When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference.
These cookies are essential to enable user movement across our website and for providing access to features such as your profile. These cookies cannot be disabled. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information and cannot be used for marketing purposes.
These cookies allow us to analyze visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site and enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers, such as Google Analytics, whose services we have added to our pages. Information collected through these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly and/or we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts or content. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
The Boardbag Tech Changing The Way Surfers Like Smith, Erickson And Anderson Travel
Ben Mondy
For CT surfers like Jordy Smith and Sage Erickson, dragging boards around the world has always meant running the risk of having the airlines smash their whole quiver.
"Before the pandemic, I was on the road for around 250 days a year," Smith told the WSL. "And I'm usually traveling with at least six surfboards. Can you imagine the punishment they cop?"
Perhaps no wonder then Smith has invested in a luggage company. Db is a Norway-based brand known for their high-tech ski and snowboard bags and backpacks, but have launched into the surf market. Smith has played a big hand in designing their new adjustable board bags, as well as dropping a wedge of his own money into the company.
One of the main design features that is purported to help protect prized surfboards is the "rib-cage construction," which implements strong, lightweight ABS ribs, shaped in a three-stage foldable structure.
"Its design allows for excess padding to be removed from the bags, creating a lighter and more protective exterior," reports the company.
Other innovations include an adjustment system so the board bags can be tailored for the specific length of the sleds going inside. The bags are also made extra light to help avoid overweight charges from the airlines and feature a hook-up system so various pieces can be clipped together, making it less of a hassle to haul baggage through the airport. And like the ski and snowboard bags, the surfboard bag compresses down for easy storage when not in use.
Along with Smith and Erickson's involvement, the company has just announced that free surfer Craig Anderson has also joined the team. "Ando," regarded as one of the most stylish surfers on the planet, has dropped a clip edited by Kai Neville as part of the launch.
The pair had worked together for well over a decade on films like Lost Atlas, Cluster, Modern Collective, and Welcome Elsewhere. The last featured that iconic Kandui session with Anderson riding a 5'4" Hypto Krypto. Those films featured a rotating cast that included Anderson, Smith and Dane Reynolds, and have shaped the surfing aesthetic over the last decade.
This new drop is, obviously, nowhere near the scale of those projects, but a Neville-spliced 60 seconds of Anderson surfing is always going to be worth a watch. "It's a start," Anderson told the WSL about the short clip. "Hopefully we can all get together with Kai, travel, and come up with more gold in the future."
News
Gold Coast Pro winner and two-time WSL Champ Filipe Toledo's 8.00 wasn't enough for Connor O'Leary's 15.80 heat total. O'Leary and Toledo
The world's best are back on the wild coastline of Western Australia with Margaret River as its focal point. The final stop of the GWM
A maiden WSL victory last year in Virginia Beach for Chase Lieder propelled him to the WSL Longboard Tour and ultimately contesting for a
Featuring Filipe Toledo, Ethan Ewing, Crosby Colapinto, Jack Robinson, Luana Silva, Marco Mignot, and George Pittar.
Event to Run at Newcastle Beach From May 17 - 18.