Hi!
Summer's on its way, and so is our summer stock! This year, we have loads of new stuff coming in which will hopefully mean something for everybody, as well as a few old favorites. Here's a bit of a taster of what we've got in already.....

Billabong - The old favorite just gets stronger and stronger, with, as usual, a very strong Australian beach influence with a few striking high fashion pieces thrown in for good measure! For girls this year, colors are bright bright bright, with loads of fuchia, and turquoise, as seen in all the magazines at the moment. As usual, its all low maintenance and casual, but sexy enough to wear straight form the beach to the pub.

For men, we have the usual exceptional board short range with a retro look of browns and creams joining the old favorite blues, reds and whites this year. We also have a limited number of specialist board shorts, as last year, which change colour when wet! We have also cottoned on to layering for this season, so have loads of lightweight shirts to wear with a tee shirt and jeans/shorts for a smart casual look.

Reef - We've got millions of styles, in every colour under the sun, from the brand reputed to be the most comfortable in the world. In know a lot of you will be pleased to know that we have CONVERTIBLES due to popular demand!! Come in early though, I reckon they'll sell out pretty quickly!

New for this season is the huge skate shoe brands DC (soon to be joined by Element and ZooYork), with both a men's and lady's range. Jake Golay (an Exmouth skater who has recently swapped Phear Park for Wooden Waves in Newquay) came with me to help pick the range, so there's a good balance between shoes for looking good in, and technical shoes which will support your feet and last during some hard skating!

We've just had the Lost dropped on us, the 2nd best selling surfboard brand in the world (want a board, come and speak to us - there's too many cool ones to choose from to have them all in the shop) which I know is going to get a lot of the Groms hopping about! This year, we have a KIDS range from them (exactly like the men's, just smaller), which includes a good range of boardies and tees with the usual 'full on' Lost logos. Most of you will have heard of it by now, but if you haven't, imagine Volcom crossed with a real surf orientated brand like Billabong, and you are just about there! For girls we have the usual Californian-influenced tees (with cute little puff sleeves) and shorts. I've seen a picture of Britney wearing it... (Dunno if that's good or bad, but there you go).

Volcom - You know what to expect from these guys by now! For girls, we have the usual edgy, yet easy to wear styles which can be dressed up or down, to take the 'rock chick' look to the beach, skate park or pub! My money for this season is on the 'army navy' pant, a really flattering, low slung pair of pinstripe bootcuts with a cute little Volcom pocket chain. I had looked everywhere for a pair of pinstripes I could wear for work, or out for a meal, and these are just the ticket - team with a pair of stilettos and a low cut white shirt for a smart look, or a belly skimming vest, trucker cap and fat pair of DC's for a funky casual look! For men we have the usual famous Volcom denim - the Ergo denim (like Levis Twisted, but better) is back by popular demand - supposedly the most comfortable jeans for skating in ever!! We've carried on with the crazy Volcom Art limited tees, and loads of other stuff, too. Remember, with Volcom, we only have a limited amount of colours and sizes, so not everyone in town is wearing it New Look stylee - the downshot is, though, that it goes pretty quick!

It's rumoured that Tids' famous but not very available tad tees will be showing their ugly heads this year, so keep your ears open...

My personal favourite for this season, however, is a new brand into the country called Insight, an off-beat Australian company - sort of a mix between frostFrench, Alexander McQueen and Volcom. Perfect for those of you who are getting sick of the usual corporate crap! I don't want to say too much about it and ruin the surprise - but lets just say that within 5 minutes of opening the girl's range, I had bought my whole summer wardrobe!

So, that's what's in at the moment, with loads of new stuff arriving soon! I know it's still a bit cold and grey outside, but you should always be prepared (and remember - there's always Fake tan and central heating!)....

Matt In Cabarete...

Matt got back from Cabarete just a couple of weeks ago with some serious tan, a couple of bust kites (And some new toys on special delivery from tids) and a grin from ear to ear!

"...Wow 6 weeks in paradise!  The wind was unreal and the temperature even better! I soon got used to riding in shorts and a rash vest. Got out nearly every day but still haven't quite mastered the double handle pass back-loop with a kite-loop yet though. But i'll be going back next year if anyone thinks they're ready for what could be the ride of a lifetime! Ride hard and stay safe!
Matt...."

Kite Teaching...

Matt and tids have decided to teach kitesurfing for free to all existing customers on a first come first served basis. Normally this would cost £200-300 for a full course so register your interest... After the spaces are filled normal charging will be resumed! So if you wanna fly, come say HI! Matt and tids are also gonna do a kite-night one night from May to September every week... more info soon!

Crystal Tips In Indo

Christian, now in Australia sent us back loads of fantastic photos of his recent Indo trip. With some legendary days on his custom Johnnny Purton stick, Crystal Tips is flying high.

The plan is, in the very near future, to get a section on the website dedicated to these trips with loads of photos so you can all see what we're up to. If you have a special trip to share, drop us a line.

Rothwell - Bald Eagle

The bald eagle flew his nest this year armed with a quiver of slingshots and his new Hanacrew boards. He conquered the white sands and coral sea in Margherita a little island near Venezuela... Location la caches where Vari rode in Spacemonkeys... more details of his forward loops with a kite loop coming in photo form soon!

Limpit Takes The Slopes

Limpit, O, Tids, Mino, Wes, Cabbage, Wibble, Jooles... were all there soaking up the snow and sun in Vallandry, Les Arcs this Feruary. Most embarrassing for the oldies was being being shown up on the slopes by 4 year old Limpit who's taken to snowboarding like the proverbial duck to water.

Trips are the essence of all sports. Sharing the environment with your mates and having a blast. Trips planned this year are: Red Sea cheepie in June, Big September in Morrocco, and Snow in the last 2 weeks of Jan 04! Weekend roving will be off, but weekday warriors looking for buddies call the shop... We're gonna use the boats to do some downwind runs on the kites this year - dates to be announced. If you wanna get in on it then make sure you're logged on as a Kitesurfer in the mailing list preferences, or tell a mate, or we can do it in the shop.....

Photos Courtesy of Cabbage...

Regular Surf Bus Trips

Erika is proposing to re-start the old surf bus to get all of you out more often. The provisional plan is every other Saturday starting from when we have a good level of interest. The criteria are: You are under 18 years old, you have parental consent and are at least an average swimmer. Informal teaching is offered but not compulsory and there will be a small charge to cover costs.

Sign Up To The Surf-Bus Club Now! Don't know your password? Click Here For A Reminder

The geek has set up a new category on the Mailing List Preferences Page so please tick the appropriate box there so we can guage interest. If you can think of anyone who might be interested who's not on the mailing list, let them know and get them to sign up on-line.

OK! That's All Folks - See you soon!

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