Kelly Slater Roam Boardshorts by Quiksilver

I recently received a pair of Kelly Slater Roam boardshorts by Quiksilver, so thought I would share my personal opinion of them with you. My first impression; fresh out of the packaging, was very positive. The colors were brighter than I expected and they were constructed with a strong but lightweight material. We recently had our first really nice day in our corner of the world so I broke these out for a test run... err surf. I was surprised how comfortable they were. They were not so long that I looked like an escapee from the 90's, but not so short that I felt like i was wearing boxers; a comfortable 21'.

The Roam uses Quiksilver's Cypher Technology, which boasts a four-way stretch diamond dobby construction, water repellant treatment, double up closure system, diamond fly, and stretch hems. All that may just seem like a lot of technical mumbo jumbo from the label (which it is), but in reality all those little things add up to a killer pair of boardies. The thing I loved the most was how quickly they shorts dried after getting out of the water! We are talking minutes; they were dry as a bone. They even have Slater's signature embroidered on the pocket which was kind of cool. I've owned many pairs of boardshorts in my lifetime but I can honestly say I was nothing but impressed by these and I would recommend them to everyone.They're comfortable, affordable, and very well made.

If you want to check them out for yourself, click here for a picture of them at Quiksilver.com and scroll down to see my official review for these boardies!

Arbor Timeless Bamboo

Living in the pacific Northwest we can't always count on the waves, so if you love surfing and want a good substitute you're going to need a Skateboard. My Skateboard is a longboard from Arbor and it lets me feel like I'm surfing even when my local spot looks like a lake. It is a concave pintail, and 46" long with a 32.25 wheelbase. The construction of the board is a blend of Canadian maple wood and bamboo. Bamboo is the most sustainable building material on the planet and completely regenerates in as little as 4 weeks. Arbor has been incorporating it into their boards for years. The bamboo gives the board a nice flex without losing strength in construction; it also makes it very light for its size. The board rides so smooth it's ridiculous and picking up speed on even the slightest incline is not a problem.

One of the other things I love about Arbor is their choice of artists. Skateboards have been known to have very attractive designs since they came to be. VCJ created some of the most well known designs for both Powell-Peralta, and Jim Phillips created the screaming hand and numerous other graphics for Santa Cruz. That being said Arbor uses a wide variety of artists for their boards and what they end up with looks like something one might hang on their wall. The art on my board was designed by Nanami Cowdroy. You can read more about her at nanamicowdroy.com; her work is truly incredible.

Anyway, if anyone is in the market for a board check out Arbor before even considering anything else. I'm glad I did.

HURLEY: H2O water bottle

First off, I hope everyone had a great Earth Day! Second, I figured I would review the Hurley H2O Water Bottle. I picked one up a couple weeks ago off their website and its great. It is not one of those huge bottles that is bulky and heavy once filled but a nice 22oz stainless steal that easily fits into a backpack pocket or bike drink carrier. Its a soft matte black with blue writing, and has a secure metal ring if you need fasten it to something.

As a surfer I feel it is important to know that bottled water produces over 1.5 tons of plastic waste per year. Even though the bottles are high quality plastic, over 80% are thrown away. We can all do our part to end this senseless waste by shelling out a few extra dollars, yen, pounds, euros, or whatever to purchase a reusable bottle instead if purchasing countless plastic bottles that only end up everywhere except for where they should be.

They are available at Hurley's website right now, so go grab a Hurley H2O bottle and do your part in saving the planet.

Sticky Bumps Munkey Wax

Sticky Bumps Munkey Wax is the newest addition to the Sticky Bumps product line. While not as sticky as their Punt Wax, it's still about five times more sticky than their regular wax. I'm not going to say it will improve your surfing (no wax can do that), but I will say it can improve control and makes maneuvering easier. Unlike what I've found with the Punt Wax, you can wax your entire board with Munkey Wax with a base coat. Living in a colder environment I've found some so-called cold water wax loses it's stick quickly and I did find myself having to go back in to apply another coat.While I have been using Sticky Bumps for years I was really excited to try Munkey Wax for the extra stickiness,however I don't feel it's something I would use daily unless I was in a warmer environment due to having to reapply so often.

Check your local shop for a bar or head over to www.stickybumps.com and pick some up.