Back when Scat got all nostalgic agout skateboarding and peer-pressured Ckucke into getting a board, I picked up a new deck since my old one had been chewed on by the termites after being left outside after coming home from the Shaka, Nara show at the Contomporary Museum. Weeks after the deck arrived, I finally got some Mob Grip tape on the recommendation of the sales dude at T&C Pearlridge - it does in fact have a rougher tooth than Black Magic, but it is more difficult to get on without ending up with creases. Continue reading ‘Skate Resurrection?’
I picked this up in the automotive section at Wal Mart for a buck - really, $1.00 USD! It is rare to find a common houseware like this that isn’t made in the PRC, and no less for a dollar! Of course you can use this for it’s intended purpose of getting automotive radiator coolant into the tank or reservoir, but I got this to use with sports drink powders. Most kitchen funnels have really small openings, generally around 8 to 10mm. Dense powders like Endurox R4 or Cytomax have difficulty getting through openings that small without tapping or shaking the funnel. I was looking for a jar funnel, but those are difficult to find, and the ones I have seen have openings that don’t fit in the neck of a standard sport bottle or liter-sized Nalgene. The 25mm+ opening on this funnel lets powders through unobstructed! Once you use it for coolant, don’t use it for anything else! Get two if you need one for coolant and another for sports drinks.
Highly recommended
Four out of four techno monkeys
$1 USD plus tax!
It’s been a slow start to winter with warm temperatures lingering until last month in both Hokkaido and British Columbia, but the snows have finally arrived. There has been the “snow, rain, melt” cycle going on for a couple of weeks, but the temperatures are stabilizing and dropping, so the snow levels are generally on the increase. The crew is already booked in for Thanksgiving in Whistler, and I’m off to Sapporo the second week of December, so time is getting short until snowboarding time! Continue reading ‘Winter’s Here – Time to Wax!’
I really hate when people take the “Drive with Aloha” thing to inappropriate levels. If you’re on the freeway and it’s gridlocked and someone is trying to merge in at an on-ramp, sure, show some Aloha and let ‘da bruddah’ or sistah’ in. It’s when people go out of their way to let you in and cause inconvenience to everyone else around them is where I draw the line. Yesterday I was making a right turn from a side street onto a divided highway, and there was a space coming up in traffic that I could pull into. Continue reading ‘No Aloha for You!’
I saw these on closeout from Chainlove.com last week. I did a quick check on the Endura site to see what they were all about, then emailed Chris. He said that he had a set of Endura shorts from last season, and they were really good, so I decided to give them a shot and ordered a pair. Chris recommended that I go up a size, so I ordered a “Large”. My waist is about 88cm (34”), and these fit perfectly. The outer short is made from Teflon water-repellant treated Cordura nylon. They should be very durable, but time will tell – I only have one ride on them. The crotch gusset area and some small side inserts are a stretch nylon material. The stretch crotch is nice because it keeps that area in body contact and prevents snagging on the saddle nose or tail. There are some reflective details sewn on front and back. The inseam is 30cm (12”) and is appropriately long. Continue reading ‘Endura Burner Baggy Short’
Jarrel at McBike is planning on bringing in these and the more skate-styled BMX/DJ helmet this season, but Ckucke and I couldn’t wait to get our hands on them. Jeff had an unused size L/XL “lying around”, so I bought it off of him. That size was too big for Ckucke, so he got a S/M off of Backcountry.com. Like most current high-end MTB helmets, this is an in-mold EPS helmet with a removable visor and a rear retention system that keeps the helmet from rocking forward and backward on the head. My other current helmet is the Giro Xen, so I will compare it to that. Continue reading ‘Fox Flux MTB Helmet’
I was checking on a part with Jarrel one day, and he was looking through a special flyer from one of the wholesalers he brings in some of the more eclectic bike stuff from and they had some nice Japanese bike bells. He had brought in some large Crane (crane as in “tsuru”) brand brass bells previously, but they had a new small bell not unlike the small BBC bell resold on the USDM as the “Incredibell”. He said he would most likely be bringing some in, so I sat back to wait for them to arrive. About a week later, they were in! Continue reading ‘Crane Bicycle Bell’
With the demise of the snowboard division at Island Snow, I had to resort to online ordering this season. My old blue Sessions Jamie Lynn pants are still somewhat functional, but my OD green Burton Ronin pants are torn at the vent and blown-up at the ass seams. My “Captain America” Sessions jacket is falling apart at the seams and the membrane has delaminated and is gone in most areas. Although still decent looking, my newest grey Sessions jacket is losing its Entrant membrane like dandruff from the stretch panels. All my outerwear was going bad two seasons ago, but I patched and stitched them back together and made it through last season. Not wanting to be “homeless boarder” again, I ordered a set of this year’s Volcom Omega Gore-Tex outerwear. The price was high, but having experienced the durability of Gore 3L ECWCS clothing, I figured this stuff would last the longest, and anything cheaper would be an investment in “false economy”. I managed to get sale pricing at Backcountry.com, so it didn’t hurt as much as I expected it to. Continue reading ‘New Volcom Omega Gore-Tex’
This was another Chainlove.com find. For sun, brush, and crash protection, I like to use long-sleeve jerseys for trail riding. I’ve seen this jersey on riders in photos in Decline and elsewhere, so when I saw it pop up for cheap on Chainlove, I got one. There was no sizing info, so I had to dig around online to find some. My chest is 100cm (40”), so I got a “Large”. This ended up a bit big. Even with full armor it’s big. The girth and length are not too much of an issue, but the sleeves have a bit of “Kogami Akira” action going on. I could have easily gone a size down. The sizing is about the same as motocross jerseys. If you are between sizes, go down. Continue reading ‘Royal Racing 24/7 Jersey’
Dave had gotten the sudden mysterious urge for okonomiyaki, I guess that happens to all of us. We know Okonomiyaki Chibo in Waikiki, and excellent as it is, we decided to look into alternatives. But where? One place Derek knew of is closed. I learned of a small place in Waikiki next to a shop I did some work for, but there’s no parking. Then Derek mentioned a new place, Shouchan, in Puck’s Alley. Isn’t that near Kohnotori that we reviewed a few weeks back? Yes, and it’s not really an accident that a lot of places we go to are in this general area, it’s where we are at this time of the day. Anyway, we decide to check it out. It’s located on University, across from what used to be Varsity Theaters, up a few shops from Cocoichiban. I find Derek waiting outside. I look at the cloth banner and the first thing that comes out of my mouth is “Hiroshi”! It takes a while to realize it’s not Hiroshi Mayaki. Hiroshimayaki is the style of okonomiyaki served here. Continue reading ‘Hiroshi Mayaki, Shochan’