Agni Products – Wetsuit Heaters

This may be ‘the ticket’ for our winter months when getting between the comfort of your warm car and the line-up is more than a frigid and depressing ordeal.  It may also be a great way to save some major $$$ versus buying a Rip Curl H-Bomb at around $800.

This new product by Quicksilver will retail for around $200 to $250 dollars and may keep you just as warm.

Either way here’s the news from the horses’ mouth:

The Cypher Heat Vest provides battery powered heat and a lightweight thermal layer to warm your core and extend your session.

The heat system is incorporated into a .5mm polypropylene vest allowing freedom of use under any wetsuit.

The controller can be operated through any suit and utilizes vibration pulse feedback to let the user know when the heat vest is turned on or off.

Rechargeable battery provides 2.5 hours of full heat. If switched on and off, the battery will have no problem lasting any marathon winter session.

– Impact resistant waterproof design.
– Flexible heating pads with high and low heat settings.
– Comes with both car and wall battery chargers.

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O’Neill and Ron Jon Surf Shop’s are having a fall-winter sporting goods sell-off.

If you’re in or near the Montreal area November 25,  26, 27 or 28, drop by with some cash (cash only) as you may pick up some great gear for a bargain.

If you’re from Nova Scotia and by chance will be up there for the sale, send us an email here at:  info@scotiasufer.com

We’d love to speak with you!

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Seventy-two-year-old Tofino-area surfer Ruth Sadler relayed the Olympic flame to West Coast pro surfer Raph Bruhwiler during a tricky torch turnover in Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island Sunday.

Bruhwiler proceeded to catch a second wave and surf the flame into shore.

This was just one of many stops for the Olympic torch on it’s 106-day journey that will commence with the winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler in February.

Photo: Jeremy Koreski, courtesy of O'Neill.

Canadian ripper, Peter Derives, wows the crowd at North Chesterman beach and scores a 12.67 in heat #4 of round 16 of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic to advance to the quarter finals.

He beat Joan Duru from France who scored 8.44 on his best waves.

So far, Pete is third overall for best average score on waves and 7th overall for the best score on a single wave.

He will compete tomorrow in the quarter finals so stay posted to keep updated on his progress!

We have a few new boards (..well pre-loved) in stock. Click here or click ‘Surf Shop’ above to see our current selection.

Panama. Click to enlarge.

Surf: 4/5 = Well Above Average
Price: 4/5 = Quite Cheap!
Party: 4/5 = Great bars and good people.
Localism: 2/5 = It’s not your wave, and don’t forget it.
Thieves: 1/5 = Pick pockets and car break-ins are common, very common.

Surf at your own risk.

Time Frame: January 2009

Two of my amigos and I decided that we would take off New Year’s Day to escape the remainder of the cold Halifax winter. We wanted waves, cheap beer and a good time. Panama over delivered. I’ve been to Costa Rica and Nicaragua before, back in 2006, but Panama would be new to me.

We flew into San Jose, Costa Rica because it was cheaper. Then we took the $15 over night bus to ‘David’, the first major town after the Panamanian border. We had 21 days in total and all we wanted was surf. The next day, we headed northeast to Bocas del Toro where we first discovered that Bocas wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Read More…

Mathews scores one of the heaviest barrels ever 20km off the coast of Western Australia.

Sydney, Australia, July 6, 2009 – O’Neill surfer Mark Mathews has scored one of the biggest and heaviest barrels ever ridden – in shark infested waters some 20km off the coast of Western Australia.

“It had been really slow all day and I hadn’t had any good ones,” said Mathews. “Then this mountain came roaring out from the horizon I got goose bumps all over as soon as I saw it. I looked up at Hippo (Ryan Hipwood) who was on the jet ski and he didn’t even smile he just said ‘this thing’s huge.’

“There was so much water sucking off the reef. I just kept my eyes right in front of me and hoped the corner of the barrel wasn’t about to lip me in the head.”

“Big barrels like that feel like they are alive,” said Mathews, trying to describe the sensation. “They suck all the air inside. That’s what surfers mean when they say they felt the wave take a breath.

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“You feel like you’re surrounded by the whole ocean. The air has nowhere left to go and just gets spat out into the channel, taking you with it. This is the feeling that keeps coming back over and over and over again.”

“This one can be topped,” said Mathews. “It’s the thrill of the chase that keeps me going.”

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Surf: 3.5/5 = Above Average
Price: 2/5 = Quite expensive!
Party: 4/5 = Great pubs and better people.
Localism: 4/5 = It’s anyone’s wave!
Thieves: 1/5 = Pick pockets & car break-ins are common.
Time frame: January-March 2008

We started off by flying into Shannon Airport, a small airport outside Limerick (stab city), Ireland.  My stay would be for four months, but my mates were only here for three weeks, so we headed straight for a place to sleep and check the surf forecast.

The first thing we noticed was how expensive everything was compared to back home in Canada. A pint of beer is about $7, however, at least it is a real beer not some semi-American stuff sold and “brewed” in Canada.

A place to stay is about the same as in Canada but the quality is nowhere near comparable. Most motels/rooms are much smaller; old pipes and finicky electricity is common, especially near the surf, which is almost always in rural areas.

If you are looking to save some major $$, fly into one of Europe’s major airports (i.e., London, Frankfurt, Dublin, etc.) then buy a separate flight with one of Europe’s low cost carries.  Check www.ryanair.com for $25 flights between airports you may save a boatload when flying from Canada. Read More…

June 19, 2009 – Cape Town, South Africa

The past two days might have seen clean solid eight-foot swell, light winds and clear blue skies and sunshine, but don’t be deceived. The wildest event in professional surfing looks set to live up to its name.

Locally predicting conditions for the O’Neill Cold Water Classic South Africa is Spike, a local surf forecaster.

“There’s a big storm coming from Monday but we’re in the thick of a very volatile winter episode,” he said. “We’re in for seriously Coldwater Classic conditions.

“Heavy storm weather and strong winds are set to build on Monday but the charts have been fickle and the meat of the storm now seems to arrive on Tuesday.

“We will see wild peaks all over the show, heavy squalls, near gale-force winds, very messy wild and woolly seas, and shocking weather at times.”

It sounds like it could be a contest director’s nightmare, but Matt Wilson is looking forward to the conditions.

“I read the report from Spike and thought this is the wildest event in surfing and it is for sure going to live up to its name,” he said. Read More…

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Sitka clothing, accessories and surfboards are now available online.

In order to keep up with the demand for gear, Sitka has decided to open an online store. They partnered with Shopatron, an eCommerce service provider, to open a store that will offer retailers the opportunity to get in on the action.

The Shopatron system offers retailers the chance to fulfill orders placed by online shoppers. Shoppers can choose to have their order shipped directly to their door or opt to go down to the retailers’ location and pick their order up there.

The full Spring ’09 collection is available for purchase and soon all of their past lines will also be available.