Skimboarding Pre Ride Checklist

Waxing Your Skimboard:

Wax the TOP of your skimboard with a bar of surf wax or add traction pads (follow all traction manufacturers application instructions) to ensure performance. If you are applying traction on a brand new board, clean the board thoroughly with rubbing alcohol. Wax & traction can be purchased at your local surf shop.

There are many different brands of wax available and different brands work differently. The most important aspect of wax selection is temperature specifications. The colder the temperature rating the softer and stickier the wax. Tropical rated wax is very hard and less sticky. Colder water wax wears away more quickly than warm water. We recommend using a base coat of tropical wax followed by a cooler temperature for stickiness.

Your skim board is waxed and you're ready to hop in the car and head to the nearest beach. Right? Wrong. Taking care before you ride can help you understand the best time to ride, prevent injuries, keep your board ding free, and keep clueless beach goers smiling!

Stretching

Take some time on the beach to warm up your legs and body with a short slow run followed by stretching. There is no one program subscribed, but some key areas to focus on are your lower back, your hamstrings, your calves, and your groin muscles. Check out a book on stretching or on basic yoga positions.

The time you take to stretch gives you a good opportunity to inspect the waves, determine the best area that's breaking, and prepare yourself mentally for a good session.

Inspecting the Beach

After stretching, spend some time checking over the beach to make sure there aren't any submerged rocks or structures, large shells and rocks washed ashore, and that there aren't any people that are going to be wandering into your way. Skimboards are hard and if they hit someone, it hurts. It's better to be polite and skim in an area away from beach goers or give them the heads up so they stay out of your way.

Tides & Timing

Tides are one of the most important things affecting wave conditions for your skim session. The timing and strength of the tide can play a huge factor on where the waves are breaking, how they are breaking, and the conditions of the beach. In general, the higher the tide, the closer the waves break to shore and on an incoming tide, the waves will have more push.

Intermediate and advanced wave riders will prefer conditions on an incoming tide within hours of the high tide peak. However, sand-sliding beginners will prefer low tides that expose more sand for a longer slide.

The timing of the tides change every day and the way tides affect the waves are different at every beach. At some beaches, a strong high tide at its peak time will create large mounds of unrideable water, yet at others it may be perfect. Think of your home break like your best friend. The more time you spend with your friend, the more you get to know them. Pick up a tide book at your local surf shop or bait & tackle store. It will be like reading your friend's diary…you'll get in on some good secrets.

We'd like to thank www.zapskimboards.com for the above checklist. Of course here are a couple other things we think are important...

What to Wear

Anytime you're out in the sun you need to protect your skin with sunscreen and a rash guard or dry shirt. We have a great selection of mens rash guards, womens rash guards and even kids rash guards so we've got your whole family covered! If you need UV protective clothing that's not skin tight then checkout our Stay Dry Shirts.