A 4x4 Carrying Case Will Do Nicely

With Christmas just around the corner, Fig and I thought we might help all those Santas out there who may have a surfer or two on their Christmas lists.

Fig, who is ALWAYS in the know, had some great ideas for gifts, especially stocking-stuffers. I was into the high-end stuff, you know, the kind you can park in a garage, like a new surf vehicle similar to the hot 4x4 truck that pro surfer Shane Beschen won last month at the U.S. Bud Pro Tour Contest in Ventura.

We agreed that most surfers would want a new board, preferably gift-wrapped with scenes of shark attacks. Hee hee, just kiddin’.

Fig said: Actually, a new board bag would be the way to wrap any gift, huh?

Fig, I’d rather have a Hard Pac sports case, a surfboard carrier made out of reinforced plastic you put on top of the car. It’s lockable, and you don’t have to worry about thieves taking your boards when you’re parked and eating breakfast after surfing.

Hey, that’s a good one for the guy who has everything. How much they weigh?

About 35 pounds. You can carry it into airports. For information, call Austin Plastics Inc. in Huntington Beach, at (714) 842-3600. About $300.

Killer. I got a good idea about a stocking stuffer: the new Surf Crazed Comics. The artwork is by Roy Gonzales Jr. and they feature Rider of Steel by artist Salvador Paskowitz. Hey, they’re both locals, out of San Clemente. Gonzales is really into modern surf drawings. About $1.50.

OK. What about those hot photos from Surfer magazine’s Environmental Collection? The kind with the perfect wave photographed up close the way surfers like ‘em, or the one that has dolphins surfing it up.

Hey, I’ve GOT the dolphin one. Cool. They’re poster size and only cost about $13. For information, phone (800) 854-4040.

Here’s another one, the Prong. You use it to hold your board in the sand. It’s shaped like a horseshoe and it slips on the rail of your board and has a pointed end you dig into the sand. $10.

Hey, how about a pack of Quickfix? It’s instant ding repair. It uses sunlight to kick it off, and it hardens in a coupla minutes. You put it on, and boom, you can sand in three minutes! About $8.

That’s hot. How about Viper fins? They’re what every hot bodyboarder wants. Fig added that these fins, created by Newport Beach’s own Fred Simpson, are a little stiffer and proven at The Wedge. Vipers are black and have a yellow spot on them. $40.

Hey, how about pro bodyboarder Mike Stewart’s Turbo Leash, featuring a coiled leash?

That’s hot, Fig. They’re like the old Slinkys, right?

Right. They’re black coils made of urethane. It’s a great leash for bodyboarders, real high-tech. About $22.

Fig then busted out with ideas that included Nose Guard from Hawaii, the soft guard protection for the tip of your board, which are similar to Nose Cones and Hot Tips. Fig said they offer the same protection, but some have mermaids and snakes’ heads on them. Way cool. $10.

Or how about Ugg Boots? Sheepskin boots to keep your feet warm on a cold December morning. $75 to $100.

HEY! Let’s tell ‘em about waxes.

Jeez, Fig. Don’t you think everyone knows about surf wax? Once it was just simple paraffin. In the old days, your mom used it for canning and candle-making. Now, they have wax for all your emotions. Tell ‘em Fig.

Oh man, they got Sex Wax, Frog Wax, (Ohhhh Figster, you be getting kinky now) then, Mrs. Palmer’s, Wax Research and Kangaroo Goo (I rest my case). About 50 cents.

We stopped here for a sec to catch our breath. It also gave Fig a chance to describe his fantasy board, a board so cherry he would hang it on the wall rather than surf it and risk a ding: It would be shaped by Dick Brewer of Hawaii, the ‘70s guru for a lot of people like the Hawk brothers and Owl Chapman. It would be a nice mini-gun, say about eight feet and made of balsa. Actually, an eight-foot, chambered balsa gun with a natural clear finish. He still shapes but does only so many boards a year. About $2,000.

As for me, Fig, I’d like a small envelope hanging on my Christmas tree.

An envelope?

Yeah. An envelope with airline tickets to Costa Rica! I’m ready. Where would you wanna go, Fig?

I’d probably say Nias (an Indonesian island). I still remember a picture of a perfect right off Nias. The guy in the shot has just entered the wave and he’s almost free-falling, it’s so steep. And there’s palm trees swaying in the background.

Killer.

The arts: Works by scenic artist D.J. Mac will be on view through Jan. 31 at the Surfing Museum, 411 Olive St., Huntington Beach. Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. (714) 960-3483.

Rockin’ Fig is Rick Fignetti, a Huntington Beach surfer/shop owner. Times staff writer David Reyes has reported on U.S. surf teams that competed in Bali and Brazil.