Why You Need (Want) a Surf Poncho!
Okay, so you may think you don’t need a surf poncho… and you’re probably right. But, I will say having one is SUPER convenient once you accept that you’ll get some looks in the parking lot if you are over the age of 8… let me explain.
Throughout this post I’m going to try and convince you that you need a surf poncho and I just want to start off by saying that yes, you can technically get by without one and just use a towel but as a person who doesn’t have shame I gotta say surf ponchos are the way to go.
Let’s start with the obvious benefits of surf ponchos. You no longer have to tie your towel around your waist and do the awkward one handed dance to take your wetsuit or or off in the parking lot. I swam competitively for years and had to change in front of people and honestly, I never mastered the dance myself. With the poncho it’s freaking life changing to be able to use both hands to get change in/out of your wetsuit and no longer have to doubt your towel tying abilities. Also, for someone who often surfs before work, being able to change quicker and at your work’s parking lot is huge! Seriously, every second counts when you’re rushing to get to work in the morning.
The surf poncho I have shown in these pics is from the Ho! Stevie line of awesome surf products. I’ve been following Stevie and his company for some time now and am happy to finally be supporting some of his products.
Link to Surf Poncho: https://hostevie.com/shop/surf-poncho.html
Okay, now that we got the obvious benefits out of the way let’s go over my favorite perks about using surf ponchos. I like having the least amount of stuff with me when I go to the beach and being able to wear your towel and free up something you normally would have to carry with your hands is awesome. As you can see in the pictures, I usually take my scooter to the beach with my board strapped to the side so the less I can carry with me the better.
Speaking of scooters, the surf poncho protects my seat when I am wet and on my way back home from the beach which is another great bonus. I’ve seen parts of my scooter rust over time from me being too lazy to wash down the salt water after surfing so being able to dry myself and protect my bike is pretty cool (all hands free!). The same would be true if you are sitting in your car.
Some surf ponchos have a secret pocket in the front-inside, I like to think of it as a marsupial pouch where you can stash stuff like your phone, wallet, keys, etc.
What I really REALLY like about Ho! Stevie’s surf poncho is how soft the cotton is… It definitely beats all the beach towels that I own. The material is super soft and I find myself just my poncho when I’m hanging out and I genuinely forget to take it off sometimes.
The Ho! Stevie surf poncho I got is also pretty neat in that it’s kind of a one size fits all and that’s nice because I can share it with my girlfriend. If she’s not surfing with me she’s hanging out at the beach even though we’re in Central Florida it still gets cold in the winter. She’ll wear it as a sweater until I’m coming back in and I’m rushing back to get warmed up. Which leads me to my last point…
I find myself using my poncho THE MOST in the winter… which is obvious because that’s usually when I’m also wearing my full wetsuit. But I have to reiterate how nice it is to have something to run back to and throw on myself to warm up pretty quickly. I don’t see everyone wearing surf ponchos and I think it’s one of those things that you don’t think you need until you try it for yourself. I also think a surf poncho is a really good gift idea for a surfer in your life! Again, the surf poncho I use is from Ho! Stevie and if you want to check one out for yourself or someone you know, I’ll add another link.
Link to Ho! Stevie’s Surf Poncho: https://hostevie.com/shop/surf-poncho.html or https://amzn.to/2Po3hug