SURF LAKES WAVE POOL IN-DEPTH REVIEW | Is it REALLY that good?

Surf Lakes, a wave pool in north Queensland in Australia, is currently somewhat of an enigma. We've all seen incredibly jaw-dropping clips from the iconic plunge tub and whilst filming for my Greatest Twin Fin Series, I thought it'd be a good idea to share my experience there with you via an in-depth review.

[bonefishboards]

I was against rock climbing gyms in the 1980s. Now I like rock climbing gyms. I'm going straight to liking the wave park concept. Saves me energy.

[leepeers]

Can’t wait for this to come out all over Australia. Urban surf is fun no doubt but the wave just feels a little unnatural. This could be the new ski resort for surfers!

[triggeringusingreality]

I like how the plunging machine looks "steampunk" almost

[Dannyt]

Do you get burned by Occy on Occy's peak?

[iseeyourschwarz]

having worked as a snowboard instructor the issue with customers self-grading is real. One person joining an advanced lesson who is intermediate at best really holds everyone back. they've paid their money for an experience, however suck up a lot more energy and time then their share of the wallet warrants, and the tips you're helping them with are largely irrelevant to the rest of the class. unfortunately you can't just tell someone whose paid $200+ for a 3 hour lesson that they stuffed up and need to go play on the side of the jump line while everyone else sends it

[thomas.kovacik]

I really like the center piston idea

The surf ranch is epic but being able to have multiple breaks at once is huge

Would love to see one in Southern California!

[brendan]

Imagine two plungers. One big one small so that you could create a secondary wave for the perfect take-off wedge....oohhhh the possibilities.

[jonniejlo]

maaaan. Had this idea in 2nd year Fluid Mechanics many years ago when I saw a fishing float make waves. Glad to see it's came to fruition.

[joaquingalan]

Wave pools are awesome. You do not need to deal with locals that feel they own the spot and have made surf a territory thing

[jerrybow]

Occys peak😂😂😂😂🤦‍♂️ where you take off and get snaked by some 50yo dude acting like he’s 20

[ptrschick]

Wave pools are the future! As a So Cal surfer who’s watched as the sport has grown over the years, I’ve grown increasingly disappointed in surfing do to crowds, water temp, crappy winds, and lack of solid swell, wave pools mitigate those variables. I surfed Waco, and sure, it’s not Rincon (my home break) but, the water was warm, when my wave came, NO ONE else paddle for it, and it was a blast! Sure, there is room for improvement, but in my hour, I got 12 waves and didn’t get dropped in on once. Where in reality, at home at Rincon, I could surf for 3hours, paddle for 30 waves, and get dropped in on 29 times, before the wind comes up and kills it… I surf for fun, surfing in Ca. Is becoming less fun and more frustrating, wave pools are the answer…

[Mr.MooseTheGreat]

The waiting surfers seem really close to the plunger. As an engineer I’m crazy curious how it’s built and what kind of risk factors are involved if it malfunctions. Would absolutely love to ride those waves!!

[raindogred]

What if the single plunger was a seesaw/pendulum/piston thingamabob in the centre of 2 pools seperated by a wall or shock absorber net...basically 2 plungers connected by an arm going alternately at the same time? You could have a pool with different bathymetry on one side that created expert waves (north pool for e.g.), then a more beginner friendly format on the other side (south pool). I don't know anything about engineering obviously, but my peabrain seems to think theres a lot of energy required to lift the plunger. you would think that if you created a mechanism that used the upstroke energy as well as the down stroke it would be more efficient. have a peak either side so 4 guys are roughly up and riding at the same, have the perfectly weighted and balanced pendulum running for ages like an endless set, don't worry about the pool settling down as you have weird refracto waves breaking everywhere haha

[erikleypoldt]

Bodyboarders will never leave the slab empty thats for sure.

[paulwayland]

Thanks Kale best review anyone's done ! Spewing didn't get to see you getting in early on the slab. And yes a much bigger version of it all round 4-5ft waves multi slabs and runners for 300m, let's get it?!

[lifeofmtc]

Thanks for the video, great insight. The issue I see (having spent a good amount of time researching all the wave pools) is the investment being close to 40m or double wavegarden 20m. Yes more waves but double the cost which would require a huge amount of visitors daily. Land requirements are huge, water loss just due to the sun can cost 750k - 1m a year. The wave itself looks amazing but the math to build / run and the realistic number of visitors required is an issue.

[mb]

They don't necessarily need to try to compete with wave garden for getting as many surfers on waves as possible to be profitable. They could try to focus more on quality of the wave and then charge a premium for that like Surf Ranch.

So many people miss the point of Surf Ranch and complain about it not being available to "regular" surfers, but that IS the point. You target "exclusivity" by making it expensive and that helps to cover the cost. So you can have a huge 45 second long ride that is so far incomparable to any other wave pool tech. Of course Surf Ranch is the extreme other end compared to wave garden but this thing could be somewhere in the middle. Pay a little more for the quality of the wave, and for not feeling like it's all about wave count for the company.

[toomuchfandango]

This was a great technical insight Kale Brock.... I wonder how the CEO down at surf lakes would go with studying the idea of a grower...
Jakes in Kalbarri - on the west angle sets, they start off 2 foot and hit the inside ledge sometimes up to 5 foot.
I wonder if this could also create energy - the subsequent breaking wave has 3 times more load and could be harnessed as electricity.
I don't know - is it the bottom that creates growers?
All I know is that growers are fun to ride!
Cheers.

[stuscott]

Did they give any word on the earliest public version. I get the R&D facility currently but everyone is hungry for a test drive of the tub mate. Surely an Instagram lottery competition to get a test day? Loved the video though. Very insightful from a surfer's POV and a business POV.

[chriss]

Your point about peoples ability is valid I think, if people actually saw themselves surf they would re assess their skill level. I was shocked when I first saw video of my self hahaha