Monday, August 17, 2009

neumatic neurosis

Mark Thomson: 'Nothing between me and the wave but
two microns of plastic and a bubble of air..."
Footage from 2005, mat by Dale Solomonson.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was insane!

pranaglider said...

look how f'in fast he was going!!

Okemah said...

FINALLY!!..some decent mat video that captures the essence of speed, and pure trim, that are fully realized on these unassuming vehicles! Both Dale S. & Paul G. are purveyors of classic stoke!
Thanks for the clip, KP.

vinnie said...

look how f'in fast he was going!!

that was 2005
you should see him now

Anonymous said...

So much speed... amazing. Laughing at the 'double-fade' at the end though.

Eef said...

damn how faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast!!

Eef
monsterboards.org

nathanoj said...

For sure - best capture of that slippery speed sizzle I've seen to date.

GRAYMAN said...

Fantastic stuff!

G

R.T. said...

DAMN! EXCITING!!!

wwvierg said...

reminds me of some of the older grennough vids-both made it look soooo easy; i.e., i still have trouble NOT sliding off my two solomonson bags...
this was just plain inspiring
thanks for posting

borntoloser said...

open minded bliss.

Anonymous said...

yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve and Cher Pendo said...

All world! nice to see. . .
hoo-ti-hoo!

wildering said...

so much subtlety in the flipper control, the drag and release, inspirational

Anonymous said...

spread the word, make it cool and then i will try it. until then i am on my fish and it is sick

GRAYMAN said...

Ha ha!

(Fingers crossed you WERE being ironic... Sure you were)

G

hydrodynamica said...

restrain me.
oh yeah, make it cool, of course,
thats our main goal around here.
mat surfing is new?
really? your very own "cool" little
secret? does the craft you ride make you
cool? is being cool more important than
having fun? i thought greenough "spread the word
and made it cool" several decades
ago. or was that john severson?

nathanoj said...

Do you think that paddler tries to spear him at 0:16? What with that and the flying kick out toward the end of the vid, there seems like some serious envy going down. If you can't have it, impale it!

GRAYMAN said...

I thought that.

G

sumadis said...

anyone know what's what with dale s.? heard he'd been sick. ordered a mat months ago, no word from the man.

proneman said...

I have personally talked to a number of people in the US and Australia who have paid for and not received their Dale Solomonson Neumatics. I know he was in ill health some years back...
If you are lookin for a mat, try Paul Gross through
fouthgearflyer.com

Hope Dale is ok!
Roger

proneman said...

should be

fourthgearflyer.com

Lo Siento,
Rogelio

greenie said...

roger
"hope dale is o.k."
like hell you do mate
go ahead
stick the knife in and twist
dale is working hard catching up
everyone will get their mats in due time
he has been having extreme difficulties
most others would have given up by now
but he still makes the best mats at any price
and has not gone bankrupt
like you know who

Anonymous said...

Dale is still in buisness, don't give up you will get your mat, just have faith. Dale's the man.

Unknown said...

we may not even have nylon mats as we know them without dale solomonson think about that those of you who are among the select converts
life without the high performance nylon mat !!!!! ????????

Anonymous said...

first wave good then YAWN!

Anonymous said...

dale solomonson is the man! the wait is way worth it. that long triangular box that arrives by mail is like a lightning bolt sent from haven!
jeremy ny

Anonymous said...

I ordered a neumatic surfmat from Dale early April. Heard from him in June that he had been very crook with a skin ailment.

Anonymous said...

Dale Solomonson makes a good mat. But his original business model of demanding full payment up front and then having his customers wait up to 6 months or more for a mat, finally broke down with his health. Now there are alot of people waiting 2 years for a mat they've already paid for-- their money spent. This is what happens when people/businesses require more than a reasonable deposit for an ordered product. Risky business!

LESider said...

have to agree with the last statement.
Dale makes a great mat, is a true ambassador for mat riding and its a shame that health issues have gotten in the way of his business.
I understand where Warren is coming from, but also understand that 4th gear has been able to put very functional mats under the bellies of many stoked matters is a very short amount of time.
I am lucky to own and enjoy both and am glad there are two mat makers to fuel the addiction!

As to that video above, I like to watch it before bed and have amazing matting dreams...

Anonymous said...

Well there are alot of people who ordered through Dale for their first mat and they have been waiting 2+ years. If it was a $100 deposit, they could blow it off and order with someone else. But he demanded and took $280-350 from people upfront for full payment when he was also running a huge backorder on these, unable to fulfill orders in a timely manner.
Its hardly any reconcilliation that they get their mats some 2-3 years later waiting for their first try in the sport or worse ordered from 4thGearFlyer with still some obscure promise of getting a neumatic??. They'll really be toasted about all this when good quality Chinese mats at affordable prices start rolling to a shore near you.

Anonymous said...

envy? I think he was nearly speared b/c he's a drop-in artist. Why would you leave that last abominable takeoff in your video, the accentuate it with a cymbal crash? The raft may be fast, but the guy's a dick in the water.

Anonymous said...

We're still waiting for those good quality Chinese mats. The current crop are piss poor. I guess we'll just have to make do with quality mats built by craftsmen until the factories in China and Taiwan get some children in who take pride in their work.

Anonymous said...

I don't know who this Dale Solomonson or Paul Gross are. Mat history goes Surfoplane... Krypt. Nothing in between.

It's all there on the Krypt website so must be true. I mean, I don't believe for a second Mark Thompson would make it up and take credit for developments that aren't his. That would make him a right cunt wouldn't it?