What type of wettie do you wear?
Where was it manufactured?
Do you have less “soul” if you wear a foreign made wettie?
Oh yeah absolutely. In fact foreign = no soul, domestic factory made =1/2 soul, custom made= 3/4 soul, and if you make it yourself you got 100% soul.
100% soul = beavertail wetsuit…i’m still working on obtaining one of these…but i found a source for retro-style beavertail wetsuits made in the good ol’ U.S. of A…i just need to find about $70 that i can spend on a new wetsuit.
does that make me a good person? would i be a bad person if i continued to wear my o’neill wetsuit that i love oh so dearly cuz it keeps me warm and toasty like the identical twin cheerleaders from Florida State University?? thanks to you guys’ guilt trips, i find myself in quite the predicament…if i wear it i feel dirty, but if i don’t wear it i feel cold…i need therapy because of you.
Let’s see if I get branded a heretic.
The reason I asked this question is the HF vs. surftech thread is too long.
Using an overseas built sander is ok, but a surftech isn’t (not my opinion).
Would you guys that responded say that you’re a better than average surfer? If yes, custom made boards are good for you, because you know what you’re looking for.
If no, why would you want to spend a good deal of money on a board that is going to get beat to sh1t? Why not buy an overseas board and save some cash? Put that money aside for when you get competent enough to understand what you want in a surfboard.
Too many people get wrapped up in the “soul” b.s. A surfboard is a tool, period. So is a wetsuit, sander, sandpaper, tacky, acetone, and whatever else you use to acheive the end result.
Oh, BTW, I wear Victory wetsuits, made in HB. Body Glove, made in Indo or Thailand. And Quiksilver, also made overseas. Depends on which one is dry and the conditions.
so you’re saying that a beavertail wetsuit isn’t soulful?!!..PFFFFFTTT!!!
also, my first two surfboards (when my experience was very limited) were custom built from a local shaper. they cost about the same as a surftech longboard, and have served me far better of the years than some p.o.s. surftech ever could. in fact, i still ride both of them.
Face the music friends…we live in a global economy. Stop the global whining and deal with reality. Read ‘The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization’ by Thomas Friedman and embrace the change.
Check it out at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385499345/qid=1108836826/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-6784958-1387316
LOL,
Right on Jeff! I was one of those wrapped up in the HF/Surftech “controversy”. Definitely some opinionated surfers here. Don’t get me started!
I remember my first beavertail well. 1979, A highschool buddy offerd to take me surfing for the first time. He loaned me his uncles “wetsuit”. It was the top half of a beavertail dive suit. What a piece of crap! The thing constantly flushed with water. I didn’t know any better before we went out but I did after.
I love my Ripcurl with the Elastomax or whatever it is. It’s pure luxury.
Now you have guys making fake beavertails using thin surfsuit material instead to the dive thinkness. Can you say poseur? I can’t wait till those guys in their beavertails start buckling the tail in the front. Oh, that’s cool man! LOL!
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Face the music friends...we live in a global economy. Stop the global whining and deal with reality.
I’ve read the book. And I am dealing with reality. By making conscious choices about who I give my money to. I don’t like giving it to people who don’t share my concern for the environment, economy, and individual liberty.
To ignore these concerns and simply purchase goods only based on price or quality is not “dealing with reality”. It’s living life with a blindfold. The reality is that the choices you make with your money impact who is free and who is enslaved or repressed, how clean our air and water are, how stable our global climate is, etc. That’s reality. Deal with it.
marabout,
Good one. Well written.
Globalization is the first step to loosing your personal freedoms and civil liberties. It puts in the hands of goverment, that which they have never been able to get right. It’s only reality of we allow multi national corporations to call the shots and if we continue to believe everything CNN and Fox put on the glass toilet.
I think we can deal with other countries and should, but I don’t think we should let those that mistreat their people benifit by dealing with us and still mistreat their people.
China is not selling anything they have created or labored for. The goverment of china is selling labor. We are buying our cheap clothing and shoes off the backs of the abused.
I can deal with that being a fact, but I don’t have to like it.
Howzit soulstice, I bought my first beaver tail wetsuit in 64’ and I think it cost me a whole $ 12.00 from Dive and surf who became Body Glove later on. Aloha,Kokua
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Face the music friends…we live in a global economy. Stop the global whining and deal with reality.
Global economy? Stop buying the garbage people are pushing. What the heck is Global Economy other than a buzzword?
200 years ago was the spice and silk trade from Asia to Europe a “Global Economy”? Of course it was. Talk about cheap labor, what about the slave trade? Was that a Global issue? Yes. Did it effect the cost of doing busines? Yes. Was it bad? Of course it was. The Globe has always had Economy. Things aren’t different now their just faster. Just because it’s Global doesn’t mean it’s better.
Stop buying into people Utopian ideas. They almost always involve loss of personal freedom and cultural identity.
Coincidentally, this week I watched THX 1138, George Lucas’ first full-length film. Watch that and get an immaginary view of what a Global Economy can do for you.
Soulstice,
I hope that beaver tail is updated a bit. My memory? Cold water down the neck, snaps crunching the board, arms stand straight out to the sides(straight-jacket!), and don’t forget the rad wetsuit rashes under the armpits even with vaseline and a t-shirt. I prefered the old long john with sleeves. Of course, the suit I wear now is light years of improvement over that stuff. Been using a Ripcurl with snap on hood in 4/3. Made by human beings somewhere I assume. Have fun! Mike
In Spain there are some groups of longboarders that are trying to buy old beaver tail wetsuits to surf with them… sorry but all i can do is laugh when they talk about that shortboarders who ride Al Merricks or Webbers are fashion victims.
My point is just that i try not to buy anything from a company that i think/know that doesn’t treat well their employes or our planet Earth… it isn’t easy and yes I’M GUILTY, but i keep trying. As long as buying something from other countries: i like german cars, french cheese, belgium beer and some surfboard from the USA… i like to enjoy the good things from every place, not matter where they come from.
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Howzit soulstice, I bought my first beaver tail wetsuit in 64’ and I think it cost me a whole $ 12.00 from Dive and surf who became Body Glove later on. Aloha,Kokua
groovy…but do ya still have it!!! 
WHAT!! You guy’s don’t make your own wetsuits? You guys aren’t real surfers!!
I made mine out of my moms plastic couch cover, my high school duffle bag, and a wind breaker I found on the beach.
well here in south florida, we don’t actually need wetsuits…it’s a fasion statement, just like everything else…therefore, the So.Fla. rule applies…if you don’t spend entirely too much on something worthless and self-indulgent, you’re a bad person…so spend more for that designer label wetsuit…and make sure the colors don’t clash with your surfboard or your car…otherwise paris hilton will cut you off on every wave out of spite.
…I made my wetsuit out of pigmy skin,but I’m looking for a domestic species to make a new one from, maybe youp!
…You wanna volunteer?
…Oh yeah …skinning is nothing new to me either.
…I use whatever is given to me,or if I get a fabulous break on the price.As far as where and who???We as Americans are victims of our own crimes,in my opinion.Herb
…I move silent thru a world that contains much,much violence…hood and thugs …Hos and drugs…
…My sniper skills make me lethal and ill…
I share your listed concerns, but have different thoughts than you. I don’t agree with the cobra type thing, but it’s a reality that we, as surfers, have to face. NOT purchasing their products is how I do my bit.
The point of this thread is to make those arguing about a sander vs. surftech look at their equipment. All of it.
Wetsuits are an integral part of surfing (if you live in an area where it’s needed).
Sanders are too. So, if you want to bicker about cheap imports, look at ALL of your equipment.
Don’t be a selective “bigot”.
Remember…don’t fight…dicker!Herb
Bottom line is that we have differing views on the subject, Marabout and Solo. My view —as I meander way off the topic of surfing for a few moments — is that we live in an era of globalization that is unlike any other in our past and the opportunities are tremendous! My view is that, while there will be many, many, challenges and setbacks, the net changes that will result from this era of globalization are, ultimately, improved conditions (labor rights, environment, other social standards) worldwide. I certainly am not talking utopian perfection or anything close to it. It won’t happen overnight. But I do believe the net change is/will be a good one. The reality is that, whether you like it or not, the pace of change from globalization will continue and will do so at a dizzying, accelerated pace. Some don’t like it. Some are scared of it. Some are afraid that it is a threat to the United State’s world dominance. Others, like myself, choose to embrace the concept and see an opportunity to ultimately improve the world’s environment and reduce poverty and other social conditions, but recognize at the same time there will be many challenges.
Thomas Friedman’s says it best when he says that the present era of globalization is different than past because of “the degree and intensity with which the world is being tied together into a single globalized marketplace.” (This ain’t no fad or buzzword, Ryan.) Friedman goes on to highlight that “the sheer number of people and countries able to partake in this process and be affected by it" is unprecedented. When I stated deal with reality in my prior post, Marabout and Solo, this is the reality I think you plain and simply can’t avoid.
When globalization leads to greater general prosperity in an underdeveloped nation such as China, it reduces child labor and increases literacy. When parents have sufficient income, they send their children to school, not work so the child labor abuses we about are reduced. This occurred in the United States when it was a developing nation and is happening in China. Poverty in China has fallen from nearly 30% of the population in the late 1970s/early 80s to less than 10% at the turn of the Century. China has a long, long way to go but I think engaging this country makes more sense than all of the isolationist rhetoric I hear.
As long as capitalism remains at the forefront- and I am sure it will - the challenge worldwide will be exactly what has been the challenge for the United States over the past couple of centuries as we rose to prominence; the push and pull between the capitalistic pursuit of money and other social, economic and political issues such as environmental conditions, working conditions, human rights. Capitalism in a democracy like the United States is not perfect but most of us would agree we like living in this framework. I think the current globalization is an opportunity for this framework to spread.
I’ll take globalism over Jihadism/tribalism any day!
Steering back a bit towards surf-related topic……I have no problem whatsoever buying a wetsuit or a Harbour Freight manufactured in China. I also own a few Surftechs, but much prefer hand shaped boards. 9 of the last 10 boards I have purchased, including three custom hand shaped boards from Geoff McCoy through Solosurfer’s participation in the global economy by importing Geoff’s boards to the U.S. from AU, have been handshaped. 
p.s. Solo……Great Flaming Lips CD!