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May, 13Book Review: The Plight of the Torpedo People
I buy a lot of books. My wife would tell you too many. A nasty habit I acquired from my old man. Buy three, read one. But coffee table books don’t count. Because you can’t really “read” them. You pick it up on occasion, peel through a few pages, ogle some images and then return it to its home on the hardwood (cause glass coffee tables should have stayed in the 80s). This book, however, is an exception, as it accompanies Come Hell or High Water, a body surfing film made by Keith Malloy. Now, to be completely honest, I didn’t watch the movie until after I’d already browsed through the book. Maybe a mistake. But the images inside The Plight of the Torpedo People are incredible, and as far as I’m concerned, they can be appreciated with or without an introduction to their importance. There are also screen grabs from the film, which offer the “reader” a window into the world of a surfer sans stuff. A poem by Mark Cunningham captures their connection – Torpedo People pulling to big peelers, falling down the face, escaping underwater. A connection us above water wave riders can’t have. It’s a beautiful book. One that’ll make you wanna pick up a pair of fins and swim out when it’s shitty. Or when it isn’t.
J.W.
Pick up your own copy of Plight of the Torpedo People
Justin Coffey is known to enjoy small waves, strong drinks, motorcycles and misbehaving. He’s also the guy that runs Peanut Butter Coast.
11
May, 13Review: Topo Designs Daypack
Over the years, I’ve bought a lot of backpacks. Everything from full-frame mountaineering packs to overly complicated carryalls. Some of them have had sternum straps and hydration hoses and stretchy side compartments where you’re supposed to put a water bottle – among other accouterments. Honestly, though, I like the simple shit. Something that’s comfortable to carry, easy to access and made in America. I suppose that’s why I’m so taken with the Topo Designs Daypack; a 22-liter backpack made in Colorado from 1000d Cordura. Lined with a coated pack cloth, Topo’s Daypack features natural leather lash tabs, YKK zippers and shoulder straps reinforced with seatbelt webbing.
I’ve been using this bag for more than six months now. Along with my Topo Designs Duffel, I took it with me to Mexico, Israel and Amsterdam. I’ve packed it full of camera equipment, a 5mm Matuse wetsuit, my MacBook and all kinds of other stuff. The YKK zippers and paracord pulls keep things secure, and the shoulder straps are strong enough I’ve carried shit I probably shouldn’t have. Damn thing has never let me down. It’s at home underneath an airplane seat, or bouncing around in the bed of a pickup truck. It’s the perfect pack. And for just $144, it’s better than anything you’ll buy at REI.
Buy your own Topo Daypack.
This review originally appeared on The Peanut Butter Coast
02
Apr, 13Glove Review: Patagonia R5 Lobster Claws
Here in the Pacific Northwest, a good set of gloves is essential to your survival. With water temperatures barely above fifty degrees farenheit, keeping your fingers from freezing is an important part of surfing successfully. I’ve tried all types, everything from 5mm five-fingers to 7mm lobster claws with a spot to wipe your snot. But it wasn’t until I picked up these Patagonia R5 gloves that I found something which was both warm and and easy to wear. Boom!
I suppose they’re a little snug, but they won’t stop the red stuff from finding your fingers. Made from 7mm neoprene and lined with merino wool, the Gucci gloves feel like they’re half as thick and twice as warm as anything else I’ve worn. A lot like my old lobster claws – three plus one and a thumb – Patagonia’s R5 gloves will make you look like Oswald Cobblepot. But I’ll be damned if my digits don’t stay warm in the winter! Yes, they are expensive, but like most everything, you get what you pay for. Because a good pair of gloves won’t just keep you warm, they’ll let you surf till sunset. So if you’re in the market for a proper pair, pick up some of these here Patagonia gloves.
J.W.
Justin Coffey is known to enjoy small waves, strong drinks, motorcycles and misbehaving. He’s also the guy that runs Peanut Butter Coast.
10
Dec, 12Wetsuit Review: Patagonia Men’s Hooded R4 Full Suit
I was many things that morning – hungover, half awake and hungry – but what I wasn’t, not even little bit, was cold. It was the second Saturday in October, and the first weekend I felt like it really started to get cold on the coast. There was a northwest wind kicking over the ocean, leaving us with nothing but white capped waves. Shoulda brought some soap and washed my whites ;) But that’s beside the point. This is about staying warm when it’s windy and well below 40 degrees. When a warm shower and a cold beer go hand in hand. And I’ll be damned if my new Patagonia R4, a gift from my ever wonderful wife, didn’t keep me nice and cozy that cold morning on the coast.
The R4 is Patagonia’s warmest wetsuit. Lined with merino wool, it is admittedly cumbersome, but I’ll exert a little extra effort if it means surfing for four hours instead of forty-five minutes. At first glance, the R4 might look a lot like other 5/4 wetsuits you’ve owned over the years. But then you begin to see the subtleties. The front-zip function is unlike others, with the flap folding flat across your chest – letting little to no water in – assuming you have your hood on. And then there’s the single, albeit small, neck opening, into which one must squeeze themselves. But once you’ve learned to drag one side of the suit down around your elbow, to shrug your shoulders and shake that shit off, the in-and-out stuff becomes simple. Sorta.
At the ankles and wrists you’ll notice a thick, tear-resistant material made to withstand the up-and-down action that comes with wearing both boots and gloves in the winter. And then there’s the wool – a white fuzzy lining that leaves a waffle pattern on your extremities after a few hours. It might itch a little, or maybe it just feels like a classic Christmas sweater, but again, I’ll take patterned imprints and a lil’ itch over ice cold arms any day. I’ll be damned if the wool ain’t warm!
And now I’ll talk about the price. Because it’s more than most – but not by much. A hundred dollars? One-fifty? But if that’s what it takes to stay warm in the winter, you can collect my coin. Spent four or maybe five hours surfing that Saturday. In water that won’t get any warmer till June or maybe July. And once you’re passed the price and you’ve sorted out how to slide your self in and out of the suit, you’ll never look back. You’ll wonder why you owned anything else, why you surfed so many short sessions, why you didn’t just spend a little more scratch so you could stay warm.
- Justin Coffey
You can pick up your own Men’s Patagonia R4 Wetsuit, here.
Justin Coffey is known to enjoy small waves, strong drinks, motorcycles and misbehaving. He’s also the guy that runs Peanut Butter Coast.
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Oct, 12Stimulate
Looks like there’s all kinds of new stuff on Stoke Harvester.
Topo Designs, Almond Surfboards, Patagonia apparel and a few new fins.
Anyhow, after browsing around a bit I put together this lil’ collection of some of my favorite stuff.
- Justin Coffey
Justin Coffey is known to enjoy small waves, strong drinks, motorcycles and misbehaving. He’s also the guy that runs Peanut Butter Coast.
11
Oct, 12Skateboard Review: Punked City Cruiser
I like all sorts of skateboards. Long ones, short ones, old ones, weird ones. Anything really. Unfortunately, however, I’m not very good at this activity. I mean, I can push my self along pretty alright, carve down a hill in the dark, or negotiate the shit show that is Alki on a sunny summer day, but I can’t kick-flip the fucking thing, or skate a bowl, or slide down something steep. When I was younger, maybe middle school, I was all about skateboarding. World Industries, Independent, all of that. I had decks and trucks and shoes and Jenco jeans big silly pockets and stickers – so many stickers – but I couldn’t skate. At least not the way I wanted to.
I’ve always been interested in it’s origins, though. Skateboarding that is. Old school shit. Tony Alva. Roller skate stuff. I think I’ve seen ‘Dogtown and Z-Boys’ a dozen times. So when Shawn told me he was going to start selling some 70′s style skateboards on Stoke Harvester – molded plastic planks with big polyurethane wheels – I was all over it.
It’s called the Punked City Cruiser and it’s made by Yocaher Skateboards, a company that’s been in business since 1975. It’s plastic, with a patterned top, kick tail, aluminum trucks and 60mm wheels. It’s 22.5 inches long and roughly six inches wide. As I pushed up and down Alki, my maiden voyage aboard this bitchin 70′s skatecraft, I noticed one thing – how smooth she sails. Maybe it’s them big red rubber wheels. Or maybe it’s that plastic deck that doesn’t send a shock wave back to your bones. I don’t know. It was all kinds of fun, though. And for $80, you can’t beat it.
- Justin Coffey
Justin Coffey is known to enjoy small waves, strong drinks, motorcycles and misbehaving. He’s also the guy that runs Peanut Butter Coast.
You can pick up your own Punked City Cruiser here
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Jul, 12Fin Review: Christian Wach Canvas Fin
It’s a big bastard. Ten and a quarter inches tall and seven inches across. A fin that allows for a lot of upright rotation. Designed by Christian Wach from Canvas Surfboards, this True Ames fin is sorta like a late seventies mullet – all business up front and a party in the back. I put it on my 9’6″ Becker UFO, a board that I really haven’t been riding, but has been the basis for most, if not all, of our Finterviews. So I stuck it on the stern and paddled out to find a few peelers.
It was easy. Up and around. Worked real well. It’s hard to tell you how different it is, how it helps, or whether it would work better than what’s currently at the back of your board. All I can say is that I like it. Better than that big Greenough I’ve gone with for awhile. Which is saying something. So if you’re up for it, for something a bit bigger, something that comes with character, check out Christian Wach’s Canvas Fin.
- Justin Coffey
Justin Coffey is known to enjoy small waves, strong drinks, motorcycles and misbehaving. He’s also the guy that runs Peanut Butter Coast.
13
Jun, 12Fin Review: Rainbow Fin Company MD3
The MD3 Longboard Fin, manufactured by the Rainbow Fin Company, was designed by our favorite Long Island logger, Mikey DeTemple, and is supposed to “bring your log to life.” I opted for the full length flavor. Ten inches. Top to bottom. It’s big, I know. But I was having trouble with the Blue Banana and thought that a fin with less area would allow for clean, drawn out turns. And I’ll be damned if it didn’t! On head high waves the MD3 digs deep. Like a big keel on the underside of a sailboat, the fins broad, flat surface creates sideways force by displacing water in the opposite direction that the board is trying to tip. Now that’s some serious surf science. You’ll know when it won’t go, though. Put pressure on it’s pivot point on a knee high peeler and nothing happens. Straight as an arrow. Sometimes there’s just not enough underneath. But on the biguns, when your flying down the face ready to make things right, er, left, the MD3 gets the job done.
Oh, and did I mention it’s fast, with tons of trim speed for controlled noserides, assuming you wander that far forward. So what more do you wanna know? It’s not so spectacular on the small stuff. Probably need a pivot fin for that. But when it gets big, or at least up to your ass, the MD3 is an excellent bit of equipment. Case closed.
- Justin Coffey
You can pick up your own MD3, here.
Justin Coffey is known to enjoy small waves, strong drinks, motorcycles and misbehaving. He’s also the guy that runs Peanut Butter Coast.
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May, 12Film Review: Picaresque
I recently received a copy of Mikey DeTemple’s first film, Picaresque. A surf movie sans script, the film is intended to “showcase longboarding in a new light; getting away from the preconceived notions and turning up the tempo.” A collaboration between High Seas Films and Flesh Profits Nothing, the film features “an über-talented group of 25-and-unders,” including Scotty Stopnik, Matty Chojnacki, Chris Christenson and Mikey DeTemple. The project, which took a few years to finish, allowed Mikey and his crew to travel around the world, stopping in Australia, California, Florida, France, Mexico, New England, New York, and Costa Rica.
As a fan of logs and longboarding, Picaresque had me green with envy, wishing I could walk to the nose with such ease, such confidence. Shot in Super 16mm film, there’s a classic meets contemporary feeling throughout. Walking away from that progressive, off the lip, big bottom turn, three fin style of surfing seen so often, Picaresque sheds light on an unseen and almost always unappreciated side of surfing. There’s a few extra fins in there for good measure. A fish. A six-foot single. But the focus remains. Big boards and unbelievable balance. Logging offers few limitations.
So, how does it stack up? Towards the top. I’ve seen my fair share of surf stuff recently. Short videos on Vimeo, feature length DVDs, everything in between. One thing I really appreciate is the lack of commentary. The seamless transitions between scenes. The soundtrack. More surfing, less shit. If I’m going to spend that much scratch, I hope to have a film that fills my living room full of stoke. Feed the fire. So if love logs, longboards and other weird watercraft, watch Picaresque. Worth every penny.
You can pick up your own copy of Picaresque, here.
Justin Coffey is known to enjoy small waves, strong drinks, motorcycles and misbehaving. He’s also the guy that runs Peanut Butter Coast.
