Saturday, July 30, 2016

Corky Carroll Is Rockin' the Rib Rocket

On July 29, 2016, Corky Carroll, surf legend and contributing columnist for the Orange County Register, published this "Corky Carroll: Rockin the Rib Rocket." It is reproduced below:
Many years ago a guy named Dave Hilts got a hold of me because he had invented a surfing vest with a bladder on the front that could be inflated, providing padding for your rib cage where it comes into contact with your board.

I thought this was a killer idea, plus an added benefit was it took a little bit of the arch out of your back when you paddled, which really helped people like me who have surfing-related back problems. I herniated my L5 disc in a horrific wipe out in Hawaii in 1997 and have had problems with my lower back ever since.

His product, called the PaddleAir, was very helpful for my back and I used it for years.

I also have issues with any part of my body that comes into constant contact with the board. When I was young and we knee paddled to old longboards, I had the biggest surf bumps on my knees and feet of anybody known to man. Many of the old surf movies had shots of my knees in them.

When boards went short the bumps moved to my rib cages and today I have huge bumps there. My kids call me the man with four boobs – it can be embarrassing. I had them removed the same year I hurt my back, as I was out of the water for many months anyway. Unfortunately, and to the amazement of the doctor who did the surgery and claimed they would never come back, they came back even bigger.

So, anyway, I had a need for Hilts’ product.

Sore ribs are a constant issue for surfers who don’t surf on a regular basis. Even surfers who do surf all the time, normally wearing wetsuits, have a hard time when they take a surf trip to somewhere warm and they don’t use the wetsuit. A wetsuit provide a nice bit of padding and helps.

At my getaway house in the tropical part of Mexico we get guests all the time who have this issue. It normally appears on their second day. Once they get sore it takes awhile for that to go away and for people to adjust to the pounding on the boney part of their chests.

Over the years Hilts has produced a couple different versions of his PaddleAir product with great results. And he has probably heard more stories about injuries and whatnot to do with rib cages and backs than any other 20 people in the world combined.

Recently, he decided there were a huge numbers of surfers who didn’t need, or want, the extra back support but really need and want the rib protection. He eliminated the bladder and the breathing tube used to inflate it and replaced them with strategically placed padding in a surfing vest.

Rib Rocket by PaddleAir
He calls it the Rib Rocket.

In short, this thing works great and is very comfortable. Plus it is lightweight and fits easily into a backpack along with other surf gear, making it ideal for surf travel. I don’t very often cover new products unless I feel that they are a really good thing or really unique. This vest is of the really good thing category.

Congratulations to Dave Hilts, I think he has hit a homer with this one. You should be able to find these at your local surf shop, or you can contact Hilts directly at [PaddleAir.com/contact/].
Read more PaddleAir reviews from Corky in 2004 and 2013. Get a Rib Rocket by PaddleAir.

You can check out more from Corky on the OC Register or his website.

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