Tag Archive for: Survival

shane dorianRead: 2 mins

Billabong Big Wave Floatation Wetsuit

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Billabong has introduced a new wetsuit that incorporates a self-inflating bladder from a CO2 cartridge. The Billabong V1 wetsuit allows the surfer to pull a cord on the front of their wetsuit, thereby inflating a back bladder and taking him or her quickly to to the surface.

In tests and one real-world example, Shane Dorian claims the V1 took him quickly to the surface and subsequent white water from other waves merely rolled under him. That’s pretty cool stuff and certainly a welcome precaution to Shane and other big wave chargers. [See video below]

Billabong, if I may?
Normally when I see products like this I think “Why didn’t I think of that”- but truth be told I have thought of this one and I guess more than anything I’m surprised it’s taken so long. If I could offer any advice to the product designers, I’d say consider cords on both sides of the suit in the event of a broken arm. Also, if the rider is held under at depth for more than X seconds the system should activate automatically (in the event they are knocked-out). Also, I’m not sure if the inflated bladder on the back pushes the surfer forwards – that would be unfortunate in the event the surfer passed-out.

I’m not a big wave surfer, but I’ve had a few hold-downs in hurricane swells and it sucks. During Hurricane Earl the swell got freaky and very large just as I paddled out and I was under for nearly 2 waves. For anyone held-down like that you know how scary it is and it makes you wonder – if only for a fleeting moment – why you’re out there to begin with.

Check out the video and if you’re charging large surf, do yourself and your loved ones a favor and consider buying the Billabong V1.

Posted by: Lawrence

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atlasfartistrendRead: 2 mins

Gimme Shelter: Holing up for the Apocalypse in Style

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

I read Cormac McCarthy‘s The Road last summer and walked around in a stupor for about a week. The book was so vivid, so real and the writing so disturbingly poetic about a subject that makes the hairs stand-up on the necks of all of us.

With talk of Armageddon, swine flu, Heidi and Spencer’s marriage and the frightening possibility that they may procreate, I’m thinking it’s a good time to ditch – or at least make plans to.

When all hell breaks loose I hope to be safely tucked-away in my underground lair – Lex Luther style. Pool, theater, chef’s kitchen, garden (Pineapple Express?), air / water filtration and Scarlett Johansson (what are her options? I’m feeling lucky).

Decommissioned missile base properties, specifically Atlas-E, Atlas-F, Titan I, and Communications Bunkers are for sale around the country. Priced from $165,000USD to over $1million USD, sites are tested or treated (e.g. asbestos) to ensure a safe living environment. Most have wells, power generators (even blast doors and sometimes decontamination showers) and the bones to build your own dream, albeit apocalyptic, refuge.

Stock-up on canned foods, seeds, grow lights and powdered drink mix. Put that order in for a treadmill, tanning bed, hand crank flashlights and radios. Get the dog a new bed, tons of chew toys and enough food. Don’t neglect music, movies, Wii games and books to last a while. Maybe you’ll never want to come back up? Or at least not until they take The Hills off the air.

Posted by: Frank

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Bayley S4Read: 2 mins

Bear Grylls Knife Costs $700

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Man vs. Wild star Bear Grylls is no doubt a surviver. Consumption of live snakes, sheep’s eyeballs, decomposing Zebra, still-warm Yak livers and worse, but a man’s gotta eat! He free-solos cliffs, wrestles wild beasts, drinks from elephant dung… face it, the man survives.

Certainly Bear doesn’t need to risk life and limb by down-climbing a waterfall, eating live snakes or puss-filled grubs – but it does make for entertaining television. Many scoff at these Fear Factor-like antics, but it has viewers peeking through their fingers and muttering ‘that crazy bastard‘ over-and-over. Some critics go as far to say that Bear misinforms his viewers by taking these risks in remote regions.

In many survival circumstances the best advice is to stay put and wait for rescue, but Bear is seemingly being chased in every episode, burning precious calories to sprint down a sand dune or swim a freezing cold lake. Of course sitting around and waiting for rescue would make for pretty ho-hum TV, so Bear turns on the bravado and the charm to keep us watching as he performs fearless acts of ‘survival.’

Bayley S4

I can forgive the fact that Bear bends survival tactics for the sake of entertainment. I have a harder time with merchandising the tools he uses for his show. A Bear Grylls ‘signature’ knife sells for $700. If you have $700 to spend, get a satellite phone and $40 Buck knife.

Maybe this is just Bear ‘surviving’ in the real world – and he’s got a right – but hopefully fans are smarter than that (and smart enough to not drink from elephant dung).

Posted by: Lawrence

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