Rock Fight x Geartrade Take Over Day 2: Doing the Thing

Welcome back to THE ROCK FIGHT’s Geartrade Blog Take Over! I’m Colin True, the Rock Fight Podcast host and your guest blogger for the next few days. So to catch up, GearTrade sent me a section of un-new items (which you can read about here) for me to put through the paces of my normal outdoor life. I figured the best thing to do was hit my favorite local spots and figure out how to incorporate each item as best I could. Each day I’ll report on how it went- the good, the bad, the ugly, and the awesome. Okay, let’s get into it.

Activity 1: Surfing

The Gear:

• Adventure Kilt
• SegSac Traveler 30L Gear Bag
• Goal Zero Power Bank and Solar Panel
• Solar Panel

Since I live in Southern California it only felt fitting to kick things off right with a surf session. I packed my wetsuit, leash, and the Goal Zero Solar Panel into the SegSac. Then, along with my board, tossed it all into the back of Bucky Barnes The Winter Soldier (aka my van). I chose not to wear the O’Neill t-shirt because I didn’t want to look like a poseur when I pulled up to the beach. That’s my own issue, not O’Neill’s. Because I refuse to back down from a challenge I even put the kilt over my board shorts. And that move, dear reader, paid off. After pulling up to the break I got out to check the waves when it occurred to me that I’d forgotten my changing poncho. You know one of those big towels with a hood that you wear to change out of your clothes and into your wetsuit? I was about to let loose a burst of expletives that would have made Ralphie’s dad proud when it hit me; I didn’t need a poncho, because I had on…. THE ADVENTURE KILT! Of all the things I thought I might say, good or bad, about the kilt, saving my keister from the world having to see my keister was not one. Let the adventure begin! I unloaded the SegSac, which actually worked quite well as a gear organizer (even though it is definitely not its intended use). It’s light and roomy, and although I wasn't properly testing it, you do have confidence it’s going to protect your stuff. I then set up the solar panel on top of Bucky Barnes The Winter Soldier as I purposely had let my phone battery run down just for this occasion. The gray marine layer hadn’t burned off quite yet so I wasn’t sure if it was going to work. But hot damn if it didn’t immediately start charging the second I plugged in my phone. Nice job Goal Zero!! Surfing is a sport at which I’m (generously) still pretty bad. So my bar is low. Getting in the water and paddling out: A total win. Catch an unbroken wave? Holy crap this day is getting better. Catch more than one? All time surf session. Catch nothing and just ride the whitewash back to shore? A damn good day in its own right. On this particular day, I didn’t have a ton of time so I was prepared to be happy with just paddling out and perhaps standing on some whitewash. I was at a beach break and the conditions weren’t the best, even by my low standards. Everything was closing out. The lack of consistency meant I kept getting caught between too far outside and missing the waves I attempted to catch or, I was too far inside and risked getting dumped on my head. Knowing that my time was running short I went for one more wave, found myself in the perfect position, and as I popped up the wave broke correctly just enough to let me zip left down the line before turning towards shore and riding it up onto the beach. I couldn’t believe it! Normally, I would be tempted to go back and try for just… one… more… wave…but I knew that it was the perfect time to grab my board and beat it. Honestly, I’m still sort of buzzing from this wave. It even inspired me to start writing a future episode of THE ROCK FIGHT, so stay tuned! It wouldn’t be a proper ride home from the beach without a good cup of coffee, so I hit up an awesome hipster coffee stand (Origens in Carlsbad, check them out if you’re even in the hood) to celebrate my good fortune in the ocean. The glory of this particular Geartrade Day kept growing as I sat outside sipping my pour over with a cortado on the side (I told you it was hipster!), as I had some incredible company for my after-ride beverages in the form of the friendliest barista this side of Orange Country. We chatted coffee, surfing, and of course the true MVP of this particular outing…. THE ADVENTURE KILT (which I was still wearing)! Let the masses marvel at my utility and confidence in my masculinity.

FINAL SCORE

Geartrade Box o’ Stuff versus Surfing: 6.5 out of 10 Solid score considering there was no real surf stuff included in the box and buoyed by the surprise performance of the kilt. Love how well the Goal Zero solar panel worked and while I wouldn’t seek out the SegSac for surf purposes it definitely exceeded my expectations. Come back next week to find where Geartrade takes me next and be sure to listen to The Rock Fight on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rock-fight-an-outdoor-podcast-that-aims-for-the-head/id1654929486