wear on the elbows of my wetsuits, but I only wear a steamer about 6 months of the year up here in Lockdown Central.

 

[mundus]

There was a vid John Florence duck diving and travelling a full length of the pool underwater.

 

[sdsrfr]

Frog kicks!

 

[Mr J]

View attachment 113646

My sword of light has had a band aid skillfully applied by a local commercial fishing net maker. As a bonus I got a lesson on how to bind the net to the long rope that floats, its quite a physical job.

When I dropped it off for repair it took two us to bend the rocker back into shape over some trestles. The fishing net maker put a straight edge on the deck to get it exactly right and it works just like it used to backhand. I think it has lost a little something when trying to pump it frontside. Such a good board. A bit narrower than my back up Chilli, so handles a wider range of juice better. Picked it up last weekend. 7 sessions on it so far.

 

[maybe]

How about we get back on track here aye?

It's August in San Diego and I still have a couple months of trunking it, but looking for a backup 3/2 for winter. After having tried some of the more exotic options: Matuse, Isurus, Reunion... I may look for an O'neill or something of that nature. Perhaps Vissla will release something new equivalent to their North Seas.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

It's August in San Diego and I still have a couple months of trunking it

 

[MathDebater]

I don’t get what’s funny

 

[LifeOnMars]

I don’t get what’s funny

His little frail frame can't handle the cold, I've surfed with just a top and trunks in SD in November. Water probably mid 60's with air in the upper 60's low 70's mark. You become acclimated to the cold the more you're exposed, my theory is to wear as little rubber as possible without noticeably shivering or going numb.

 

[sdsrfr]

His little frail frame can't handle the heat, I've surfed with just a hooded 5/4 in SD in August. Water probably mid 70's with air in the upper 70's low 80's mark. You become acclimated to the heat the more you're exposed, my theory is to wear as much rubber as possible without noticeably overheating or passing out.

fxd