From Tom...

Paul-

Long overdue on the ride report for the new 4GF Standard. You set me up a couple of years ago with that early model, prior to the RT Vespa debut, for an East Cape Baja run and it has worked very well as has the RT Vespa that I got the following year.

The Standard was added to the quiver this past year and I've really not had a chance to ride it much. Last month, first week of February I took a trip with a group of old travel friends. Perfect opportunity to focus on the Standard as the go to model in some decent surf.

Northern Peru was the destination but we used Ecuador as the take off point to avoid all of the air transfers and a much longer drive from Lima northward to our destination area. Still is wasn't an easy trip, up at 4 AM. for an 8 AM flight and not hitting the pillow until 2:00 AM the next morning for a 3 hour nap. Predawn back up for another 6 hour drive to a stopping point.

I had the Standard tucked in a small backpack with my fins, sleeves and baggies, ready for a late afternoon session that same day. Sorry to say that there were few if any pictures of surfing and matting, most beaches we visited were desolate, hours from paved roads and frankly no one wanted to waste the time. We were traveling in their summer season, not the peak season for surf, but we were served up daily shoulder to head high surf. We got tons of scenery pics of the areas we visited over a 5-6 day period.

N. Peru is a left hand dreamscape, points, slab reefs and sand spits sometimes finding all of the above in one tucked away cove. What I first noticed riding my 4GF Standard was how positive and slotted this mat feels compared to to the higher volume designs. This mat finds a groove and it gets it! A very positive feel in shoulder high and up surf, this mat has a very easy flow and rhythm right out of the box. Mind you I was riding my "backside" and had a sense that this mat was doing all of the work. The learning curve on this was nil, it was a perfect fit for me.

I'm going back as soon as time allows, Ecuador is a unique and rich land, very good people and excellent foods. Peru is huge and we took in a tiny piece of its diverse cultures and enjoyed our stay with "El Pulpo" Marco Ravizza and a visit with "Magoo" Luis Miguel de la Rosa.

Tom Sterne