Who Combo’d It Better, Kelly Slater, Kolohe Andino or Jordy Smith?

Apparently a cocktail of Chia seeds, Purps and a DIY wave is the fountain of youth. Kelly Slater, at 44, is still at the forefront of progression. It’s amazing his knees haven’t given out. Even while his competitive mindset evaded him, his freesurfing remained one of a kind. There’s no hyperbole fit for Kelly’s career; he’s our Jordan, Gretzky, and Jeter. Yesterday at Backdoor, a bit before John Florence projected an alley-oop that’ll spark debate over the biggest air in history, Mr Slater threw his hat into a category popularised by Kolohe Andino’s Portuguese drainer to oop back in 2014. Which was then backed by Jordy’s in August of 2015.

So, as we’re a judging group by nature, let’s analyse these three waves of similarity:
In a streak of down days, onshore winds and non-contestable surf, late yesterday morning it started to clean up. Backdoor produced some possibly-maybes, and they teased calling on the event. They didn’t, but the freesurf that transpired saw Kelly Slater joining the deep tube to oop club (filmed by Ryan Perry). Kelly’s wave was smaller than both gent’s. However his barrel was long, tight and critical.

Jordy’s (filmed by Nick Green) compared to Kelly’s had shorter travel time through the barrel, but the pumps exerted before the cover up gave him the speed to go as high as he did on the air section. What’s unique about Jordy’s is the hang time, how he shifts in the wind and spots the double up section which aids as a runway.

Then Kolohe’s (filmed by Noah Alani) in Portugal might just stand superior. The barrel was deep, long and he pulled up just in time to avoid the pinch. Then had the wherewithal to find the ramp section and nearly clear what a world tour surfer would have trouble floating over. He doesn’t land as clean as Kelly or Jordy, but that adds a bit to the aesthetic.

Who’s was best? Well, surfing’s subjective but that’s what the Disqus is for.