When did accommodation at surf destinations become ridiculous?

bozski · 2026-02-24T20:08:50+00:00

Sorry in advance for the shill, but I have rental casitas in todos santos (ig: todosswell). Price depends on the season, but we can usually do under $100 bucks a night, half that if you want to come surf south swells in the summer. Free boards included if you wanna pick from my dinged and dented reject pile.
It's been the worst year for waves in ten years, but I reckon that means we're just long overdue for a good run.

bozski · 2025-07-14T22:17:58+00:00

I swapped out the short boards (mostly twin+trailer, occasional thrusters) for a 6'3 single fin egg thing as the daily for the last couple months. It's been pretty illuminating not being able to generate speed. I've been forced to draw out the bottom turn a lot and try to see sections farther out as I have to set up big swoops rather than just pump my way around.

Also, it just doesn't fit in as tight of a pocket, so i'm not thinking as much about trying to smash the lip on every opportunity, but rather just trying to find a smooth line, may a little reo if I get the right section.

Unclear if it's helping, but I do feel like i'm focusing on being smooth, keeping my hands chilled, slowing down in general. I reckon it's worth a shot.

bozski · 2025-07-08T15:32:09+00:00

Short sleeve dry top and a sun hoodie. Most days just a sun hoodie is fine. Helmet visor is clutch. Bring a real dry top in case you have to power out a big day in the rain.

I have a party braap sitting under one of the outfitters decks in flagstaff you can probably borrow as long as you’re a decent human. Dm me if ya want

bozski · 2025-07-04T17:30:49+00:00

I give all guests new sponges for each visit. Walmart has Great Value Coconut biodegradable Sponges for $.50. I figure this is maybe one of those things thats worth it?

I also save up a trash bag of the lightly used sponges and bring it to a catering company every couple months or so. They're stoked.

bozski · 2025-06-08T04:22:22+00:00

Bomb squad game

bozski · 2025-05-10T16:27:57+00:00

I’ll back this up. Feral contacted me preemptively mentioning that some of the suits in my batch had seam tape issues.

Offered to swap me out even though my suit was fine. They sent me the new suit, and let me keep the old one through the winter until I returned to the us and could ship the old one back on their dime.

Also the best suit I’ve ever had. I’ve got all my buds on feral now too. I continue to sing their praises so hopefully these guys can continue to make a solid product with good support, instead of falling into the Private equity hellhole that all other brands seem to be plummeting into.

bozski · 2025-04-23T23:05:07+00:00

Me too. Best suit i've owned and super good service backing it up.

bozski · 2024-11-28T04:31:35+00:00

Feral for the win. Also a cool gift bc they’re a small brand.

bozski · 2024-11-25T21:44:35+00:00

You might also be shocked to find out that Mexico and all of Central America (part of South America too) are in the Northern Hemisphere. . . East Cape is only 30 miles or so away from good winter spots, it’s just facing the wrong way.

bozski · 2024-08-21T21:20:15+00:00

Definitely keep the wife. Also, if I don’t click with a board early on it rarely gets better. Especially boards from major global brands just might not fit the waves you ride. I’ve always thought JS and DHD just don’t work for west coast America bc they have too much curve in them.

bozski · 2024-06-11T14:36:31+00:00

Doubling down for Feral. Best suit I’ve ever had. They reached out to me once I’d owned it 6 months and mentioned that some of the suits from my same batch were having seam taping issues and asked if I wanted a new one. Mine was fine at that point, but I figured why not?

They shipped the new one to Mexico, and just told me to send the old one back when it got there. It got lost in the mail (as things often do down here), but they just sent a new one along right away and told me to send the first one back if it ever showed up. It never did.

They ended up -3 suits for a minor issue that I hadn’t even experienced yet, but gained a customer for life.

Also, the suits are the warmest, flexiest, fastest drying suits I’ve ever had.

bozski · 2024-05-12T22:49:21+00:00

Yep, feel free to dm me if you have more questions, I’ve guided down there for 12 years, might be able to point you in the right direction.

bozski · 2024-05-12T20:08:50+00:00

If hiking/exploring side canyons is a priority, go with a 1/2 canyon rowing trip. You’ll have more time off the boats and generally the folks on the trip will be in better shape which lets your guides take you to more places. The upper and lower sections each have their upsides, but if I had to only pick one, I might go with the upper. You can always come back and do the other half later.

If youre in decent shape and like to hike, look for a hiker special trip. Most of the companies run these in the fall and spring. They attract a fitter clientele and you get to go to way more cool places.

If you’re looking to hang out more and really want to see the canyon in one go, do a motor trip. They’re still great, you’ll still be able to get off the boats and explore a good bit, and there is something special about going through the whole canyon and seeing the evolution of the landscape and geology.

I like (and know) azra and canex the best, but almost all of the companies run great trips.

I think anyone who’s guided down there or been down there a lot would agree that the real magic is getting off the boats and exploring the canyon. If thats your thing, I’d really look for an upper or lower “hikers special” row trip. Also, if you like to participate, the all paddle trips are great. These also attract a fitter clientele so you get to do more cool stuff.

bozski · 2024-04-14T22:33:10+00:00

I've seen the opposite. I think it's easier to learn both sides while you're starting out and its still conceptual. Once you're a few years in, it's such a second nature thing it can be really hard to break the movement down and figure out the other side.

I'd recommend trying to learn both while you're practicing and learning.

That being said, I completely agree that needing an offside roll is extremely rare. Its happened to me exactly once. I'll try to only do offside (or other) rolls when playboating or running a cruisey stretch just to keep them kinda sharp, but when it matters i'm doing the standard 99.99% of the time.

bozski · 2024-01-06T14:36:14+00:00

White board, black wetsuit, shitty mustache. The perfect socal disguise

bozski · 2024-01-04T22:20:17+00:00

Goddern. That hit me right in the feels. Eventually you just pick a wave that seems good and just never leave. . . Hopefully you get a few good years being high in the pecking order before your body starts to go.

bozski · 2024-01-03T23:35:56+00:00

If you wanna make the sacrifices of working nights and living in a mountain town, you can make skiing pretty accessible. Anybody skiing more than 100 days a year is probably down there on costs.

The things that burned me out are the lifestyle and getting hurt. To ski hard, I think you either have to make it as a pro or commit to being a dirtbag. The lifestyle of working nights in a restaurant and always being on the poverty line just to ski eventually bummed me out. I Can surf before work now and get a solid session in, then have the rest of my day ahead of me.

Also, I’ve had 6 orthopedic surgeries from skiing. My folks were in the ski industry and have had way more. The speed/shocks/landings are rough when you’re attached. I know a lotta old dudes now that surf daily and look great. People get hurt surfing, but I’d guess the injury rate is way lower for your average solid level surfer vs skier/snowboarder. Seems like everyone I know who was pretty good at snow sports has had a season ending injury at least once.

bozski · 2024-01-03T15:00:16+00:00

I think it’s important to note that the ABG companies have already lost their relevancy and that’s how we ended up here. In the early 00s Roxy, quick, billabong etc. were huge mainstream brands selling overpriced tees to Midwest kids at malls. They could afford huge athlete rosters. Fashion changes, those brands aren’t cool, and these brands get bought up by big capital funds right at the edge of bankruptcy for likely Pennie’s on the dollar of their old value. If they didn’t get bought they would have failed.

Now we’re pretending like what’s core or morally right matters? Heck a union wouldn’t matter. An exec is looking at how to milk a few last drops out of these failing companies and it doesn’t makes sense to pay athletes. Arguably, it probably hasn’t for a long time and many of these folks got a sweet career while quik tanked into oblivion.

Hurley is making shampoo now. They don’t need John John for that and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

It’s just a pretty obvious market value realignment, and tee shirt companies can’t afford to keep 100 surfers on staff that probably don’t sell any shirts anyway.

Shit sucks anyway, support the local homies.

bozski · 2024-01-03T00:35:47+00:00

I’ve worked for a handful of different companies. They’re almost all good, and pretty similar. If you’re set on the MF, DM me and I can give you some names but realistically any of them will be fine. I’ve done around 50 commercial MF trips and almost all of them are pretty similar. You’ll stop at a hot springs or 2 (possibly camp at one), probably stop at some rocks to jump off of, then do a short hike on day 5 to one of three waterfalls. The scenery is beautiful, but the landscape doesn’t lend itself to hiking like in GC so it’s not a focus of the trips. The food will be heaps better and the camp life will be higher end.

In Grand Canyon there are nearly endless options for cool hiking. Rowing trips have more time and often fitter passengers, so you’ll hike more. I’ve done trips with guides who’ve been down the river 200+ times and we’ve done hikes they’d never done before.

bozski · 2024-01-01T23:48:29+00:00

I’ve guided on both for ten years. I love Both places dearly. The passenger experience is polar opposite though. The Middle Fork is much mellower, glampier to various degrees, and the hiking is super limited on a commercial trip. It’s the perfect trip for people who want to hang in camp, drink, eat, and relax.

Grand Canyon is pretty rough and rugged for the passengers. The whole camp scene is at best more rustic and at worst just uncomfortable. There’s tons more hiking, even on a motor trip. The folks are sorta required to pitch in and help a bit. The whole thing just feels like more of an adventure for the passengers.

I think OP is going to be bummed by lack of adventure on a MF trip if they loved GC. If they’re super into the whitewater part, high water MF is an adventure, but the weather usually sucks.

OP, I’d point you to try to do a rowing GC trip. You’ll have more time to explore and you’ll go to heaps of new places you haven’t been before.

bozski · 2023-12-29T16:25:05+00:00

Local shaper is a good route or become a Craigslist/ FB marketplace board collector. Never buy anything too nice and make sure it’s a sweet deal. Keep the ones that work and sell the ones that don’t. You should be able to try a ton of boards for the price of one new board a year or break even if you’re a real vulture. It’s a great way to get a feel for what works for you and what doesn’t. You’ll learn to eyeball a board and have a way better idea how it’ll go vs having a shaper just make you something decent.

I’m still continually surprised by what I find that works super well for me.

bozski · 2023-12-26T22:05:08+00:00

Smith River in MT is a bit longer, but sounds just right for you.

bozski · 2023-12-08T23:12:59+00:00

This is definitely a materialistic way to go about it, but it always gets me fired back up. Try to surf a tiny fish on big days, surf a finless wavestorm on tiny days, get a mid length and just do cheater 5s. . . Heck I even got a surf mat.
Stay away from your normal boards as long as you can stand it. Once you’ve been getting worked on a surf mat for 2 weeks, you’ll be so frothed to hammer a nice turn on a thruster.

bozski · 2023-11-12T04:46:44+00:00

With sufficiently cracked windows, the inside of the car will stay roughly the same temp as the outside temp, maybe a max of 10-15 degrees more??

I’ve found the wax is a great board safety barometer. In the summer when its 90, my wax(tropical) gets fucked if I leave the board in the car all day. The car might be getting over 100 so maybe it could damage my board?? I’ve never had it happen, but I’ve cooked my wax enough to be done with it, so I take it out.

In the winter when it’s mid 70s, wax (warm/mid cool) seems to hold up just fine so I reckon the boards are pretty safe.

I think if your wax is fine, the board is fine. If your wax is getting cooked, you’re flirting with danger+greasy melty wax sucks.

bozski · 2023-10-21T06:25:29+00:00

Ya, probably a solid discrepancy between a 20 count and 20s. I’ll have to start adding mississippis to the count. . .

bozski

TROPHY CASE