Surf Gear, A Few Tools for Your Travel Bag
There are a few essentials you should never leave home without when you’re headed out to check the waves. The obvious handful includes surf wax, wetsuit, leash, earplugs, and water (depending on your style and ability). If you’re in Montauk and forget something, or realize you need something you weren’t aware of, most locals will help you out. You may even have to make a quick run to a surf shop in town. If you’re abroad, this can turn into an all day adventure, and still not conclude in finding what you need. It may even keep you out of the water and prevent you from doing the very thing that your trip is centered on: surfing. Through trial and error, we found some little tools and tricks to always use and keep in your travel bag.
Extra fins, fin key, and those cute little microscopic screws. Keep them in an Altoids tin or plastic bag, since they are so easy to lose. These little guys come in handy when you suddenly lose a fin or one breaks off in transit to your destination. Or, a local borrows your board for a few waves and comes back with two fins instead of three. Rather than feeling annoyed, Voila! Your SBS fin keys and screws will keep you in the water and not stranded on the beach.
Crazy Glue “Its not the most glamorous solution, but it will fix a moderately deep cut if you do not have other options,” notes Blake Howard from the Channel Islands corporate office in Carpenteria, California. Many surfers opt for crazy glue even when they can go see a physician, and most have become skilled at closing wounds with it. Crazy clue can also fix any sudden dings in your board, especially if you cannot travel with all of the chemicals needed for a quick board repair. “It’s one stop shopping to fix your board and your body,” boasts Howard.
Duct Tape Probably the best universal travel tool, do not leave home without it. Beyond fixing a tear on your bag, a ripped handle, broken flip flop, leaky bottle and beyond, quickly tape up any soon-to-be-repaired crack or recently glued spot (on your board, not your body). Or use duct tape in place of crazy glue if you have the former not the latter. You can likely come up with several other ways to use duct tape, and perhaps a few situations in which you wish you had it in your travel bag. For now, you can take all of these things on-board in your carry-on luggage, and you can always have them on hand in your car in Montauk. Then you can be the local friendly surfer to help a buddy out that just lost a fin or dinged their board (or their body).
