Surf Movie Review – Dude Cruise

Since I have been recently getting more and more into surfing I when to my local board shop and pick up the new DC surf video called Dude Cruise.


Dude Cruise is the first movie from Irons Bros. Productions, the new film company formed by Bruce and Andy Irons, and the first-ever movie featuring the DC surf team and just the DC surf team.

The concept of the film is a DC team trip, with Bruce Irons, Dane Reynolds, Ry Craike, and amateur Garret Parks, through Australia for a two-week road trip complete with world class surfing, and a view into the boy's personalities. Have you every wondered what it is like to experience a surf trip through Bruce Irons' or Dane Reynolds' eyes? With this movie you get an inside view of what a two week surf trip with the world's top surfers is really like. Dude Cruise shows sessions start to finish--not just the banger clips--to offer a more realistic look at what happens when you're just out with your friends having a good time.


Now for the review

1) Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Dude Cruise is amazing with many big name artists on the bill. Some of the names dropping songs in this flick are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beck and NIN. The soundtrack is also properly placed with the flow of the scene. My favourite soundtrack scene is Bruce Irons’ outro with Lost Valentinos “17 Deaths” and Dane Reynolds intro with NIN.

I have to say that I really only seen a few surf videos but this soundtrack is the best I have seen even considering all the snowboarding videos I’ve watched.

2) Cinematography

Cinematography within the movie was well done, it wasn’t ground breaking just good. I have to say that I really appreciated seeing a full session of riding rather than just the highlights from a session. It gave me more of a realistic sense of surfing rather that just seeing all the bangers. It kind of reminded me of watch Robot Foods Lame, a snowboard video along the same concept as Dude Cruise. It was just fun to watch.

3) Segments / Riders

Since the flick was filmed all Australia the scenes blending in a bit too much but the segment that got me amp was Bruce Irons’ outro scene. With the combination of Bruce’s powerful surfing and the kick ass song it was an awesome scene. Over I think Dane Reynolds was amazing…man that guy have a lot of style when surfing and the tricks and airs where off the charts.

4) Extras

The extras segment in Dude Cruise consists of all the trailers, photos from the trip and the car crash scene. They also offer director commentary throughout the movie if you turn that option on in the extras segment…it pretty cool.

5) Overall

Overall Dude Cruise was an amazing surf video with world class surfer. The only downside is that the flick seemed short, even though it was about 40mins and I was hoping for a bit more variety in locations. But still if you want to see cutting edge surfing at it’s best get Dude Cruise…it will amp you up to hit the waves.

Opening Day in Whistler is Coming…Where is the Snow?

Hello all, you may have noticed via the Whistler snow forecast and website that the conditions are not good at all. It’s very similar to the shitty snow year back in 2004 / 2005 where Whistler only saw about 80cm of total snowfall for November. So far this November, as of 20th, the total snowfall is only a dismal 70cm. Considering opening day is only a week away, November 27th, this is not good.

I guess this can be looked as a good thing because if the snow is not falling in November there should be a huge dump of snow for December. But by looking that the weather trends in the last couple of weeks that temperatures have been about 5 degrees above seasonal and the very little precipitation.

So lets all prey to the snow gods that it starts to snow heavy in the Whistler for the next week and beyond. Or else we can possibility see another season like 04 / 05….that would suck.

Shop Review – Showcase Snowboards (Whistler)

Showcase Snowboards is a board shop located in Whistler in the Sundial Hotel complex that is owned by Intrawest. It’s one of Whistler most busiest and infamous snowboard shops and the reason for that is obvious….because it’s located right near the main gondolas for Whistler and Blackcomb mountain. Showcase has a couple of other locations within other Intrawest resorts like Colorado's Copper Mountain. Also you can go online to their site, Showcase Snowboards, to get all your snowboard needs.

Showcase even put on a yearly competition on in Whistler called “The Showcase Showdown”, which feature some of Canada’s best riders. This competition is usually nest the end of February and is really good because is kinda like a pipe and park comp mix into one. If you are in Whistler during definitely check it out but go early to get a spot to watch.

I usually stroll into Showcase Whistler once in awhile to check out what’s new and just browse around. I have purchase a couple of items from them and thought it would be good to post a review about the shop to let other know what they can expect.



1) Shop setup / Visual Merch

Showcase Snowboards Whistler is a pretty big shop for Whistler, actually the biggest, with a pretty clean modern setup to it. The shop is well organized with a section for soft goods, gear and even a separate shop for women stuff that right next door. The shop that’s just for woman’s stuff it the Burton woman’s store and I think that it looks better than the main shop does….pretty well designed.

Showcase also features a live DJ Fridays thru Sunday during the evening to give the shop a nightclub type of feel. This is a unique touch. So go get your dance and shop on!!!

2) Product Variety

The shop carries many of the big name snowboarding brands such as Burton, Option and also locally produced Prior snowboards. They also have a large inventory of clothing from Volcom, Burton and Bonfire. But aside from snowboarding related gear Showcase doesn’t have much more. Their main focus is snowboarding. In the summer the shop does sell surfboards but only a handful. But if you’re looking for Burton gear this shop is the one in Whistler.

3) Pricing

As you would expect, the pricing is not much different from other board shops in Whistler. Sales rarely are put up by Showcase even in the summer. The big sales occur at Thanksgiving and in the summer but the price drop are not that significant. Also I find it’s hard to haggle a deal because it’s really a large corporately owned shop and they probably have strict rules about product pricing.

4) Customer Service

Customer service at Showcase is hit and miss. Sometimes you get really good service and other times the shop employees are too cool to help you out.

A couple times I have been in the store wondering around and never was approached by an employee asking if they can help me out. I think that a shop in a tourist local like Whistler should always approach the customer asking if they need help but I guess sometimes they don’t really care but ton of people go in that shop daily. Other times I got really good service and which led me in the right direction as to what to purchase.

I think if Showcase stepped it up on the customer service side and not just on the Turkey Sale weekend, the shop would be the best in Whistler.

5) Overall

Overall Showcase is a good shop with some unique flare, like the DJ thing on the weekends and organization of the yearly competition. But they could improve on their product variety abit, customer service and the shop should be a Burton Collation shop….I can’t believe it’s not.

Whistler Daily Snow Report

I know we all have been patiently waiting for the beginning of the snowboarding session up in Whistler and have been wondering about the conditions up there. Is the season going to start early? Is there going to be enough snow for opening day, Nov 27?

Well you can stop wondering now and start checking up on it daily because Whistler Blackcomb is starting up its daily snow report. Each and everyday at about 6:00am you can read what the conditions are for that morning and the forecast for the next couple of days. The Whistler Blackcomb daily snow report is taken on Whistler from just above mid-station at about 1400 meters and the weather forecast is from Environment Canada.

Whistler Blackcomb Snow Report site

The Whistler Blackcomb snow report is good but I have found a better report that I have been using for the past 4 years in Whistler. It’s called the Snow-Forecast website. This site gives you the opportunity to see conditions and forecasts at various elevations (village, 675m, mid 1400m and peak 2284m). The Snow-Forecast site is pretty accurate too because we I compare their forecast to Environment Canada’s it bang on. But the add bonus it know what the forecast is going to be at the peak for the next 6 days.

Whistler Snow Forecast site

So go and check it out….it’s just another tool for you to chase the elusive powder experience.

Shop Review – Pacific Boarder (Vancouver)

Most recently I have been shopping alot at Pacific Boarder in Vancouver. Pacific Boarder is a complete board shop that is located on West 4th close to Burrard Street, actually right across the street from Westbeach, with products from snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing.

Pacific Boarder website



1) Shop setup / Visual merch

The Pacific Boarder shop is really big, definitely one of the biggest in the lower mainland. Once you walk into the store you’ll see straight ahead the men’s clothing / outerwear area and to the left, in the next room is all the woman’s accessories. This is really good because they have a store size area just dedicated for women’s wear. Along the back wall is all the hardgear from skateboarding to snowboarding to surfing.

Pacific always has some type of display in their large street front windows, from what you can see in the picture above. The store front displays are pretty artistic and they always grab my attention everytime I walk by there…I really liked the new Rome Artifact display done about a month ago.

2) Variety

In terms of variety Pacific Boarder has it all, carrying the big name brands in snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. Some of the brands that they carry from a snowboarding perspective are Burton, Rome, Ride, Capita and Salomon. Pacific Boarder is also a Burton Coalition shop, so you can get all the Burton limited edition products.

In the summer Pacific Boarder’s inventory is mostly surfboards, wetsuits and skateboarding products. They also keep their snowboard equipment out in case you want gear for the summer snowboarding sessions on the Blackcomb glacier in Whistler.

3) Product Pricing

The price of the merch in the shop is relatively the same as any other shop you might find and Pacific Boarder rarely has sales and their sales only occur during the thanksgiving weekend (less than 10% off) and at season end (20% to 25% off). But Pacific Boarder employees are cool and you might be able to get a deal from them if you chat them up a bit. I got a deal on my new Burton Un..Inc, $60 off, just by talking to the guys helping me out.

4) Customer Service

When it comes to customer service Pacific Boarder is really good. The staff there is always will to help out and are really friendly. One of the good things about this shop is that most of the staff actually ride the boards they are selling, so you are getting an expert opinion on how well the gear you think of buying is.

When I bought my board I was help out alot by the staff letting me know how the board rides, durability, etc. They really made my decision process easy because of their first hand knowledge of riding some of the boards they sell.

5) Overall

Overall Pacific Boarder is a really cool shop with a good variety of gear, excellent customer service and really knowledgeable staff. If you are in the area and looking to buy gear definitely check out Pacific Boarder because you will get honest opinion without the sales pitch forcing you to buy.

Bede Durbidge Wins 2008 Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Brazil

Bede Durbidge claimed his third ASP World Tour career win with a victory at the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Imbituba, Brazil, today. Durbidge beat France’s Jeremy Flores 17.76 to 9.86. This win bumped Bede from 4th in the overall ASP standings to 2nd behind the world champ Kelly Slater.



Here is the current ASP top 10 standings after the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro

1. Kelly Slater (USA) 8042
2. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 6780
3. Taj Burrow (AUS) 6324
4. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 6180
5. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 5860
6. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 5748
7. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 5370
8. Mick Fanning (AUS) 5310
9. Bobby Martinez (USA) 5282
10. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 5214

You might be wondering why you don’t see any of the other big names in the finals. The reason is because surfers like Slater, Fanning, Irons, Martinez and Parko decided to skip the Brazil comp and heal up for Pipeline in Hawaii as many of these guys are bang up abit. So the Pipeline competition starting on Dec 8th should be a really good one because everyone wants to win Pipeline.

Shop Review – The Circle (Whistler)

The first board shop that I visited when I first came to live in Whistler was The Circle because it was right across the street from where I was living. The Circle in Whistler is located on Main Street in the Village North, Marketplace area. It’s pretty much in the plaza right across from the 7-11 and beside the Alpenglow condo entrance. The Circle is a locate shop that has its roots in Whistler and now also have a shop in downtown Vancouver, Gastown more specifically.

The Circle website



1) Shop setup / Visual merch

The Circle is a cool setup just from the outside because the physical building is actually shaped in a circle. Once inside you’ll see that the shop has a cool flow to it because of its design. The shop is mostly dominated by clothing and outerwear these days, with more of the street clothing the right and the snowboard gear (outerwear and hard good) to the left. It’s a clean modern look to its layout that’s simple yet effective for savvy shopper.

Most often the have some cool new snowboarding or skateboarding videos playing on their flat screen TV and also awesome tunes pumping from their sound system.

2) Variety

In terms of variety The Circle carries clothing brands like Nomis, DC, Matrix, WESC with snowboarding gear from Stepchild, Forum, DC, Union, Endeavor and more. In the summer this shop caters to the skateboards with brands like DVS, Emerica, C1RCA, Lakai and Chocolate.

If you are looking for brands off the beaten path and not your big name brands go by The Circle because here is where you will find them.

3) Product Pricing

The price of the merch in the shop is relatively the same as any other shop you might find and The Circle rarely has sales. Their sales only occur during the thanksgiving weekend (10% off) and at season end (20% to 25% off). But The Circle employees are cool and you might be able to get a deal from them if you chat them up a bit.

4) Customer Service

The Circle customer service is pretty good and as I mentioned above everyone who works there is cool and knowledgeable. As soon as you walk in the shop you are greeted with a hello or what’s up and the employees are always willing to help you out. But since there is usually one person working the shop, if the shop is busy you might not get the full Circle customer experience.

5) Overall

Overall I really like The Circle because it’s quite different from other shops in Whistler and Vancouver, much like Evolution. They have unique products that you might not find elsewhere and their employees are always willing to help. I usually head into The Circle once a week just to see if there is any new gear especially from Nomis.