WTF is a Surf Mat???

Some dudes swear by them, say they're the most fun thing out there. I've never ridden one.

 

SUP's DO suck

 

HA! Hadn't even watched the video, 'sorry dude didn't see ya', well played.

 

I have ridden them and they are super fun. Never understood why anyone would ride a body board when they could be floating on air shooting like a bullet down the line. I have a customer whose brother makes high performance versions in California here's and article about him http://www.liquidsaltmag.com/2013/01/paul-gross-the-surf-mat/

 

Incredible!!! New anti sup destoyers!

 

Unfortunately that link looks more like a slideshow than anything else. His name is Paul Gross and he's one of the original mat riders along with george greenough.

 

[video=youtube;OzXPWZ0HKts]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=OzXPWZ0HKts[/video]

 

Having never ridden one, I always thought the opposite...why ride a mat when you can ride a boog. Not being confrontational just sharing perspective...I'd personally miss the barrels and launching myself off the lip...I get the speed thing, but once I figured out where on the wave to find it, it became a non-issue. I gotta give one a try one day...

 

cdog kills it on his SUP!

 

I do alright. But there are dudes in the line up out here, that absolutely rip SUP (and anything else they surf with). I've learned a ton from them (skill, stoke, etiquette and the aloha spirit).. it's much appreciated.

 

they did last week at (#$$#%%$#) beach...
really tried my patience.

 

surf mats take more skill than a childrens pool toy and give you one mean core workout, you taint spinning or boosting, but the inner rail conforms to the face of the wave and you shoot down the line, very fast, but gotta know your waves

 

grew up riding them (either Budweiser or Stars and Bars) then boogies came out. Agree with Seldom. Not sure why people would ride one over a sponge for something other than nostalgia.

 

Those things are weird and kooky looking but I never seen or rode one so idk ****, but no spinners or boosting thats the only reason I love my bodyboard more then my surfboard!

 

while trying to duckdive one would suck beyond belief, i think you certainly COULD ride one at, say, pipe, the same way you COULD bodysurf it. my dad, who's 68 years old, keeps on in the trunk of his car along w/ a pair of fins & rides it regularly. & before he had his knee replacement, his right knee was so bad he had trouble popping up most days, so he rode his mat more often than not. says there's a trick to it...you don't blow the thing up all the way, just maybe 75% or so, & then you can change the firmness of the rails, & adjust your speed, by squeezing it.
here in nj, a land perennially stuck in the "hpsb or nothing" culture, most people don't know wtf to make of some old guy blasting down the line on what looks like a black trashbag full of air. but he always has a ****-ton of fun when he rides it.

 

for one, they seem to be far faster.

 

yea I was into them when I was 10. my wife's little sister is all about them