I think they are legit Huck haha. Not that my opinion counts for much.
Free Ride is the movie that showed the busting down the door crew on the north shore of Oahu around 1974-1976. If you can the full movie watch it. Here’s a couple of segments.
This is when MR made the twin fin popular again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft7t6E69tms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLnoeweV04M
SurferO,
To me, a legitimate tube is when the surfer is gone from straight on or beach view… None of the waves in that Gerry clip meet that criteria.
They were all head dips and pocket rides.
No disrespect at all to Gerry and Rory and whoever else might be on that video. I have nothing but respect for them and I know I have seen plenty of legitimate tubes from those guys and for sure those guys were pushing the limits and breaking ground on pretty much every session. Legendary status for sure… Just that that video doesn’t show them getting what I would consider legit tubes… Again, in my opinion.
Huck,
Please remind me where and when I said that I was a legitimate tube rider?
That top screen grab that you posted, doesn’t look like he ever disappeared…
I would call that a pocket ride…
Regarding the bottom screen grab…
The view we get in the video is looking slightly into the tube and we never actually lose sight of him.
But I will concede that from the beach, he probably did disappear for a second.
The last 2 in this video of Kalani Chapman are definitely legit tubes too:
All good chrisp, I see your point. Opinions are what make this place great.
HA!
What do you think?
He disappeared even looking into the tube.
all this semantics makes my head swim!
Is the definition of a legitimate tube ride spelled out somewhere official? Since you were wondering who else noticed that they weren’t legitimate tubes, that means they would have to subscribe to the same definition as you. Is this a WSL thing?
For the record, the o.p. asked about single fins “in the barrel”, and “steeper more hollow waves” (tube wasn’t mentioned in the thread title or opening post) … so this begs the question, is there is a separate definition of a barreling wave, or a steeper more hollow wave?? Or are these just synonyms for “tube” or “legitimate tube”? Man, we gotta get this sorted out!
Now I assumed you would have to be a legitimate tube rider to spot whether or not those were legitimate tubes, but perhaps no, perhaps one might be able to spot such differences without the firsthand experience, leading to the introduction of a possible new term, “tubespotting”.
While I thought one’s abilities would lie in spielunking those water caverns in order to recognize a legitimate occurrence, perhaps the power of observation and categorization is a separate skill? If some have gone down in history as great tuberiders, should we not also acknowledge the great tubespotters? I for one, despite being a relative newcomer to the concept, am all for it!
I wear a long leash so my leash can get some tube time - me, not so much. I’m doing good if I can get a few senior moments on the cold shoulder 
Just my opinion…
A barrel is when the wave is very hollow and you can be in there for more than a few seconds. If you’re in the barrel, you can see the lip looking forward out of the tube. Barreling waves are usually powerful, and the lip is usually thick. A lot of times there’s a lot more water behind the wave than in front. The whole ocean seems to be moving forward. A 10 foot face can be 1 foot high behind the wave. Wipeouts usually send you tumbling quite a bit. Hitting the bottom or your board is not uncommon.
A tube or cover up can be a very quick thing and the wave may not be powerful.
oooh, that’s what I call a drainer!
gives me chills just reading your description!
I dunno Huck,…
I thought my definition was pretty universal.
Either a guy/girl disappeared behind the curtain or they didn’t…
If the wave barrels/tubes behind me, I didn’t get a tube/barrel.
But, to each their own.
http://www.surfer.com/blogs/design-forum/machado-single-fin/#MH6MiV0eFM1PkUaj.97
Rob Machado discusses Single fins and tube riding in this article. interesting read. I’ll take his word for it.
chrisp, Legit barrel in my opinion. very claim worthy Haha!
Your tubed when you’re inside looking out the hole. Doesn’t matter who sees what on the beach. Who gives a shit about the people on the beach when you’re out surfing? Unless,yah know, it’s cute girls. But, I’m too old and ugly to care about that now. It’s better, anyway, if nobody sees your toobs because then you can lie about it. Head dip-got toobed. Lip hit’s me in the side of the head and slams me-toobed. Too small so you do a belly wave-toobed again. They’re all toobs. That’s what I tell my wife when I get home. She wasn’t there and will never know… Mike