…kind of a silly thread but…
I love my mat! I love em’ so much! when the surf is totally shithouse you can go and have sooo much fun!
Think of the worse conditions and waves you’ve ever had and it would still be fun on a mat!
Some you can blowup by mouth and some you can fill up @ the service station.
You can hang them out on the cloths line and let them dry.
Awesome!
…sorry 'bout that.
…Josh…
yarr!
Josh,
I just had a discussion with Kimo & Ambrose about this. Imagine 8-ft blown out Malibu, worst conditions ever, and you’re stoked. Further, you look forward to the next time the conditions suck that bad. You’re riding alone or with a friend on your Dale Solomonson pneumatic surf craft, meanwhile expanding your world of surfing which was once the size of a BB and is now approaching marble size. Ambrose said it: The surf break offers a countless # of games on its playing field. Most people are only playing one, and playing it over and over again. Put me down for one Dale, I just need to save a few more pennies.
josh,
i share your stoke the matt rules ! it really messes with my whole trip.i have many vehilces and after a few sessions on my mat i fantisize about getting rid of all my boards and buying a quiver of matts and a plane ticket to some remote point .the mat is unreal thanks dale.greg hurry up put your order in .
…Good points! You do actaully look forward to conditions that are crap on your mat.
Its the real spirit of surfing! sometimes you can be out on a board and say “this is crap” etc. but on a mat your always having fun.
One of the best things is surfing uncrowded waves! its so fun and your not out there to do anything but surf and have fun!enjoy!
Josh.
I am sooooo looking forward to mine, but I’m sure Dale’s snowed under with orders, so don’t order till mine arrives :lol:
with a mat, you’ll never get skunked.eg, yesterday am surf was small and blown to shit.figure after work i would go for a run.ha! the surf jumped up to head high, but it was pretty blown-had i a board, i wouldn’t have gone out-too blown.however, i did have my mat in the truck(as always) so i got to go out and have a blast!!!(certainly more fun than runnin’). i do find myself wishing fo those junky days with size to go out on my mat-it’s too damn fun!
and when it’s good… they ride even better!
I want to play tooo!
I’ve been reading the mat threads for a while. For the longest time I thought they were a joke, but know I feel I’m missing out on something. What type of mat should I buy? Where do you buy it? I think its time to expand my horizons.
You guys got to tone it down a bit, my mat is getting built as we speak!!!
All this talk is making me lose it. I can’t wait!!
You guys got to tone it down a bit, my mat is getting built as we speak!!!
All this talk is making me lose it. I can’t wait!!
Oh duuude! ah it was unberable before i had my mat…
anyone have any footage of a mat in action that they can post a link to?
sorry no link …these are videos / dvds…
CRYSTAL VOYAGER
FANTASEA
THE INNERMOST LIMITS OF PURE FUN …these three feature the master at work …George Greenough
“On any morning” [1974] also has SOME mat footage …not as good though …it’s not George riding !
ben
kinda off topic but I had the crystalization of an I dea to store the mat on a bike and then jimmy said hey that would be good for in the car to keep it from being mutilated in the truck too!
pvc pipe 4’’ ? 3’'? diameter
cap the end and screw off the other end HMMMM?
like a fishin rod travel sleeve… ambrose…
to me mat …“YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND”
kinda off topic but I had the crystalization of an I dea to store the mat on a bike and then jimmy said hey that would be good for in the car to keep it from being mutilated in the truck too!
pvc pipe 4’’ ? 3’'? diameter
cap the end and screw off the other end HMMMM?
Ambrose,
I thought I had that figured when I came across plastic expandable tubes at an art supply store, made for blueprints and roll-up documents and artwork. The diameter was nowhere close. I told Dale about it and he said you really need at least 4". I think most of that on the mainland is black ABS, not looking good for hot days if exposed. There is some kind of relatively flexible white drain pipe stuff, like you would bury to drain off boggy land. It has holes which would allow breathing and heat venting while still protecting the mat. I never got that far into checking terminal and open/close fittings to it. Whatever you try, roll the mat and measure first…kind of a surprise.
Nels
Protect and transport your mat in a rod tube…
There are lots of foreign and domestic mats available for well under $50. I used to buy cases of them. The Redback (and similar equipment) are representative of mass-produced mats from 30+ years ago. Usually made of organic rubber and cloth, weighing 6 to 8 pounds wet. Most appropriate for riders 175 to 200+ lbs.
Re: old mat surfing movies… the best is reportedly George Greenough’s 1971 short film “Rubber Duck Riders”, his personal tribute to mat surfing.
George has described all subsequent mat surfing footage included in surf films as merely “goofing around”. To date, there’s never been any mat surfing footage that shows modern equipment (post 1983) running at full potential.
For a historical perspective, here’s George on a heavy, over-sized, rubber and canvas Converse Hodgeman carving long, hard arcs at Lennox Heads, 1966-67.
Can u still get hodgeman mats? I know its performance of the past but geeze those things look nice! especially in Crystal Voyeger.
The only thing about the crystal voyeger footage is the sort of hold on to the rails abit further back, I prefer the hold on top of the nose style head forward footage.
Josh.
Josh-
Hodgemans disappeared in the early 1970’s, about the same time as the advent of Tom Morey’s “Boogie” bodyboard. Rip Curl, Merrin and a few others continued to produce surf mats. In the late 1970’s George Greenough did an extensive evaluation of about a dozen surf mats for Tracks Magazine!
Always experiment with your mat’s air pressure and buoyancy between waves. Vary the position of your hand grip. Mats do not surf like other prone craft (on elbows w/head and chest raised up). In small, flat waves try running the mat at low volumes, easily folding to 90 degrees (or more) across center width.
Dale
Can u still get hodgeman mats? I know its performance of the past
I have one given to me by a friend. Interesting historical artifact but the thing is huge compared to my NeuMatic and must weight well over 5 pounds dry. Add to that the well-remembered abtrasive quality of canvas covering and what you have is the mat equivilent of a redwood log.