If your surfer seems a little cranky over the holidays, it’s not your fault.
It’s because surfers know that perfect waves can’t be found under the tree.
Surfers are experientialists, and a 2014 study published in the journal Psychological Science found that buying an experience, such as a tickets for a trip or a concert, provides more happiness than does buying things.
So give your surfer an experience to look forward to, from the instant gratification of a pass to go surfing on Christmas Day to plane tickets or a rental close to a favorite break.
Asked what he got for Christmas last year, Captain Cal said, “Oh, I scored. I got three new tank tops and a dozen bars of surf wax.”
Really, most surfers are easy to please. The list below offers some ideas in a wide price range.
>> Coral reefs are threatened by sunscreen chemicals. That’s why Rosalyn Ardoin’s new Little Hands Hawaii sunscreens are free of toxic benzophenone/oxybenzone. Made in Hawaii with 25 percent non-nano zinc oxide, Big Island beeswax and essential oils, the half-ounce, tinted or white face sticks (SPF 40+, $12 to $14 each) and creamy lotion (SPF 35+, $18 to $20) in a 4-ounce tin go on smoothly with a delicate fragrance that makes them a full-spectrum pleasure to wear. Find stores at Littlehandshawaii.com.
>> Two new GoPro video cameras are water-resistant to a depth of 10 meters without the extra casing. That means lighter weight and less hassle. Check out the GoPro Hero5 Black ($399) and Hero5 Session ($299) in person at T&C Surf Designs stores, tcsurf.com.
>> Whether it’s time for their close-up or not, surfers want to look and feel good. For flattering, comfy women’s suits that stay in place, Professor Pauline recommends Honey Girl, “the only suits I wear in the water.”
They’re reversible, as well, in one-pieces ($70), tops that tie or pull on (from $42) and bikini bottoms and board shorts that secure with a draw cord — yes ($38 and up)! Go to honeygirlwaterwear.com.
>> Because loud board shorts don’t let you fade gracefully into the tube, local surfers like T&C’s board shorts are understated in quiet shades and four-way stretch fabrics, $39.95.
>> If, like the Captain, your guy rocks tank tops, Downing Hawaii tanks are class acts in soft cotton and start at $19. The shop’s women’s wear buyer has a keen eye for the irresistible, like a bright-yellow Tahitian cotton pareu, $23.95. Downingsurf.com.
>> There’s a nip in the air, and a quick way to warm up after a chill sesh is to pull on a thick cap. Patagonia’s cable-knit beanie, knit in 70 percent chlorine-free, sustainably sourced wool with nylon, is lined with soft fleece. $39, Patagonia.com.
>> In the water under north winds, I’m grateful for the flexible warmth of my Straw Hat zippered wet-suit jacket. Made in Japan of 2-millimeter-thick, natural rubber in men’s and women’s sizes ($220), it’s got a Velcro key pocket in the sleeve. Hawaiiansouthshore.com.
>> When it’s too stormy or dark to surf, they can curl up with “The Illustrated Atlas of Surfing History: Wave Riding From Antiquity to Gidget,” by Joel T. Smith, with artwork by veteran marine sports artist Ron Croci, whose warm, colorful paintings bring history and myth to personable life on every page. Island Heritage, $24.95.
>> Something old, something new: Because history isn’t live-streamed, surf cinema buffs will dig a DVD called “Classic Surf Films From the 50s and 60s,” four films by Walt Phillips, including “Sunset Surf Craze” with Fred Van Dyke, Peter Cole and Ricky Grigg at the ferocious North Shore break; and the lovely California-Hawaii surfari fable, “Once Upon a Wave.” It’s $29.95 at Na Mea Hawai‘i in Ward Warehouse.
Just released: A DVD/Blu-ray of “Distance Between Dreams,” a new film from Red Bull Media House featuring Ian Wash, Greg Long, Shane Dorian and new world champion John John Florence riding 40-foot Peahi, can be ordered at distancebetweendreams.com.
>> Which brings us to the ultimate gift: the surfboard. My advice? Don’t even go there. Of course, every surfer wishes for the perfect board, but it’s a highly personal and pricey choice that not even Santa can make for them.
Besides, we’re nonmaterialistic and experiential, right?
“You don’t NEED another board,” former big-wave champion Keone Downing, who shapes the boards in his family’s shop, tells me when I get greedy.
For more than 20 years, “until I snapped my last one at Lani’s last March,” Bill Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life” (Penguin, $20.92), has surfed boards shaped by the master: Dick Brewer, who invented the thruster in the late ’60s, shapes Waimea guns and turned 80 this year, according to business partner Ron Blomquist.
Brewer is still hand-shaping blanks that are glassed by Jack Reeves on the North Shore, and prices, starting at $900 for, say, a 6-foot-6-inch to 7-foot-6-inch siren, are competitive in today’s market. See plumeriasurfboards.net.
For kids a fun bet is a foam-topped, finned “beater” from 4 to 4-1/2 feet long. Yes, they stand on it. Made by Catch Surf, they’re $150 to $180 at T&C or Raging Isle Surf & Cycle in Haleiwa, 637-7797.
>> A surfer in search of a board will love you madly for a starter check wrapped up with a dozen squares of Sticky Bumps Trop or Matuna’s eco-surf wax (about $1.75 each at any surf shop). Think of it as a ticket to ride, overflowing with joy in the anticipation.
“In the Lineup” features Hawaii’s oceangoers and their regular hangouts, from the beach to the deep blue sea. Reach Mindy Pennybacker at mpennybacker@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4772.
