Well, I can report is it certainly a different experience. I didn't pump it up until it was rigid but just so as the outer sections were filled so as there was at least a little flex available. It is quite floaty but still a bit of a pig to push through the water. Because it is still quite stiff I found I could assist the take off by arm paddling which mitigates the aspect noted in the last sentence. Surprisingly it performed well easily moving along the face of the one wave I managed to get before my energy levels hit rock bottom as I had just completed a lengthy session on the Tracker. "What was that you ask?" "Oh,why wasn't I on the Standard as his been the case lately?" Well extraordinarily I had a mat riding buddy with me today, friend Andrew who was giving mat riding a shot having had a blast in the shore break recently on his young daughter's toy mat whilst on holidays a few hours to the East of here. He did very well for a first attempt but didn't quite get the full mat riding experience as the waves were not sitting up quite enough for him being a newbie with short fins on. HE got enough out of it to say he would like another go though!
Lovely retro hog....heavy, a bit sluggish, but floaty enough to paddle and bounce over small waves. Will need a big pushy wave and still hankering to try and stand up on it in the right conditions (and when my foot is finally healed)
Well, I can report is it certainly a different experience. I didn't pump it up until it was rigid but just so as the outer sections were filled so as there was at least a little flex available. It is quite floaty but still a bit of a pig to push through the water. Because it is still quite stiff I found I could assist the take off by arm paddling which mitigates the aspect noted in the last sentence. Surprisingly it performed well easily moving along the face of the one wave I managed to get before my energy levels hit rock bottom as I had just completed a lengthy session on the Tracker.
ReplyDelete"What was that you ask?"
"Oh,why wasn't I on the Standard as his been the case lately?"
Well extraordinarily I had a mat riding buddy with me today, friend Andrew who was giving mat riding a shot having had a blast in the shore break recently on his young daughter's toy mat whilst on holidays a few hours to the East of here. He did very well for a first attempt but didn't quite get the full mat riding experience as the waves were not sitting up quite enough for him being a newbie with short fins on. HE got enough out of it to say he would like another go though!
Lovely retro hog....heavy, a bit sluggish, but floaty enough to paddle and bounce over small waves. Will need a big pushy wave and still hankering to try and stand up on it in the right conditions (and when my foot is finally healed)
ReplyDeleteI have one and dont really think of it as a mat. Hore a hot water bottle but a must in terms of history.
ReplyDeleteG
Yep a Converse Hodgman would be nice to have also.
ReplyDelete"Hot water bottle" also came to mind as I fondled a SurfoPlane in the shop. :-D But fun none-the-less.
ReplyDelete