How to use your smartphone/ipod during cold weather?

Americans are in love with new tech and what could make them save few seconds in their daily routine...so how about gloves that are designed to work with smartphones and ipod. I guess if you live in Florida, the chances of wearing gloves are pretty slim but for the rest of us gloves can be a bitch when you want to use your iPhone or iPod.

To solve this winter issue, Dot Gloves have came up with some pretty useful gloves that have small nickel or brass dots on two fingertips allowing users to manipulate the touchscreens of smartphone devices while keeping their hands warm in cold weather. I believe their products were released last year but with the cold fronts starting to show up, I could be a pretty good Xmas idea.
Thanks Leslie for the tip!!!


Official Site: Dots Answers

Flexlite: technology inspired by windsurfing

My buddy Chris has been swearing by his Flexlite. The main problem with PU boards is that after a while, they look their mechanical properties and decrease in performance.
With an EPS core and PVC sheet foam, it gives extra durability and ding resistance.

The main difference with those boards is that they are tapered on the rails to give excellent flex pattern. In addition the epoxy gives a better flex response.

I haven't tried his board out yet, after all it's Florida so I may have to wait for a trip in Panama to test it but after few years of using his board, I haven't noticed one ding on it.

However if you are concerned by the environment, you may want to look at Firewire because PVC is not exactly what I would call eco-friendly material.

Ride "Vstrap"

Last year Ride came out with the ContraBand, an easy in/out binding. Watching their video on their site, there are couple of details that have bugged me. I have worked five years in Product Development as a Material Engineer and what I have learned the more screws and setup options , the higher the chances of screwing up.
You can't expect a consumer to do it perfectly...it needs to be dumb proof. As Albert Einstein said: " Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler" and I would agree with him, it is quite challenging to invent something that is complicated but is simple to use.

So to go back on the binding, the Vstrap doesn't have cushioning on the vstrap, which could be definitely uncomfortable if you do anything more than street rails. Then I don't think it is well enough designed so that your foot is completely secure. And finally all those screws in the cold, humidity could get loose and put too much pressure on strap when riding. I would give a A for effort, a C+ for design.



Looking at the new Ride Nitrane for 09/10...it seems they have put more cushioning and increase the width on the toe area so that it doesn't pinch on one spot. It sure look like a good way to save five seconds to get in/out and the next year binding sounds more solid than this year.

Bataleon gives you the smile

I usually don't like to copy/paste from the manufacturer's website but that's too good:
"It would be very naive of you to just believe everything we say. I mean do you really believe any manufacturer that is raving about their product? No off course not. When was the last time you heard some brand talking shit about their own product. But the thing is we really are convinced that Triple Base Technology is the best thing that happened to snowboards since edges."


Okay so what is this crazy chart about? well the line shows where the board is flat (like the super hyped reversed camber....the banana is everywhere on the slop). Here is the catch, rocker (i.e reversed camber) are really sweet for jib, butter,etc... but no as good as cambered board for the resilience.
With this board you will get the best of both world. and by the way it's not new tech for them, they have tested it for couple of years now.

For you it means: excellent flex for jib, butter and an stiff enough to go on the hard pack and get the control when you go crazy fast. Then on nose and tail, the edges are not in contact so it's nearly impossible to catch an edge...the rotations that you nearly landed are things of the past, this board will make yo score and give you the Big Bataleon Smile

Ride in collaboration with Tokidoki

Tokidoki started from a Italian artist who created a web to share his love for stuff from Japan, then was approached by two entrepreneurs from the States and soon after Tokidoki became a lifestyle brand in 2005.

So nowadays collaboration are very popular, here is Ride snowboards and Tokidoki creating a complete women collection, Limited of course. If you love pink and original design, this collection is for you.

waveless'best friend...Indoboard

Indoboard has been popular for quite some time now. Every time I would go to my friend's place I would use it. I have to admit that it is pretty fun but doesn't replace the real thing.

The Indo board consists of a wooden oval shape board and a roller. I feel it is a great tool to improve your balance and to become more aware of your feet: how much weight you distribute and those happy feet becomes more flexible, responsive as well.

So here is the thing to watch out for. I tried to do a ollie pop shov-it after an hour practicing on this thing. Obviously I didn't land it, ended up on my ass and the board went flying across the living room.
my two advices: do it on a carpet so that if you fall, you don't hurt your self. Then remove any furniture around (particularly if there are made of glass).

Action sport is an art....mais ouiiiiii

By reading this blog, I am sure you agree with me: action sport is an art, it's a form a personnal expression, and requires creativity.
I did not find it on Wikipedia but I am sure snowboard equipments should be considered art as well.

Now you should have no problem convincing your wife to hang your snowboard, kiteboard, etc.. in the living room. the other way is obvious, women always get what they want.


So here is this new hanging system: Rixon

but if you are a bit handy, you should have no problem going to Home Depot and replicate this.

Brand personality...seek connection

I was looking for new brands from Europe, when I found Transform, a fresh brand from the UK.
They say to offer a European twist into the largely dominated US industry, but quite frankly looking at their products and website, I feel there is no strategy to differentiate themselves.

I am not sure if they have even thought about a brand vision because the website is poorly designed and doesn't reflect any brand personality.
In addition they are featuring there gloves with a girl wearing lingerie, where the shot seemed to have done in the roommate's bedroom.

At least if it was a French brand, the girl would be topless :)

When Electronic products break days after the warranty expire

I believe in karma but WTF, every time I buy an electronic product, it breaks within a month after the warranty period ended. To make things worst when I buy an extended warranty, it never breaks.

Anyway warranty suck so that's why I am now looking at product that are rugged like this new Panasonic SDR-SW21 that records to SD/SDHC cards. I am not an expert on video quality,etc so don't ask me if you can become the next MackDawg with it, but my point is that it can survive a 4 foot drop, waterproof down to 6.5 feet and is dustproof.
An other nice feature is that you can download your biggest slam directly to site like Youtube

It supposed to hit the stores on April 2009 with a tag price of $400 and in three color options: lime green, orange, and silver.

Never get lost: Navjacket

For the ones who have seen the movie" Les Bronzees font du ski", you understand that getting lost in the mountains suck.

In the States, I only went snowboarding at Big Bear, so you have to be dumb to get lost but if you go to the French Alpes, it is actually quite easy. The slopes are so gigantic that you take a lift and then an other one, next thing you know it's 4.30pm, lifts are shutting down and you are miles away from your chalet...Yep that's the Alpes.

Sometimes you happen to find a natural kicker but then can't quite remember how you got there...Well those days are over with the the Navjacket from O'Neill.

There is an integrated display on the sleeves and audible instructions from the hood. You can tag your favorite spots, record routes and find friends, favorite bar and even download 3D map to your cellphone.

At 1350 euros (I have not seen the US retail price yet), It may not be for everyone, however I would have like to get a keyboard on the jacket to be able to login into my facebook account. Ohh well maybe next year.

Board Bag review

Just before Xmas, I went to my storage room to pick up some luggage and noticed how beat up was my FCS surf bag. I have had couple of friends asking me for advices on how to prevent any damages to their board when they are gonna surf abroad.
-buy a bag that is 6-8 inches longer than your longest board
-remove wax from boards, and fins
-use foam pipe insulation to protect rails, you can also cut them in half and place them on top and bottom for additional protection

-Finally put clothes on nose and tails, between surfboards for additional protection

Now about surfbags selection, after trying both conventional and wheeled bags, the latest one are worth the extra money. The following three have similar features such as corrosion free zipper, 600D polyester, rubber handle, polyurethane wheels, internal pocket for fins, etc..

I am going to review three bags:
-Dakine: World Traveler (4 boards, $225), it has a solid construction but I have found nothing innovative about the bag.
-Komunity: Delta Wheeled Coffin (4 boards, $220), the skid pad is better than dakine and similar to FCS, the handles are comfortable and the one for the shoulder is well thought but I would have like to see a better construction for extra comfort as it can be a big pain to carry.
Overall I prefer this bag over the Dakine


-FCS: Triple Wheelie (5 boards, $240).
I found this bag to be innovative and this is the one I would purchase. Unlike the two other bags, the wheels are placed on the rails, which makes it the easiest bag to carry in busy airport. Just make sure you protect the rails, as an impact from the top will not only damage the rail but could damage up to five boards.
Instead of having a pad separating each board, FCS offers one literunner single board bag, which is the best feature of this bag, that is a bit more expensive than the other two.
(the 7 boards version at $280, has two literunner).

Snowboard goes Banana

I first saw the skate banana at Big Bear, Ca last year and talked with guys who tried it. From what they said the Magne Traction gives a strong hold when you ride on ice, which naturally make sense because of the 7 point of contact. In the park, they are actually pretty good and slide well on rails.


So when I went to France, two of my friends were going to buy a snowboard and I told them about Lib Tech and it would be worth checking them out. I could not find it in any stores though and after searching on the web, it seems those boards are hard to find. It's too bad that they come up with all this buzz but don't have the supply to satisfy the demand which is going to give some time to competitors to come up with similar technologies before Lib manages to convert those riders.

So far I heard great things about the Banana technology, and actually I did the same experimentation when I was studying composite and snowboard technology 6 years ago. "As the weight presses out the rocker, tips and tails still makes full contact for control and stability but edge pressure is reduced in tips and tails , allowing them to float. The flex pattern is stiffened at tips and tails to give extra pop and stability during landings."


I am a believer that video is worth a 100 words, so check this video out, it's a bit old but good enough to give you a visual idea.

Heated snowboard Jacket

I just came back to the States after 8 intense days of eating, drinking French wine. During those holidays there was a Siberian cold front making my Floridian clothes pretty much useless. I was looking in stores for a new jacket and finally tried the Aaron jacket from FourSquare. I haven't bought it because of the price but what a jacket, super comfortable, removable heated system, back arm venting and I loved the fur on the hood.

The battery charged heated liner seems pretty simple to use and reading the user instructions, it seems 6 hour of charges will delivers 8 hours of heat.


And the facts you can remove/add layers is a good way to have one jacket that can work from Dec 'til May.

Sun protection

Florida is certainly the best place on earth to test sun cream, before moving to California, I must have tried all of them and quite frankly even by applying a new layer every two hours, I would end up like a lobster by the end of the day.

So here is quick note on what work and what doesn't

Bullfrog and Neutrogena are really not practical, they may work for 30 minutes but after that a hot summer in Florida will cook you.

Coppertone : Sport Continuous Spray SPF 50 is not much better, but if you are by yourself, that the way to go to put sun cream on your back.

There is also this man ego thing because I barely see any guy asking their surfing body to put sun cream on their back. Am I the only who cannot reach the middle of the back???

The one that has worked wonders is Aloe Gator gel is great for the face,back,etc.. but don't use it on your stomach as it is really greasy, you are guaranteed to fall off your board. For stomach you can use the Aloe Gator for kid.

From time to time, I use Ti02 (titanium dioxide) on the nose and bellow the eyes, but it sting the eyes and skin if you put too much. Well if you don't put enough, you get burn. I guess you need to be Australian to wear this stuff:)

The final one that work really good is Vectra, but it is quite expensive compared to other brands. So I will leave that up to you. Nonetheless if you look at the long term, it is certainly worth it.

Don't get stuck...underwater

My buddy Chris told me over a month ago that we was surfing in front of the golf clubs , which is a pretty good break but has bunch of shiit underwater, making it possible to get the leash entangled during delicate situation. Most of the time we get small waves in Florida so it is no big deal. However the day Chris surfed, there was a ripping drift, so bad that he could not even reach his leash and have enough grip to free himself. He is an amazing surfer, and to know that he almost drown was a shocker to me.

As an engineer, I started to think about ways to prevent this type of accidents and thought about a quick release system.

However my thoughts of becoming rich and famous vanished when I checked out the competition to see an other genius came up with the idea...Damn it...XM stole my idea. lol
Do anybody think I could get royalties ???

Wetsuit Vs. Sand

About a year ago, my wife Leslie bought me a Cinch Sac. At first I thought I would be using it once or twice but after a while it soon became the best surf accessory that I had gotten in a while.

What I used to do was to remove my wetsuit on the sand but then I would bring home 2lbs of sand. I would then wash my wetsuit in the shower, which is a good way to have an argument with your loved one when she goes into the shower and see that you have modified women's heaven into a dirty beach spot.

And then even after cleaning the wetsuit you will always have some sand left in the wetsuit, which is quite irritating while surfing.

The idea is great but I found the design a bit too rudimentary for me because when I used this stuff to go to Black's beach and have to walk for ever: a wet wetsuit is quite heavy and there are no good handle ,except this cheap rope that friction on the shoulder or on the wrist.

In addition I would have liked to get a couple of pockets into this bag for keys, waxcomb and maybe a FCS key as well.