Extreme Sports

Road Test :: Patagonia R2 Front Zip Welcome to our first Road Test – where we attempt to give you some good feedback on some product in various categories. The goal is that helps you guys in getting a better idea and knowledge on a product before you make the purchase. We’re aiming to do the best we can and cover every angle we think of, odds on there will be moments, etc that we lag on or completely miss. That’s the best thing about coming off of a low base, it’s only going to get better… First up we’ve got a wetsuit, it’s a little easier to road test a wetsuit then a pair of shoes, a shirt or even a watch – but relax, we’ve got those categories coming in hot as well. Come say hello to the R2 Front Zip from Patagonia… The Suit ::  Patagonia threw us a suit to test, use and abuse for our first Road Test, the one in particular we’re testing is the R2 Front Zip. It’s, as the specs say, got 100% external seam sealing along with internal taping on all critical areas. Is made from handmade 2.5mm neoprene and has a new hybrid grid lining that combines mid-weight merino wool and virgin polyester in the front, back, torso and thighs for core warmth and comfort. Adding to that, the sleeves, inner and outer thighs and lower legs are lined with a lighter green recycled polyester grid for warmth and flexibility when paddling. On first appearances it’s quite an exciting suit to hold, pull at, try on. It’s all black with minimal branding – can’t go wrong there, in fact I really love this aspect of the suit. I’m not sure if it’s the idea that you’re using a suit that makes you think your doing some good for the environment by using it or what, but I definitely got excited when playing around with it. I know I also got pretty excited when I saw that Patagonia had made the transition to using liquid tape, whereas previous suits just had taping in critical areas. Entry ::  This is a little embarrassing. I’ve been used to using chest zips that are already pretty much zipped up for me, all I have to do when the suit is on is either attach the zipper head to the zip and pull, or just zip it closed – depending on whether it’s a close or open ended zip. The Patagonia R2 Front Zip is a complete zip off set-up. You zip it off, it’s completely zipped off and the flap goes over you head. I just said ‘zip’ a lot too, was kinda weird… So, the first time I was using the suit I was all like, fuck, how do I get this flap over my head to zip it up? Think I stood there for about five minutes trying to yoga my way into grabbing if from behind until I realised that if I just bend over, the flap falls onto my head and I can grab it easily… The Patagonia R2 slid on and off really easily, I don’t say that because I’m short on words, I say that because it actually did. Wet. Dry. Damp. The suit just slides on over your limbs, which probably has something to do with the interior materials, but either way I haven’t once had to double tug, yank or pull the suit on to hard to get it up my legs or my hands thru the ends. Flexibility/Comfort ::  The R2 is a flexible suit – the majority of suits these days are. But the material used in the R2 is stretchy and light, if your upgrading from a suit that’s a couple of seasons old you will def notice an improvement in flexibility. It’s also one of the most comfortable suits I’ve worn – won in part due to it’s ease of getting on and off. The use of Merino Wool through out the suit may leave some of you a little itchy every now and again, but it’s pretty non existent and something I’ve been told tends to disappear after 6 or so surfs – just something to be aware of. The cuffs/ankles seem to run the same material as the knee pads, which for reasons I’m unaware of, really seem to help the su

Seafolly. Camile Rowe. Seafolly have just announced (well, three days ago) that Camile Rowe is to be the new face of their next swimwear campaign. To hype it even more, Seafolly have just got back from a shoot in Hawaii, with Camile modelling the latest collection. All looks fun and summery – something we can only dream about right now with Winter about to start. Vogue have a quick little interview with her about the new role, if your actually into reading and not looking… images via Pedestrian.

ourCaste :: QuickCuts Like any new brand that rolls into the scene that we dig, we tend to get a little obsessive about what they’ve got going on- new product, new photos, new dog food – I’ll gobble up all the newness and feel like I’m in the know again. A fleeting feeling that is in consistent need of feeding.. ourCaste is new, ourCaste is a brand we’re amped one – even if they’re first range isn’t dropping for another couple of months. In the meantime we get fed bits of visual content that will shape the vibe of the brand in our mind. That’s what this is – Quick Cuts - it’s series of bi-monthly videos based on the what’s what at ourCaste. QC B is the one, it kinda just draws you in… The gents are even so nice over there that they said you can feel free to inquire about submitting footage. Maybe you’ll make the next cut?

Chris Ray recaptures some footage of his long time friend and Venture rider Corey Duffel at The Berrics today.

Last Saturday May 18th Orchard skateshop held a Dennis Mcnett x Antihero art show to celebrate the release of their new “Off Campus Housing” capsule by Mcnett for Orchard and Antihero. Check out the photos from a fun night including special guests Julie Stranger and John Cardiel.

Thunder rider Mark Appleyard will be dropping a full part for Element entitled Soul Rebel. Check out the trailer and stay tuned for the for the full release on June 15th.

The guys over at Red Bull have just release the first episode of ‘Mates in Alaska.’ In the first ep RB follow New Zealand freestyle snowboarder Jake Koia to Haines, Alaska, to explore the slopes for his first time with his mates. It’s pretty epic and perfect timing to get the blood pumping for snow season. Take a look below or head to Red Bull for more.

Blind have released a new trailer for Damn, which will be released on Monday 27th May. Also 10 questions w/ Blind TM Bill Weiss about the video. How long did you spend filming this video (not long since the last one)? It was 2 years and 2 and a half months total filming time for this one. But that was pretty much every day-non stop Was filming it mostly SD / Vx1000 camera a conscious decision or just a practical one? I had both a VX1000 and an HD Canon rig so I would let the guys make the call. Almost all of them wanted VX1000 so whatever they wanted. But as long as a trick is good were putting it in if it¹s VX, HD whatever. Where was it all filmed? The video was filmed all over different places LA, Barcelona, Toronto, France, Texas, North Carolina, Amsterdam, Brazil, Sacramento Best and worst things that happened during filming? The best thing that happened was being there when the guys roll away from the tricks that they worked so hard to get. Nothing is better than that. The worst things was having to take the guys to the ER for injuries that happened during the shooting of the video.TJ had to get head staples, Filipe Ortiz broke his foot twice. How would you describe the vibe of the video? The vibe of the video is about pushing skating forward, fun and hustling in the street to make that happen. Shout out to everyone else out there pushing it and making videos happen. A lot of blood sweat and tears go into making these. Is there gonna be something like a B sides / out takes series for web? We have all sorts of stuff planned for the web as well as remix’s down the line. Biggest challenge in making the video? Biggest challenge in making this video is the standard of skating these wanted for their parts. It’s absolutely fucked when you first discuss some of the stuff they want to go out and try to get and then through all the craziness seeing it happen blows me away. Why are full length DVDs still so important to skateboarding? Full length videos are important to skateboarding because they are timeless testament to a team’s hard work all brought together for the world to enjoy. You get to go inside their world and see all the different perspectives and takes on skateboarding. They are a true bonding experience as the team go through so much shit together to make the parts happen. Everyone’s pushing each other and feeding off that energy. You cannot get the same feeling from a single web part that you get from seeing a full length team video. Who’s in the video and is there any surprises to look forward to? The video is Kevin Romar, Ronnie Creager, new Blind AM Yuri , New Blind Pro Cody McEntire, Morgan Smith, Tj Rogers, SEWA and Blind’s new Rookie Pro Filipe Ortiz. As far as surprises the video is packed full of them. I think people are gonna be really surprised on all crazy tricks in the video. What’s in the future for Blind? The future for Blind is very much like the name of the video. I hope people watch it and say Damn… that was fucking rad or Damn those dudes are having a good time out there. We are also putting so much into the new graphics and the team is loving the new stuff. Nothing is cooler than seeing the guys check out the new decks and saying Damn that looks sick!