Bodysurfing Australia

[PeterMerel]

G'day, longtime lurker and oldtime bodysurfer. 48 years old this year. So pardon me if I'm a bit clapped out but my heart is in it.

My beautiful wife and son got me a bunch of pod stuff for Christmas - pf3s and handboard. I don't get to the beach as much as I want so I'm still getting used to the new gear. I like the fins very much - haven't sampled the modern competition so can't say much except they kick the crap out of the old churchills - way more power and comfort.

The handboard has been a bit perplexing but I think I'm beginning to like it. For a start, combining it with fins lets me swim ridiculously fast underwater. I know - that's not bodysurfing - but it is fun too. I wouldn't have thought it would make such a difference but the handboard allows you to make longer-period movements that slide along a lot quicker.

Not doing an ad for pod. I expect the handboard would work the same with any good fins. Or that any handboard could do this. I am curious to compare the pod with the hydro "pro bodysurfer" handboard if anyone's done both.

But I have a question for those that have spent some time with the pod handboard in particular.

This thing looks like a mini-surfboard so the first thing I did was strap it on point-first. And that seemed not to work so well. The point forwards seemed kind of unstable and this way round it tended to flick back at me when I happen to be facing into a a wave.

Plus on the wave it felt kind of unstable. Maybe I'm holding it wrong but it didn't seem to make getting onto the wave any easier. So I began to wonder ... maybe it would work better with the rounded end facing forward?

Well today I got away from business and my boy is off at a scout camp and my wife was off with her horse and it was all too beautiful so headed to Tamarama. But no flags set - swell too big - so relocated to the human soup at Bondi.

Much littler stuff. Maybe 4-5 foot on the sandbar out the back and just titchy stuff closer in. I wanted to get away from all the pee in the water so went out. Round end first. Found the thing much easier to handle. In comes a nice round wave and curls and I am on it. Both hands in front of me, stable as a rock, my torso up out of the water like I'm a hydrofoil. Nice.

But a long time between sets out there so after a while came back into the crowded break. 2 foot but regular break. Packed with humans and everyone having fun. So I think, okay, now I can try it both ways round and see what works.

Well, 2 observations. First, using it point frontwards in a crowded break is probably criminal. I didn't actually hit anyone but came close once and instantly realized this was a very bad idea. Having the full force of even a small wave javelin a fair sized man with a sharp point on the front of his arm into any kind of unsuspecting swimmer is just asking to wind up in an emergency room and a courtroom.

Second ... I like it better round end forwards. Seemed to make it easier to swim, to maneuver, to get on the wave, and to steer once on. I tried it both one-handed and two-handed. Both worked fine.

Has anyone else here tried it this way round? Am I just doing the point-first thing wrong? Or what? I'm very curious about your experience.

Also ... getting off one wave I let the handboard get turned sort of sideways to where I wanted it and "bang!" off it came. It hurt a little coming off - didn't injure me, but made me wary. So ... is it better to have the hand strap tight or loose? And is it better to put your thumb inside or outside the strap? I kind of like outside ... but maybe that's also why I like it round end forward?

Anyway ... If I keep using it that end round I'm thinking of getting a bit of sandpaper and filing off the "made in malaysia" letters on the round rim to make that smoother. Doubt it makes any difference at all ... but part of me thinks there must be some reason surfboards are so smooth ...

Okay, done geeking out. Please let me know what you think.

Pete.

[PeterMerel]

Okay, I may just be being very silly with this thing. Went down to Tamarama today. Really beautiful day but hard to paddle out against the current. Caught a couple, kind of messy, then gave up and went back to rest and oggle the amazing parade of skinny topless pretty girls.

All thoughts about pod anything left my head for a while. But on the way home in the car I thought, "hey ... maybe you're supposed to strap the pod thing to your wrist, not your hand?"

Preliminary examination suggests this might work very well point forward. Remains to experiment but ... I kind of wish the handboard came with an instruction manual. Or just a few photos!

[Kid]

Hey Peter, I'm also new to this forum, and from what I can tell it's a bit of a ghost town! Having never used the Pod, it sounds like the pointy end must be the tail. I've always made my own handplanes and I've found that flat wider ones work best. I've tried the hole-grip and the strap type, and I prefer the strap, but both seem to work well!
Handplane Quiver!
Handplane practise!
_________________
"bring forth the mollusk"

[golden]

Hello Peter
I have had a pod hand board for several years now and can conclusively say pointy end first.Yes, I agree care must be taken in crowded breaks as I seem to rarely swim in the flags this isn't normally a problem.The design of the pod is to place your hand/palm over the control point which has the fin /cavitation area directly underneath .I will post some more information later .
cheers

[benR]

[s.e. swell]

Hi Peter

I've used pods for about 8 years now and pointy end first is how they were designed to be used, but hey I've never seen the handboard police at my beach so do what works.
I've experimented with my own handboards, trying to get them as light and small as possible (the downside to pods is their weight) but without the fin going down the middle of the underside, their performance cannot match the pod. No other handboard I've tried matches the control it gives on the wave face. In steep, fast hollow waves you can sit exactly where you need to be and make even very small adjustments.
I wear one on each hand, for going left and right at beachies (side-on style) and I put my whole hand inside the strap including the thumb. The strap is on fairly tight, but not enough to cut off circulation!
The speed I get from my own handboards is just as good and because of their lightness (made from ABS plastic) they're awesome to swim with. So now I wear a pod on my right hand and one of mine on my left hand when I'm surfing a right hand reef, vice-versa for lefts. I like the paddling power you get from wearing two.
The whole point I guess is to do what works, everyone has different preferences. I reckon try out everything you can get your hands on.

[PeterMerel]

Wow, many thanks for all the replies. Very cool to find there is life in this forum.

Had the most splendid day today (18/4/10) at Bilgola. Perfect 3 foot swell, good shoulders, lots of energy, hollow but not dumping - Pod worked wonderfully wearing it on the right hand with thumb inside the strap.

As to which way round - I have tried pointy end first several times now with all strap variations I can think of. It just isn't for me. I find it hard to control both on the wave and swimming out. Even forgetting use on the wave, just swooshing it about in the water feels awkward to me. So ... round end first.

I loaned the handboard to my son for a while as he forgot the boogie board. And in such perfect conditions doing without the handboard was still great fun. But when I borrowed it back I finished several waves just chuckling my arse off. Easy takeoff, astonishing speed and perfect control sliding across the face of the wave - best day I've had for many years.

I bumped into a fellow longtime software developer and handboarder, Dave Archer. Dave let me try out his old "Taylor's Mistake" Handski. Very different to the Pod, bigger and more buoyant, and you have to clutch a handgrip to use it. It was very good fun but didn't seem to give me the same precision or speed as the newer handboard. There's a picture of it and some other commercial handboards at http://handboard.bodysurf.over-blog.com/article-554525-6.html

On the original question, I'm still intrigued about why this way round works better for me when others prefer point forward. They must be doing something I don't. If anyone can think of what that is, please do say. Otherwise thanks to everyone for excellent replies so far.

[Longy]

G'day Peter

I used a POD until I got a Hydro Bodysurfer which I still use. It's bigger and more buoyant and I feel that I get more speed, direction and control with it. Plus you can let it go if needed as you hold it on top through a grip hole.
The only drawback is that I don't get so much use of my arms when taking off as it's not real good for aggressive swim strokes due to it's size. So kicking off is the key there - technique and timing.

Agree with all others that the POD is designed for use with the pointy end first, but hey, never trust a pointy headed perspective I say - no point in that at all.
Being ambidextrous is quite an achievement in handboard use - well done Pete.
I might take the pod out and try it myself that way - Cheers !

[PeterMerel]

@Longy,

Yes, do please try that - if you still prefer your Hydro I'm going to have to give one of them a try.

As if that's not enough choices I'm also curious about Waveblades (http://www.waveblades.com/WaveBladecloseup.html). Not certain I'm curious enough to blow US$300 on a pair. Has anyone ever seen those things in the wild?

[darcher]

Howdy Peter,

I'm glad to see the body surfing enthusiasm is still strong since we bumped into each other at Bilgola! I stumbled across your post whilst checking out bodysurfing wetsuit recommendations. I've been missing the water this winter and figured I have to get wet.

Good work on finding a page of funky handboards. Wouldn't you love a glassy 4 foot afternoon and a box full of these boards to find the perfect wave weapon? I'm pretty happy with the Taylors Mistake, however I've now owned it for 25 years so I'm kinda biased.

Looking forward to bumping into you again some time soon.

Cheers,
Dave Archer