fun, one of a kind, can make choppy days tolerable, major core workout while trying to paddle, duckdive, etc
I say fun. I never owned one of the professionally made ones but the cheap ones you can pick up for $15 bucks are fast and fun to ride. Never understood why body boarding took off when from my experience the mats are way faster albeit less edge responsiveness and a b*tch to paddle out on all but the smallest days.
agree w/ zip. the professional made ones are hardly "retro", just "alternative". my dad rode one a bunch when his knee was bunk pre-replacement & the thing would haul ass! guys would drop in on him & he'd go zooming around them. the key to edge control was to squeeze the opposite rail, forcing the air over to the engaged edge, making it more rigid; more bite, more speed, & more control seemed to be the end result. duckdiving was, predictably, a *****, but doable. now that he's almost 2 years post-op & surfing again, he credits it w/ actually making him a better duckdiver.
pumpy, it might be retro, but you need to know your ish to make it happen. Greenough rode a rubber matt..... the dolphins would surf with him and bump up underneath him
Yeah, I'm bored of retro crapping too. I've been reverse crapping. [video]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hFFivMBBSWU[/video] Martha Stewart ingesting turkey for a reverse crap: [video]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ez8wH827Dog[/video]
Canvas red and blue rubber surf mats if you are at the beach - in summer w/lifeguards, and its absolutely firing and you know that they know you and will arrest/summons you….well….get on it…