The Walden FDR is a true hybrid SUP designed for both the casual and competitive racer in a variety of conditions including flat water, open water or distance paddling. The Walden FDR is designed to be fast, stable and user friendly. In flat water the FDR is stable and maneuvers without tracking. Stability comes from Walden's famous concaved hull, unlike many SUP's that have rounded bottoms, the FDR's concave’s create stability points reducing instability especially in more demanding, choppy conditions. For the distance paddler the FDR is efficient due to the lowered position of the rocker from the mid section to the tail which gives greater glide between each stroke. For racing, the FDR is fast due to the V shaped nose which creates a more efficient displacement of water compared to a flatter bottom nose which can push water and cost you valuable seconds.
The FDR is available in 12'6 and 14', custom order only.
Just in..Outside Magazine's Buyer's Guide for Summer 2013, featuring the new Walden Dually. Outside named the Dually the best board for cruising, this hybrid board is part performance board, part traditional. We love writer Mark Ander's description..."Like a mullet, this longboard perfectly matches two opposite styles." Available in 9'0, 9'6, 10'0
Available now, The Corky Carroll Collection of surfboards by Walden Surfboards. Custom order only direct from us, or at select surf shops. Check out Corky's website at www.corkysurfco.com
For those of you who get stumped when deciding what your custom Walden surfboard should look like we made up some color charts of some recent custom boards. If you see a design you like, we can always tweak it and change the color, scale, placement etc.
Broc Ellinger is a 21 year old photographer from the beaches of Ventura, ca. His active lifestyle is easily identified within the photos that he captures. From ocean scenery to urban landscapes, he truly provides the imagery of adventurous eyes. We met Broc after sending out a call for a local photographer on Facebook. Broc didn't answer the call but a local magazine editor did and recommended Broc. We met with Broc and liked him instantly so we hired him.
We did a small shoot at "C" Street in Ventura with some of our local riders, just to test Broc's skills. It turned out to be a lousy day, with not much surf but we decided to shoot anyway. When Broc came over to deliver the shots he said he was bummed at how few action shots he captured, when we looked at the shots we were anything but bummed. We love Broc's eye and his use of light, we shot at sunrise and Broc really captured the morning sun. Steve Walden's first words when he saw Broc's photos were.."wow, this kid is good". Visit www.brocellinger.com to learn more about this up and coming photographer.
We are re-posting an older article from Surfline.com . We have been asked since this article came out when the Tri-fold will be available, we hope to have all the product info and specs. out in the next two weeks and taking orders by mid-February
If you've been on a surf trip recently, then you've probably been there. Standing at the ticket counter, trying to convince the airline folks that there's only one board in that double coffin bag. And then fuming when they start extracting cash from your wallet for oversized baggage fees. One hundred to $200 bucks per board--each way. I'm pissed off right now, just typing those words!
Clearly the airlines aren't about to drop their surfboard fees anytime soon, but I did have a glimmer of hope recently when I heard about the new Walden Tri-Fold Travel Board (waldensurfboards.com). A folding surfboard isn't a new idea--it's been attempted in the past with marginal success. The bisect boards I've tested worked okay but always felt clunky and never provided a very high-performance ride (not something I'd feel comfortable paddling out on in head-high Mainland Mex surf). But Ventura-based shaper Steve Walden assured me he's developed a legit surfboard that can be folded into three pieces yet still rides like a conventional board with little to no unwanted flex and minimal added weight. I was skeptical, but stoked to give the Tri-Fold a test drive.
Seeing it packed neatly inside its suitcase, the 6'6" Walden looks like a few pieces of a broken board. But unpacked, it becomes immediately obvious how the thing works. A thin, high-tensile strength steel cable is threaded from the board's tail to the nose and back again, loosely holding each of the three pieces together. The edges of the board are buttressed with cedar wood and a metal cap. Simply insert a socket wrench into the small round cavity in the tail and start tightening the 18-inch long bolt connected to the cable. As the nut tightens onto the bolt, the pieces of the board join together tighter and tighter--works on the same principal as big suspension bridges. A couple minutes later, the Walden is tight and ready to surf.
Once in one piece, the Tri-Fold feels almost identical to a standard surfboard. The added hardware and dual stringer add just 1.5 to 2 pounds to the weight of the hand-shaped shortboard--so the extra weight isn't all that noticeable, especially not in the water. And Walden says the Tri-Fold is about 50 percent stronger than a conventional board thanks to its dual wooden stringers and the steel cable stringer.
We tested it in overhead beachbreak waves in North County San Diego with good results. In the water, we felt almost zero abnormal flex to the board while surfing. Only when duck diving larger waves did we feel the front third of the board flex slightly. It paddled easily and configured as a quad (our demo board has five fin boxes) the Tri-Fold was responsive and rode nearly as well as a one-piece board. The only real negative we found was that some water collects inside the cavity where the cable runs adding to the weight of the board. After a surf we could hear it sloshing around inside but we just loosened the pieces, the water poured out and it was good to go again.
The Tri-Fold option will be offered in a variety of Walden shapes from 6' shortboards to 12' longboards and will add an extra $300 to $500 bucks (depending on size) onto the cost of a traditional board. A custom suitcase-style travel bag will run you an extra $125 and can fit your board, a wetsuit, trunks and a couple leashes. Best of all, boards from 6' to 7'6" will fit inside the suitcase which falls below most airlines' standard checked baggage regulations (62 inches total combined length, width and height) which means you'll skip out on the exorbitant oversized baggage fees. The Tri-Fold will also be handy for flying on those smaller, inter-island puddle jumper flights that often can't (or won't) accommodate boards over six-feet long; and for getting your board into a taxi at the airport. One guy in the Surfline office mentioned that he thought this board would be perfect for bringing along on a business trip or a "non-surfing vacation" with your girlfriend or spouse somewhere there might also happen to be waves.
While we're still testing the board for long-term durability, our initial evaluation shows that the Walden Tri-Fold works surprisingly well. The folding tech is ingenious, and equipped in the right shape it would make a handy addition to any traveling surfer's quiver. Bottom line: The Tri-Fold rides much like a regular board, and you'll likely save the equivalent of the added cost for the board in baggage fees on your first two trips.
New and in stock, the 2013 Magic Dually! The Dually is Steve's newest design and the board he is most stoked about as are our dealers. The Magic Dually debuted last week at Surf Expo, our dealers loved the design. If your in the South Florida area visit the Longboard House and check out their inventory.
What is it?
The Magic Dually is an integration of the best characteristics of a traditional longboard and a high performance longboard. Steve Walden likes performance boards and therefore that is what he has been building for over 50 years. Steve explains the idea behind the Dually... "The Magic Model which is the platform for almost every board I shape/design is the ultimate board for my kind of surfing, I like the maneuverability, speed and power. That being said there are days that I still like a traditional board for some old school trimming. The idea behind my Dually design is to combine the best of a traditional board with the best of my high performance Magic Model".
The challenge with the Dually was to take the best of each style of board without creating a watered down hybrid. It took some R & D to find the right percentage of traditional board to performance board. What the finished design has is a traditional front end and a performance tail. How and where the two style of boards meet...well, as they say that is where Magic happens.
We joke that this is a buy one get one free board, it's two boards in one, the nose is all about trimming and old school surfing and the tail is all about maneuverability and speed. The Dually isn't a as much an evolution of a design but a new category of design. The Dually started as a single model for us, but we have been so stoked by the concept of dueling parts we see the Dually becoming a category more than a single model.
We posted this yesterday on our Facebook page, we were touched by the outpouring of support for our dear friend and thought it was worth reprinting the pos for those of you that are not on Facebook. I think we can all agree violence in and around the sport of surfing has to stop.
We are frustrated and saddened to hear that there has been another attack at Ventura's Surfers Point ( a.k.a "C" Street )this morning, and the attack was on one of our dear friends. She is a beautiful person and passionate surfer. The bully is about 6'2, 200+ lbs., we know who he is because this isn't the first attack. What made this attack especially pathetic is this bully went after a women, and one who is about half his size.
An equally awful part of the bullying is the crew of grown men that watch and applaud the bully. It's bad enough that high school kids act like this but grown men? Where are the hero's? Where are the independent thinkers? Where is the honorable man that will come to the rescue of a victim?
For those of you who condone, support or even joke about violence in the water or worse do nothing..your followers. Not a leader among you! It's hard to be a leader, it takes guts.
To the followers...we are tired of hearing how much you hate SUP'ers, longboarder's, shortboarders, kooks, whatever your gripe is....as if that justifies bullying. Save your hate for things that matter. Hate child abuse, hate poverty, etc. but don't waste your hate on a surfboard or a wave. To the haters..get out of your small world and your big ego and grow up.
Tim McWilliams is one of Walden Surfboards favorite people. We have never met Tim in person but all of us here at Walden Surfboards over the years have spent time on the phone with him usually about custom surfboards. Tim is the kind of guy that is always happy, always up and always appreciative, not the kind of guy you would have suspected had suffered any real loss. Somewhere along the way Tim causally told us about the Timbo fund, which helps people with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Tim's son had a TBI and died in 2005.
We wanted to bring more awareness to Tim's efforts so we asked if he could in his own words explain how the Timbo fund started... "In 2001 our beloved son Timbo at 27 years old was mugged in a violent act that left him with severe Traumatic Brain Injury after brain surgery he had a long road to recovery, as he had to learn to walk, talk and do many things over again. He fought bravely and on the road to recovery positively affected everyone around him and showed tremendous courage and unselfishness. His concern was always how the injury had affected the family and those around him not himself. Unfortunately in 2005 he was in a fatal car accident.
At his funeral one of his closest friends coined the slogan Fight, Live, Love, Heal, It became our mantra and helped us form the Timothy C. McWilliams Foundation to benefit victims of TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury. Since that time we have given just under 1 Million dollars to those who suffer from TBI.
TBI is a most difficult condition and takes years to overcome, at whatever level the individual can attain. It is costly and extremely difficult on the families both financially and emotionally. We decided shortly after Timbo’s death that we would give back, helping those who we could help with costs and services beyond what medical or insurance needs offered.
Tim was an avid surfer and it was the first athletic thing he was able to accomplish upon his recovery. He loved being in the water. Each year since his passing I get together with my son Michael and many of Tim’s friends and we go on a surf trip as I had promised Tim we would do. Life gets in the way and family’s are so busy now. These trips to Mexico, Costa Rica, Barbados, Ricon Puerto Rico,the Virgin Islands have helped us feel close to Tim, surrounded by his friends.
Take the time to do those things if you can. The experiences are far more valuable than another soccer game or whatever activity your kids are into. Time with just family or friends is the most valuable time we can spend. We continue to raise monies for the Timbofund and to spend time in the water doing what he loved to do, as there is no time we feel closer to him."
We encourage you to visit the Timbofund.org and read more about this amazing organization.
“Everything is Jake” is a saying from the early 1900′s which translates to everything is “fine” or “satisfactory.” Nick Kuchar is the talented artist who designed our "Vintage 1965" t-shirt design and the man behind "Everything is Jake" designs. We asked Nick to design a t-shirt that reflected our brand as well as our connection to Ventura, Ca. Nick did a great job of incorporating our favorite local surf spots into this now best selling design. We started with just t-shirts and added tanks and hoodies.
A little about Nick...Nick is from Florida and received a degree in Industrial Design from Auburn University. He enjoys baseball statistics, listening to The Who, indecisiveness, air, and driving his VW bus. He does not enjoy splinters, cold weather, or sea monsters and is quasi-afraid of cold cuts. After graduating college, Nick worked for several years in the industry designing trade show exhibits along with interior displays and kiosks. Longing for the beach, he and his wife sold their house, quit their jobs and drove across the U.S. to the west coast, where they flew to Hawaii.
Nick is continually studying the use of colors, text, shapes and materials around him to further his knowledge of art and design. He currently lives on the island of O’ahu, Hawaii. We are looking forward to partnering with Nick again for some new winter 12' designs. For more info on Nick visit his website at www.everythingisjake.com and follow Nick on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EverythingIsJake
