Featured Archives: the best of the best - Page 8 of 14

Review: C-Skins ReWired 3:2 Chest Zip Steamer

Lyndon FairbairnMay 3, 2021July 25, 20240

C-Skins is relatively new in the New Zealand market, but if the brand’s ReWired 3:2 chest zip steamer is anything to go by then we expect its going to play a bigger role in years to come. We put the new steamer to the test from February right into the...

Review: O’Neill Women’s Hyperfreak 4:3+ Chest Zip Steamer (Tested To Death)

Derek MorrisonApr 28, 2021April 28, 20210

When it comes to wetsuits, women and children usually draw the short straw: below-tier taping, average linings and warmth, comfort … seemingly not so important. O’Neill’s women’s Hyperfreak 4:3+ Chest Zip turns that on its head. The 2019 O’Neill Hyperfreak designed for women really changes the game. It takes O’Neill’s...

Inside The Swell Of The Year … So Far

Derek MorrisonApr 16, 2021July 25, 20240

The Southern Ocean is choked with swell energy right now, but it was an early season long-period pulse that turned the Southern reefs inside out. Dave Lyons managed to document one of the best sessions to take place in the south east corner of our country … so far. Dave...

Lee Ralph: The Kiwi Skateboarder Who Vanished

Derek MorrisonApr 1, 2021July 25, 20240

In the late 1980s, New Zealand skateboarder Lee Ralph had the world at his feet. But right when he seemed poised to join the sport’s elite, he was kicked out of the US … and out of the limelight for good. Our friends at The Spinoff have given us permission...

Sharks: Extinction Seems Imminent

Derek MorrisonMar 10, 20210

Despite an increase in shark sightings and one fatality this summer in New Zealand, the future of our shark populations has long had marine scientists concerned. Now, the results of a new Nature study show just how grim things really are. Marine biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez, also known as the...

40 Frames: Billabong Grom Series, Whangamata

Derek MorrisonFeb 17, 2021July 25, 20240

With the tail-end of a cyclone swell to stir things, up the 2021 Billabong Grom Series, held at Whangamata at the weekend, had it all. From pumping waves right through to onshore mush. Here’s 40 frames that capture the spirit of it all. [gallery type=”masonry” link=”none” columns=”1″ size=”full” masterslider=”false” thumbs=”false”...

Expert Insight: Surfing With Sea Lions

Derek MorrisonDec 23, 2020July 25, 20240

They can rattle even the most hardcore surfer with their lunges and antics, but according to Department of Conservation Coastal Otago ranger Jim Fyfe, we’re reading them all wrong. Jim explains how we can co-exist in the waves … In this short film (see below) Jim Fyfe shares his wisdom...

Five Minutes With: 15-Year-Old Filmmaker Hunter Cooney

Derek MorrisonNov 10, 20200

Whangamata surfer Hunter Cooney is the guy responsible for producing Flightless Obsession – that’s the Kiwi surf film that was borne out of our Covid-19 Lockdown. New Zealand Surf Journal caught up with the young creative along the iconic shoreline of Kaikoura. NZSJ: Hello, Hunter. What are you doing standing...

Priority Rules: Are We Getting It Right In New Zealand?

Derek MorrisonNov 5, 2020July 25, 20240

Since Surfing New Zealand implemented priority rules into local contests the quality of heat surfing has improved. But is there a dark side to the way we’re implementing it? Any blunder in priority rulings can effectively stop even the best surfer in their tracks. And that has happened at least...

Is Surfer Magazine The Canary In The Publishing Mine?

CPLOct 16, 2020October 16, 20200

Just last week Surfer magazine folded. Yes, the seminal work that was started by John Severson in 1960 was suddenly no longer a viable business, according to its publisher, American Media Inc. It was cast aside as easily as you might squish a sand-fly on the West Coast. No fanfare....