Blue Darr

This is G-Mat 244 (AKA Blue Darr), a mat built for the supremely talented Nick LaVecchia.  If you aren’t familiar, Nick is an amazing photographer hailing from Maine on the US East Coast.

I spoke with Nick some time ago about mats after he was pointed in my direction by Trevor Gordon and Will Adler. We spoke about mats and Nick signed up for my mailer and, after a few miss-outs, managed to nail a spot this time around.

 Nick is a very experienced surfer and spoke about his journey into mats:

“I am a lover of the ocean and all ways of riding waves. If I’m not out swimming and making images, you can usually find me with the van loaded up with cameras, housing, fins, wooden log/single fin/fish and a mat of some sort for all kinds of conditions.
I’ve found myself never wanting to be caught at the beach without a pair of flippers and a mat. That first started back in the 2008 or so when Dave Rastovich came for a Maine visit and had his Krypt mat. Once I witnessed him lock into a nice long wall and fly by me with a smile....that was it.

Then in 2010 on a trip to Nicaragua with Tomo, he had one of his Dad’s mats rolled up in his board bag. After that trip ended he left the mat with me, and I’ve been heavily hooked since.

Headed into Winter here in Maine, my favorite time. Looking forward to getting this new mat into some waves with energy while the snow flies. Nothing like skimming along the face of a wave through a blizzard Nor’easter.

Thanks for all you do Graeme. Hope we can share a few waves in the Atlantic someday.”

— Nick LaVecchia

So when we got to talking it became clear that Nick knows how to ride a mat, enjoying the feel and performance of riding with lower inflation levels. We settled in the end on a RB-JMC with super-free-breather venting and negative rocker. Full steam ahead! Nick was keen to look at a teal colour scheme for the bottom skin and the logo. Acid dye can be funny stuff and pigmenting sealants for the logo is far from an exact science so we went into that from a “let’s have a go” perspective. All in all… pretty pleased with the match! 

I’ve already had some feedback from Nick from his initial session where funnily enough he bumped into Ryan Kleinert on his new mat! Nick said:

“Just got out of the water with Ryan. Some big beautiful rights this morning. Had an amazing vision of him coming flying around the whitewater on big overhead barreling right. So good. That pink mat

I got a few amazing rides. Totally different feel. Waaaay lighter and way faster on the water. The hold felt really nice. I sideslipped down the face on a couple late large ones(my own wrong-doing) then it grabbed and really locked in. The wave was really fast this morning. Just felt amazing to make a few and beat the section with not a ton of effort. Just skimming across the top!”

— Nick LaVecchia

Music to my ears right there! I love building mats for people who take the time to learn to ride them well. It is easy to pump up a mat, jump on it and catch waves, but it is hard and takes true commitment to explore the nuance of these craft. A lifetime of learning which gets into your bones… Just ask Nick!

Thanks again Nick. Here’s to sharing waves one day.

See Nick’s amazing work on Instagram @nick_lavecchia at his website at nicklavecchia.com and in surf mags everywhere.

Cheers

G

Starchaser

This is a mat built for Ryan Kleinert from Maine in the US of A. Ryan has got pretty into mats… Like REALLY into mats. And why wouldn’t he?!

Ryan says:

“I slept on mats for way too long but when I started mat surfing, I felt the magic immediately and become completely and utterly obsessed. I started surfing boards and body surfing over two decades ago as a grom in NJ but have called New England home for most of my adult life. I have always been drawn to alternative surf craft and experiencing waves in different ways.

Surfing for me is a spiritual pursuit that connects me deeply with the wildness of the ocean and intimately with the energy of waves. Mat surfing has been transformative and has completely transcended surfing for me. The feeling that I was seeking while surfing on a board is found over and over again on a mat. Surfing is not about what I can do to a wave but about experiencing how each wave feels and what it has to offer: unhindered speed, an intimate feeling of connection, sensations defined by the uniqueness of each wave. As you know well, mats facilitate this better than any other surf craft.

I named this mat “starchaser” for the magic portals that it will open and the infinite stoke and speed it is destined to cultivate.”

— Ryan Kleinert

Well I’m certainly hopeful those portals will open! Starchaser is certainly built with that in mind. The internal gubbins are set for easy movement of air with super-free-breather venting and being a 70/70 RB-JMC Starchaser has a perfect balance of hold and glide with down-the-line speed helped out with negative elastic rocker. All in all, not the easiest of rides but an extremely rewarding one once tamed (the rider I mean, not the mat!).

I’m really looking forward to hearing from Ryan once her gets Starchaser in the water. In all there are 3 mats going to New England in this batch. There’s a bit of a boom over there with the locals seemingly being right on it to get in on the emails I send out.

Have fun Ryan!

Cheers
G

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Feedback - 17 November, 2022

UltraLight G-Mats

So then, having taken time to test Ultra Lightweight mats myself and under the bellies of some highly talented riders I have come to a decision about these things.

I’m going to start with clarification of what I mean by Ultra Lightweight. There are two iterations of these:

• 70/40 construction - 70 denier deck material with 40 denier I-beams and bottom skin.

• 70/70 ULW (40) - Standard 70 denier deck material with 40 denier I-beams and a 70d bottom skin with a ‘lick coat’ of TPU giving a very lightweight material similar to overall weight (or GSM) of the 40d.

Just to clarify the GSM stuff above, that stands for Grams per Square Metre which is accounts for the weight of the nylon and the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) coating combined.

The conclusion from riding these mats is that they feel lovely for low inflation riding but are very differnt from standard 70/70 lightweight mats:

Firstly, you feel everything and the mat has a higher top-end speed than the same design built with slightly heavier materials.

Secondly, they have a slower action due to the elasticity of the fabric than standard 70/70 mats so you get a real pelican glide feel in a straight line, however they are less responsive through turns.

Thirdly, the material is weak and therefore durability is low.

So what does all that mean then? Well, it means I will make them available to customers but there are some important considerations. Firstly, unless you are very comfortable riding a lightweight 70/70 mat at low inflation then this wouldn’t be for you. Also, if you are looking for an everyday mat then these aren’t that. The UltraLights will be lucky to last a year being hauled under waves, repetitively death-gripped and bounced around in chop.

However, for small to medium sized surf with smooth faces, long walls and dry hair paddleouts these can’t be beaten in my opinion and as those days are a rarity for most of us, an UltraLight mat is a good addition to the quiver that should last a while if cared for properly.

Unlike my other mats though, I will not be offering the 2 year warranty. These are what they are. Also I’m not into making disposable mats so these really do need to be kept for what they are suited to.

Wonderful things though…

Cheers

G

Caballito!

A quick post to show off G-Mat 242 (AKA "Caballito") a RB-JMC built for Steve Halpin @fringesurfing

Stevo is heading to winter in Peru and is going to be living the highlife surfing a right hand point break for months on end. With this in mind, he wanted a mat with a bungee for attaching a leash to deal with the very strong winds as well as avoiding a really long swim if he let's the mat go. He needed a mat in a hurry so I took advantage of a bit of down time to crank this number out quick!

Caballito is a copy of Stevo's previous mat named "Mat Le Blanc" but with 2 tweaks. Firstly, cutting in a negative elastic rocker and secondly increasing the venting inside to make Caballito a super-free-breather. Stevo has been riding a mat for a while now so time to step up. 😎

The initial ride report sounds good. Looking forward to hearing more and seeing some pics/footage.

Have a great winter Stevo!

Cheers

G

Cardiac Abnormality Express

This is a mat for Mariah Ernst. Mariah got in on the last round of orders and probably for the best. You might remember that a while back, Mariah lost hold of her favourite mat Jamu Jamu leading to her ride taking a trip across the coral at Uluwatu. I did some serious surgery at the time which held up for some time but alas the leaks just crept in.

So on to this mat named Cardiac Abnormality Express. Mariah had a bit of a health scare a while back. Don’t worry, she’s fine, but a significant event in her life. What better way to mark that and the journey moving on from that experience than to get yourself a new mat! And Mariah is the perfect mat surfer… Keep it simple, have fun and spread the love. Perfect.

Cardiac Abnormality Express is basically a rebirth of Jamu Jamu. Given the waves Mariah surfs in Indo a Nouveau Racer is ideal. The free elastic rocker keeps things moving but stretches cleanly into a smooth curve for turns and the combo of 200 denier deck and wheezy venting inside keeps things stable when things get bonkers. The Nouveau Racer design offers a lot of hold so all in all, hollow powerful waves are covered. Mariah has also gone for a mottled pink deck that I do think looks perdy.

Cardiac Abnormality Express is on the way to Indo now. Have fun you two!

Cheers

G

Bucca Dhu

Wazzon ‘ere then bey?!

Bucca Dhu is the Cornish God of the winter and the dark. So what better name for a mat for the Cornish Lord of Darkness himself, Ian “Piskian” Wraith. Ian is a fine mat surfer and one of my oldest mat riding friends. A mentor to me when I first started out in the journey of flaccid flow. Bucca Dhu sports Cornish black and gold colour scheme with the 15 balls of the Cornish coat of arms on the rail. All in all, pretty Cornish this mat!

Ian is a fine mat surfer and one of my oldest mat riding friends. A mentor to me when I first started out in the journey of flacid flow.

So what’s the deal with Bucca Dhu? Well, I’m building a handful of prototypes to send to a few people to test. Two in Oz and then Ian. These are 70/70 ULW (40) construction; Standard 70 denier deck, 70d ultra lightweight bottom skin (very thin TPU coating) and 40d I-beams. Also a super-free-breather with negative rocker.

I have already built myself one of these proto’s (see G-Mat 238) and it goes great. Feels similar in weight to a 70/40 although a little crisper but also so far, no leaks at the seams although it is early days.  This is why I am sending out a handful to different riders who ride mats well but also very differently and in different conditions.

Ian is coming back to the UK from Japan where he lives with his family in early November so he can grab Bucca Dhu in person and we can share a few waves. It’s been too long so I’m looking forward to that!

Cheers

G

Red Rider

Here’s a mat for US East Coast mat surfer, Joe McEachern.

Joe has been riding mats for around 2-3 years. He says he has nurtured a developing interest in riding waves in different ways or late. When we were designing Joe’s mat he went on to say:

“There are very few mat surfers in New England that I’ve seen.

The first time out on the mat was demoralizing, but fortunately, I’d say things progressed to fun pretty quickly. As I started catching waves regularly I was absolutely loving it and full on committed to mat surfing as much as I possibly could year round. I really like the sensation I get on the waves but also the satisfaction of learning all the nuances of it. I feel like New England it’s a great place to ride a mat because sometimes the conditions aren’t great and the waves are inconsistent but I can always make the best of things on the mat.

Can’t wait to try out the Red Rider! The hurricane swells are on the way and it should be a great all around mat for the conditions here!”

— Joe McEachern

So on to Joe’s mat then. Joe was keen on an all rounder that would manage all that the New England coastline will through at him. After some discussion we agreed on a 200/70 Ute. Joe has gone for red and white (which pleases me as a Liverpool FC fan) and has named his mat “Red Rider”.

Red Rider is a wheezer with free rocker. The combo of a 200d deck and restricted air flow will make for a mat that holds it’s shape in choppy conditions, even at lower inflation levels.

Joe has had Red Rider for a couple of weeks now and I was pleased to get some feedback and a photo from him after his first go out:

“Just got out of the water. 4 hours! The mat is fantastic! Very happy with it. Could do anything I wanted. Caught lots of waves, could hold a nice high line, and could go fast. Awesome!

Fits great. It’s interesting. One of the other mats I have looks to be almost the same size. Very close. But the Ute feels bigger/wider in a very good way. And much lighter feeling. Very happy.

Thanks very much! ”

— Joe McEachern

That really is the kind of feedback I like to hear.

Thanks Joe!

Cheers

G