Here at Moment we love to support good companies from all over the world. By far, most of the companies whose gear we sell are from Southern California. That just tends to be the way of the surf industry. But, when we can support a good, local company, it's even better. DaKine is one of those companies. The company was started back in 1979 in Hawaii, but it has been based in Hood River, OR for quite some time now. Hood River is a perfect base for a company that has branches in snow sports, wind powered sports, biking, and of course, surfing. It's relatively close to all of those activities. The employees can test out the gear in their own active outdoor lives, and their sponsored athletes are among the best in the world. For example, their surf team consists of Taj Burrow, the Hobgood Brothers, Joel Parkinson, Rob Machado, Shea Lopez, Bruce Irons, Pancho Sullivan, and many more.
More importantly, they don't just sell t-shirts. They sell accessories that surfers really need for their lifestyles. Before I got my Dakine roof rack pads and straps, I wrapped towels around the racks to put my boards on. It's so amazing now to have the boards feel so secure. I no longer have to keep looking up at the boards bouncing or slipping around on my drive to the coast. In addition to straps and pads, they sell traction pads, leashes, board bags, luggage, SUP gear, sun hats, rash guards, bodyboards, and tools.
If you look around a parking lot at any popular surf break, you'll surely see plenty of DaKine accessories as people are unloading their gear or suiting up to get in the water. The word Dakine means "The Kind" in Hawaiian. Dakine can mean different things to different people. To me, "The Kind" in surfing can be as simple as just saying hello to a fellow surfer in the parking lot or smiling and chatting a bit in the lineup. Small things like that can make a place feel much friendlier, which is better all around...and hey, you might even make a new friend in the process.
