Mats

[MarcusMD]

Hey,

Came out of surf yesterday and saw bloke walk into surf with floppy bit of equipment that looked like deflated surf mat.

Watched him carve it for about 25 mins and then when he came out found he was a yank and had a 4 speed or something.

Given I like sups, paipos, bboards as well as longboards has anyone had a lash?

M

[Animal_Chin]

Theres a young bloke who gets around the Bellarine with a surf mat.

The first question everyone asks is where the fark do you buy a surf mat these days....

Anyway, he gets heaps of waves and its surprising how much of the wave he can use.

[MarcusMD]

Theres a young bloke who gets around the Bellarine with a surf mat.

The first question everyone asks is where the fark do you buy a surf mat these days....

Anyway, he gets heaps of waves and its surprising how much of the wave he can use.

exactly - someone in Aus must be in on it?

google says there is bloke in Byron who makes them but keen to chat w anyone who has had a ride or 3

M

[otway1949]

I have two mats one is a Krypt mat made in Lennox Head and like all good mat riders ,ride it at amid to low inflation.
The other is a fourth gear flyer from th US of A both are exceptional surf vehicles and unbelievably fast across the face they do air like boogie boards but in good hands can out anything across the wave.
Flatout fnucking fun.

[Kunji]

Saw a vid the other month of a dude flying and getting pitted of his face on a mat somewhere up the coast. The speed was incredible.

[RickyG]

I started on the the navy-blue canvas ones in the late 70s. Can't believe what some people can get upt to on them, being so floppy and all.

A few years back an updated version of the ones from the 60s (with the handles moulded into the nose) were being sold; obviously to cash in on baby boomers' nostalgia trip. Haven't seen any in a while.

[alakaboo]

I've got a couple of the original Surfaplane ones.
They're surprisingly heavy, but you can ride some waves that mals can't. There's a break I go to every now and then that has perfect form but is rarely over 1 foot and in very shallow water, and those things can turn a 20m ride into a 200m ride.

[chrisb]

Watched him carve it for about 25 mins and then when he came out found he was a yank and had a 4 speed or something.
M

Could that have been George G

[purple pyramids]

there's a yank at tama who rides a mat that i was talking to.

does anyone how the history of the 'tama' mat at the tama slc? it's a beauty.

[smallhouse]

My first clean wave, first surf stoke and first barrel were all on a green 'Merrin' surf mat back in the early 70's . Handles on the front , and black rubber fins .

[Trev]

My first clean wave, first surf stoke and first barrel were all on a green 'Merrin' surf mat back in the early 70's . Handles on the front , and black rubber fins .

Graeme Merrin was a surfboard builder at Kirra in the 60's and 70's. Wonder if he was dabbling in surf mats as well.
He started out making and selling "Merrin Surf Wax" from under his parents' house and progressed to making boards.

[otway1949]

I have two mats one is a Krypt mat made in Lennox Head and like all good mat riders ,ride it at amid to low inflation.
The other is a fourth gear flyer from th US of A both are exceptional surf vehicles and unbelievably fast across the face they do air like boogie boards but in good hands can out anything across the wave.
Flatout fnucking fun.

Here is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auAtQely ... re=related
Mark Thompson at Lennox he makes the mats

[Cuttlefish]

Yawn....
Krypto's Made in Asia.
He designed them in Australia.
Same thing in everyone else's eyes it seems.
Fourth gear Flyers designed and made in US.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
If I am then anyone can have a product designed in Australia then get it "made" OS and call it "Australian made".

[otway1949]

Yawn....
Krypto's Made in Asia.
He designed them in Australia.
Same thing in everyone else's eyes it seems.
Fourth gear Flyers designed and made in US.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
If I am then anyone can have a product designed in Australia then get it "made" OS and call it "Australian made".

Just looked, there's nowhere in Mark's site where he says they're Australian made ,just designed.My mistake ,.
I agree that too much stuff is falsely labelled Australian made ie from imported and local materials when only the box or can is the local part.
The Fourth Gear Flyer is definitely made in the US.
But the original way back when surfoplane was an Australian designed and made thing probably not now sadly.

Mats are great fun and good for stealth missions when you can't take aboard or when in the flags is cranking.

[diggerdickson]

would love to try a mat one day

[RickyG]

What do you do when you get caught inside? Obviously you can't duckdive them.

Maybe we need a new forum section - Surfmat riders only!

[purple pyramids]

What do you do when you get caught inside? Obviously you can't duckdive them.

Maybe we need a new forum section - Surfmat riders only!

you deflate and reinflate as required.

[otway1949]

What do you do when you get caught inside? Obviously you can't duckdive them.

Maybe we need a new forum section - Surfmat riders only!

you deflate and reinflate as required.

It's easiest to swim out with them slightly inflated and then inflate to about where you can bend the middle at 90 degrees, the sft inflation allows you to make the mat concave or convesx depending on what you wish to do on the wave. A fully inflated mat is a bouncy toy one bounce away from crush and burst.