Overdue Wetsuit Review

Even though summer is over, I wanted to give everybody a heads up for next year on what turned out to be one of the best wetsuits we've ever tried, even though it's cut for men. It's made by O'Neill, Santa Cruz's wetsuit icon since 1952, and the depth of their history is evident in this equally iconic Beaver Tail Jacket.


Most of the wetsuits we all wear are built of neoprene that is coated with fabric inside and out to resist tearing, but this fabric layer impedes the uber-stretchiness of the neoprene itself, making the suit less flexible. O'Neill has dispensed with the outer fabric layer on their beaver tail, leaving a super slick, super warm outer shell that seriously feels like butter in your hands! Added benefit: that smooth neoprene outer layer resists the wind much better than its fabric-plied couterpart. At just 1mm thick, you hardly know you're wearing anything, save for the fact that you are toasty warm and well insulated from any chilly evening breezes.


Just like the beaver tails of days past, the O'Neill re-issue zips up the front, and while you might think that laying on the zipper would be uncomfortable, you'll never even notice. In fact, having the zipper in the front saves your hair from getting tangled in the velcro that's always present on back-zip wetsuits.


The cut of the beaver tail portion of the jacket is actually pretty flattering should you decide to actually button it up, but it's equally warm either way, and looks quite dynamic flapping away behind you as you are shredding along. For surfing, this is a summer-time suit. For SUPing, where you aren't as exposed to the water, it's a great winter time buffer against the wind.

A vintage beaver tail, buttoned-up and paired
with long-johns, worn underneath.

Bernie the Beaver says:
Pros:
Very warm
Super flexible
Smooth neoprene outer skin resists the wind
Excellent retro styling from the source
Fits great even though it's a men's cut

Cons:
Careful not to tear the smooth skin with a finger nail!

And this is an actual beaver, Castor Canadensis, clearly scheming.

New Autumn Give Away: Catchy Name Forthcoming

Yes, we're definitely having another Give-Away this season. All we're missing is a name. Sign up here.

Siren Krisy Murphy to Guest-Host "Ride My Board" Days

Julie Cox's famed "Ride My Board" Days are going off again this Saturday, October 3, from 8am-1pm at Oceanside Harbor. We're super stoked to have been invited to demo the Siren SUPs! Don't miss this opportunity to check out all the surfboard models from the Jule Collection and try your hand at stand-up paddleboarding Siren style. And don't forget to bring your appetite--BBQ fires up around 1:00!

DIY T-shirt Printing: SoftScrub Style

We've been working on our up-coming apparel venture fairly intensely over the last couple of months, and in the process of getting creative, we stumbled upon this super easy, yet super trick technique for creating a vintage-style logo print with a mist of SoftScrub, of all things. Added bonus: sparkling white sinks.

**Hey! Make sure you do this in a really well ventilated area! (Duh, I know....)

STEP 1: Print out your design



Try to print your design on some heavy weight paper stock. This will give your stencil a longer life. Using a pair of scissors or an X-Acto Knife, cut out your design. It will look something like this:



STEP 2: Seal your stencil



Apply a liberal coat of any color spray paint to the front and back of your stencil. This will add to its longevity by creating a barrier between the paper stock and the SoftScrub you will be spraying on later.

STEP 3: Find some spray adhesive.



We use Aleen's Tacky Spray, available at most craft stores, but 3M's Super 77 works great too, and is available at the Home Depot.



Flip your stencil over and give it a quick coat of adhesive. It doesn't take much! Let the adhesive dry until it's tacky to the touch, but not wet.

STEP 4: Prepare your shirt



It's a good idea to slide some cardboard up the shirt so the SoftScrub won't make it's way through to the back of the shirt and create a stain. Be sure the shirt is perfectly flat.

STEP 5: Align your stencil



Carefully align your stencil just how you want it. Use your fingers to press all the stencil edges down to make a nice "seal" against the shirt. Then, use some scrap paper to block the rest of the shirt from any SoftScrub overspray, as shown below:



STEP 6: Prepare your SoftScrub formula

Add some SoftScrub (ours was called "commercial," and of course you want the variety with bleach) to a spare spray bottle (recycle an old windex bottle, for instance), and then add water until the spray pump will easily shoot a fairly fine mist.



Carefully shoot the fabric area revealed by your stencil. Get crazy with your spray pattern to create blotchy, zig-zag, or wavy effects. Spray more on the areas you want to turn out lighter, and less where you want a more subtle effect.



Step 7: VOILA!

Lightly blot your stencil with a paper towel so you can remove it without dripping any SoftScrub solution. Then, rinse out the entire shirt. Remember that the longer you leave the solution sitting on the shirt before rinsing it out, the lighter the overall effect will be. Give your shirt a nice laundering--be sure wash it alone or with a towel you don't care about the first time after printing to be sure all of the solution washes out. Then, hang it out to dry, and you're ready to turn heads in your crazy new fashion statement!



The best thing about this technique is that is leaves the shirt perfectly soft where you have created your design. Compare that to a thick, plasticy patch of paint if you were to do this skate-punk style using spray paint instead of SoftScrub.


I can't get enough of how cool this process is--Maybe we'll do some limited edition shirts just for fun!

5 Lucky Winners!

We selected 5 lucky winners in our Summer Give-Away Days promotion. Let's hear it for Debbee, Crystal, Landon, Laura, and Pam! Yea!!
It's a lot of fun to give stuff away, actually. So much so that we've decided to do it again. While we're busy thinking up a catchy name, go to www.sirensurf.com/win to sign up.
Good Luck!

Last Chance to Enter Siren Summer Give-Away Days!

Last chance to enter to win FREE Siren stuff! September 22 is the final day to enter at:

www.sirensurf.com/win

Good Luck!

I *Heart* NY: 2nd Annual Montauk Surf & SUP Retreat

Just wrapped up our second annual Montauk Sessions in Montauk, NY with an awesome group of ladies. The northeast dished out lots of rain, then finally on Sunday came SUNSHINE! The waves went from challenging to fun, and despite the crazy weather it was a blast. When the waves were too choppy and big, we went Stand Up Paddling on Lake Montauk. The lake offered a protected bay out of the wind, where we could get the hang of the the SUP boards and practice paddling techniques. After the paddle we hit up the famous Surf Lodge for awesome food and mojitos! On Sunday, the surf was perfect for everyone to really push their surfing skills to the next level. Everyone conquered fears, perfected turtle rolls and got some awesome rides! The sun and perfect little peeler waves lasted through Monday and Tuesday, so the ladies scored some super ultra mellow days.

Big, Big shout-out to all our sponsors who helped make the Montauk Sessions a wild success!

Siren Surfboards by Channin, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Keep -A-Breast, Wildcoast and special thanks to our good friends Cat Lippincott and Steve White for all the great local knowledge!

Siren's Most Popular Posts....

Our posts on customizing boards with spray paint and paint pens are by far our most popular. We're always getting questions about materials and technique. So, we're going to do a quick how-to video for the blog. Stay tuned!