Strike Mission / Shane Dorian

Strike Mission / Shane Dorian

When it comes to striking remote tropical reef passes, few surfers have more experience (or tube time) than Shane Dorian. Billabong’s latest Adventure Division edit sees Shane back in familiar territory, scoring shallow, blue-water tubes across a favourite atoll with his son Jackson in tow. Celebrating the release of his latest A/Div collection, inspired by his early-2000s surf movie The Blueprint, the collection features a selection of essential pieces for the ultimate strike-mission surf trip.

Rip Curl Launches it’s Most Forgettable Wetsuit Yet

Rip Curl Launches it’s Most Forgettable Wetsuit Yet

Surfer crouched inside a floodlit barrel at night

Photo: Rip Curl

Rip Curl launches most forgettable wetsuit ever made

Introducing Elasto: A wetsuit so stretchy, lightweight and quick drying you’ll forget it’s on.

Winter is creeping up on the UK, and for anyone planning to surf through it that means two things: thicker suits and colder water. The new Rip Curl Elasto wetsuit takes on both. A lining that’s touch-dry in under 30 minutes helps keep the chills at bay between sessions, and the extra stretch should leave your shoulders thanking you after a long paddle in heavier rubber.

Leaders in wetsuit innovation for more than 50 years, Rip Curl has today unveiled its most advanced performance wetsuit yet, the Elasto.

Combining exceptional stretch, ultra lightweight construction and a thermal lining that becomes touch-dry in under 30 minutes in typical conditions, the Elasto has been designed with one goal in mind: to be forgotten.

Two young surfers in wetsuits playing video games on a leather sofa

Photo: Rip Curl

The launch marks the latest chapter in Rip Curl’s ongoing pursuit of innovation, pushing the boundaries of surfing performance.

“I’ve been wearing Rip Curl wetsuits for decades, and I can honestly say the Elasto is the best one I’ve ever worn,” said three-time World Surfing Champion Mick Fanning.

Your shoulders will thank you

Stretch

Central to the Elasto’s performance is its exceptional stretch. The outer Elastomax jersey, Infinity Foam and inner E-Dry lining work together to deliver flexibility, while the One-Piece Boomerang Panel across the upper torso removes seams from key paddle zones for greater freedom through the shoulders and arms.

OuterElastomax jersey
MiddleInfinity Foam
InnerE-Dry lining

If you’ve ever finished a winter session feeling like you’ve done a set of overhead presses, that Boomerang Panel is the bit to pay attention to.

Back of a Rip Curl Elasto wetsuit showing the one-piece panel across the shoulders

Photo: Rip Curl

Keeping the chills at bay

E-Dry liningTouch-dry in under 30 minutesRoughly the time it takes to finish a flask of tea in the car park.

The Elasto also addresses a familiar frustration for surfers around the world: pulling on a wet wetsuit. Its quick-drying E-Dry lining actively drains water away from the internal surface, becoming touch-dry in under 30 minutes in typical conditions.

Surfer in a wetsuit crouched inside a laundrette tumble dryer

Photo: Rip Curl

Light as it gets

The lightest wetsuit Rip Curl has ever made, the Elasto uses Infinity Foam through the upper body to reduce weight and water retention, allowing easier, less restricted movement.

“We can’t wait for surfers to finally experience the Elasto,” said Michael Ray, Rip Curl’s General Manager of Wetsuits. “We are incredibly proud of our history of wetsuit innovation, and the Elasto builds on that legacy. It represents another significant step forward in our pursuit of making the ultimate products for surfing.”

Oyster shells and rubber trees

74%
Bio-based content in the OCENA foam through the main body
Natural rubber, FSC-certifiedOyster shell powderPlant-based oils

Through the main body of the wetsuit, the Elasto uses OCENA foam, made with 74% bio-based content, including natural rubber from FSC-certified plantations, oyster shell powder and plant-based oils.

Every seam is reinforced with Rip Curl’s Ultimate Tape for durability and added protection against water entry. Profiled arms and legs follow the body’s natural form, with contoured panels designed to support freedom of movement.

Pick your rubber

The full Elasto range will include men’s, women’s and kids’ wetsuits in styles and thicknesses suited to a variety of water temperatures. The range will span jackets and springsuits through to 3/2 and 4/3 steamers and hooded 5/4s, alongside booties, hoods and gloves.

Man in a wetsuit split down the middle to show the black outer and lime green inner lining Woman in a wetsuit split down the middle to show the black outer and lime green inner lining Men’sWomen’s

Drag to compare

Photos: Rip Curl

The global launch coincides with the 2026 Rip Curl Pro Portugal, where members of Rip Curl’s Championship Tour team, including 2025 World Champion Molly Picklum, will wear the Elasto in competition for the first time.

Surfer riding a deep blue barrel under floodlights at night

Photo: Rip Curl

The Elasto will be available from October 16, 2026, at select Rip Curl stores worldwide, independent core surf retailers and ripcurl.com.

SunSong – A Mikey February Film

SunSong – A Mikey February Film

SunSong is a cinematic surf film set in Fiji that explores surfing as a creative act. Against the backdrop of Cloudbreak and the surrounding islands, a group of surfers reveal how instinct, inspiration and imagination shape the way we ride the wave.

At the heart of the film is 17-year-old Fijian surfer James Kusitino, whose surfing first inspired the project. As part of the first generation of local surfers to make impact on the world stage, James represents both the future of Fijian surfing and the creative exchange that defines SunSong. Influenced by many of the film’s cast, his own surfing is unmistakably original.

Produced by Spearhead Unlimited, the creative platform founded by Mikey February to champion experimentation, collaboration and creative freedom in surfing, SunSong approaches surfing through a broader cultural lens, where music, art and place are as important as the waves themselves.

A soundtrack featuring legendary South African artists Hugh Masekela and Letta Mbulu and American saxophonist Azar Lawrence sits alongside field recordings gathered during Mikey February’s travels, creating a sonic landscape that connects Fiji with Africa through shared rhythms of joy, movement and optimism.

Featuring Mikey February, Frankie Harrer, Kobe Hughes, James Kusitino, Lungi Slabb and Tosh Tudor.

Jacob Willcox / Brenden Margieson

Jacob Willcox / Brenden Margieson

Twenty years ago, I was watching Margo and Occy surf in Green Iguana on my dad’s Jack McCoy VHS box set. Those films planted a seed in my head. A love for stylish surfing and searching for waves

This year, I asked Margo if he wanted to do it all again. Back to the place that launched his surfing career 35 years ago and share 10 days doing what we both love - surfing, fishing and chatting shit by the fire with a cold beer.

A small tribute to Jack McCoy and the surf films that made me fall in love with all of this in the first place.

Jacob Willcox

Pastiche Parallel

Pastiche Parallel

‘Pastiche Parallel’ profile's Tate Kim and his distinct approach applied through Derrick Disney’s board designs. It felt fitting for Tate to hop on some backyard built boards starting with a hand-me-down keel fish and making his way to the twinzer short board. The film provides an abstract chronicle of this process and celebrates feeling forward surfing with friends. We hope you enjoy.

Additional footage provided by: Alberto Cardez Fuentes
SUNMAN Marine - Sunmanmarine.com
DD Surfboards - DerrickDisney.com
Nameless Direction Underground 2026

Noah Klapp Speaks Out as WSL Suspends CT Surfer

Noah Klapp Speaks Out as WSL Suspends CT Surfer

A wave breaking on an empty ocean under a pink dusk sky

Photo: Fyn Caudery

Reports Name Al Cleland Jr as Suspended CT Surfer

The World Surf League has provisionally suspended a surfer on the 2026 men's Championship Tour over allegations linked to a private gathering in Tahiti in August. The League has not named the surfer, but news outlets in Tahiti and Australia have reported that it is Mexico's Al Cleland Jr. German pro surfer Noah Klapp has since spoken publicly about her past relationship with him.

Speaking out about abuse takes real courage, and Klapp has shown a great deal of it. Nobody should have to carry something like this for years before feeling able to say it out loud. Abuse has no place in surfing, in the water or out of it, and talent or status should never shield anyone from accountability. The sport has to be a place where people who come forward are listened to and supported.

What the WSL has said

In a statement released on Sunday, the League described the allegations as being of a "deeply serious nature". It said the gathering had no connection to the WSL, though it took place in August, the month the tour stopped at Teahupo'o for the Tahiti Pro. Its Discipline Committee acted promptly once informed and issued a provisional suspension from all WSL events.

The WSL says it can give no further information while it follows its process, and that it has offered assistance to the relevant authorities. A provisional suspension is an interim measure and no findings have been made.

Who has been named

News outlets in Tahiti and Australia, including Radio1 Tahiti and The Nightly, have reported that Cleland is the surfer involved. The WSL has not confirmed the name.

Cleland represented Mexico at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Nightly reports that he is not listed for the Rip Curl Pro in Portugal, which starts on 16 October. Radio1 Tahiti reported that the public prosecutor's office in Papeete said no investigation had been opened locally. Cleland has not been charged with any offence and had not commented publicly at the time of writing. Carve makes no suggestion that he is guilty of any offence.

Noah Klapp speaks out

On Monday, German pro surfer Noah Klapp published a statement on Instagram about her relationship with Cleland, which she says lasted around a year and began when she was 17. In it she alleges that he abused her during that relationship. Her allegations are separate from the matter the WSL is dealing with, have not been tested in court and have not been publicly answered by Cleland.

Klapp, who says she has surfed competitively for the last ten years, had kept that part of her story to herself and a small circle of people for years. Explaining her silence, she wrote that the only thing more painful than carrying it would have been "speaking my truth and not being believed". She described that time as a period of her life that "consumed and destroyed me", and said she has been healing from it for a long time.

The post was met with support from across the sport, with Kelly Slater, Tyler Wright, Bethany Hamilton and Gabriel Medina among those who left messages under it backing her for having the courage to share it.

"It is time to take real action and stop idolizing abusers."
Noah Klapp

Surf culture in the spotlight

Klapp's statement also looked hard at the culture around pro surfing. Drawing on a decade on the competitive circuit, she wrote about watching surfers who partied before contests get more praise than those who took it seriously, and about groups of men who convince each other that their behaviour is fine.

Carve supports Noah Klapp and everyone who has found the strength to speak up. Every surfer, at every level, deserves to feel safe in the water and around the sport, and those who come forward deserve to be heard.

If you need to report harassment or abuse in surfing, the International Surfing Association runs a confidential Safe Report form, which you can use anonymously, at isasurf.org/safe-report. Wherever you are in the world, local support services and helplines are there to listen.