SFR "Premium" purchases you found to be "worth it"

Sorta fishing-related
Stoked (!) to see this pin and the rest of your quiver. Legit.

Yes - Cloudbreak. I first went in ‘96 while still a student. A bunch of my friends go every year. I usually can’t make it but once in a while I manage to tag along. Jon Roseman is a friend of a friend.

Tough these days as my surfing is not remotely what it used to be/needs to be for good waves. Living east of Seattle is basically another lifetime from my long-ago days living in HI. On rare opportunities I have these days to travel for surf, I try to pick an area that lets me ease into it and knock at least some rust off (think Central America beach breaks not heavy Cloudbreak). Tricky because my surf travel buddies still charge and they want to go to great surf. I can either join them and try not to get destroyed...or just go solo.

These days I have to coach myself to put my ego aside and enjoy whatever waves I find rather than fixating on how much better I (in my own head I’m convinced) used to surf. :)
Those who haven't been to CB don't understand what it's like surfing an open ocean reef miles from the nearest island, especially at that size with massive walls pouring in and each wave lining up different than the one before and after....and scoring a 10 out of 10 barrel like yours is in the bank forever.
Jon's a legend...and there's always the Straits when those swells manage to make it through the gap
thnx for sharing!
 
Stoked (!) to see this pin and the rest of your quiver. Legit.

Yes - Cloudbreak. I first went in ‘96 while still a student. A bunch of my friends go every year. I usually can’t make it but once in a while I manage to tag along. Jon Roseman is a friend of a friend.

Tough these days as my surfing is not remotely what it used to be/needs to be for good waves. Living east of Seattle is basically another lifetime from my long-ago days living in HI. On rare opportunities I have these days to travel for surf, I try to pick an area that lets me ease into it and knock at least some rust off (think Central America beach breaks not heavy Cloudbreak). Tricky because my surf travel buddies still charge and they want to go to great surf. I can either join them and try not to get destroyed...or just go solo.

These days I have to coach myself to put my ego aside and enjoy whatever waves I find rather than fixating on how much better I (in my own head I’m convinced) used to surf. :)
my 14 year old son with the blue Gath helmet at age 14 ...had just paddled to the boat for a water break and to snap a few pics on what was a fun OH day until this beast suddenly reared up..couldn't believe he managed to duck dive through it..the guy next to him snapped his board and got washed way down the reef out of sight
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Teahupo'o is gonna crank when the white rhinos push up through the Tasman during El Nino.
 
Oh boy, guitar picks! Another rabbit hole for sure. I haven't gone as deep as @G_Smolt.

At the beginning of my guitar journey (college take one), one of my picking buddies/early bandmates gave me a 1.14mm Dunlop 500 pick with the advice "This'll improve your tone control". I used it religiously for many months then put it in my archives once it rounded out. He's gone on to a successful career in the band Hot Buttered Rum so he must know something.

A few years later when I started playing mandolin and cuatro I got some of the Dawg picks but honestly never liked the rounded "points" and cross section as they were little too stiff and slippy for my tastes. I find I'm more precise with a pointier point.

For a long time I was a 1.00mm Clayton Acetal round triangle guy as they had the right blend of stiffness, flex, and three corners that started out equally pointy which worked well for aggro punk rock thrashing. They were a bit heavy for acoustic stuff where I prefer a normal teardrop 0.73mm or 0.88mm Tortex or acetal type.

Years ago I was working in the Bahamas and came across some hawksbill and green sea turtle bits and pieces. As an experiment I made some picks out of them because that's what a musical scientist should do. Hawksbill was indeed excellent while green was a bit light. They all stayed down there when I left for obvious reasons.

While I have my preferences I can get by with just about anything. There is only one style of pick that's a complete non-starter: Nylon. Absolute trash feel and tone.

How about strings? I've been using Ernie Ball Power Slinky 11-48s on my electrics for the past ~15 years and D'Addario phosphor bronze light gauge on my acoustic.

The aforementioned Dunlop 500 1.14mm pick Nat gave me over 30 years ago that started my guitaring journey. Thanks buddy!
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Tortex and Ernie Ball Supper Slinky for me for 30 yrs!20260808_235803.jpg20260808_235728.jpg
 
I was real tough on boots back when I lived in Wyoming; broke down and bought a pair of meindls. They're damn near bulletproof, just hit em with snoseal before the season starts and they're golden.
What style of boots?
 
that reminds me...
New eyes 👀, or rather premium "multifocal" interocular lenses (IOLs) with cataract surgery. 20-20 to 20-15, all distances, for life after 55 yrs of prescription everyday eyewear and sunglasses. They'll never pay for themselves, but priceless.


Also 0-0 (plano; no-prescription -"prescription") "Drivewear" sunglasses lenses for my Ray Ban Predators, and another frame similar to Wayfarers. In themselves, "premium" prescription sunglasses lenses. They have very unique (and patented) variable color tint, light transmission, and activation by visible (not UV) light properties. Maybe not the absolute best for (inshore) fishing, but still excellent. Also excellent for deep woods and alpine hiking, skiing, golf, driving... anything under the sun, or clouds! I believe they may be the most versatile sunglasses on the planet.
hey brian, how did u go about getting the drivewear lenses for your ray bans? i will shortly be going thru cataract, and will not need the prescription lens in my ray ban mega wayfarer's.
 
I’ve only worn them like five times, but the Patagonia Traverse waders sure have been nice. Easy on and off. The zipper though is a game changer for this old dude. I should have bought a pair of waders with a zipper years ago.
SF
 
I’ve only worn them like five times, but the Patagonia Traverse waders sure have been nice. Easy on and off. The zipper though is a game changer for this old dude. I should have bought a pair of waders with a zipper years ago.
SF
Do the shoulder straps have buckles so you can remove the shoulder straps w/o having to take your jacket off?
 
Do the shoulder straps have buckles so you can remove the shoulder straps w/o having to take your jacket off?

No, not that type of buckle. They have a buckle that lets the waders slide down in the front, but it’s not necessary to do that with the zipper.
The only thing I had to take off yesterday to pee was my stripping basket. Everything else was accomplished while leaving my jacket and chest pack on. 😂
SF
 
How do you like the Adira?
So far it's great. I've taken it out salmon fishing with me a few times on my boat and one time out for tuna. I was concerned about the size but I clipped it inside my pants pocket on the salmon fishing trips, and kept it in my NRS Chinook PFD on the tuna trip and never found the size to be an issue at all.

It's still super sharp after gutting/beheading a bunch of tuna and cutting braid/mono. Stood up to the salt as the marketing said it would.

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No, not that type of buckle. They have a buckle that lets the waders slide down in the front, but it’s not necessary to do that with the zipper.
The only thing I had to take off yesterday to pee was my stripping basket. Everything else was accomplished while leaving my jacket and chest pack on. 😂
SF

Then you should just drill holes in the stripping basket and not worry about it. 😉
 
Blundstone boots
Patagucci waders
Benelli Ethos 12ga semi-auto shotgun
Purebred german shepherd from a reputable breeder
 
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