Stab Magazine | The Bonzer And Beyond

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

14 Views

The Bonzer And Beyond

Five pieces from RVCA’s Campbell Brothers collab we particularly dig.

style // Nov 7, 2018
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Bonzer is a beacon of weird and weird is a beacon of style.

Roughly 50 years ago, the Campbell Brothers sculpted the first three-finned surfboard. It had one rudder the size of your average single fin that spliced two wings which angled out towards the rail; The Bonzer would become the myth and archetype of the board you likely ride today, the modern thruster.

Out of all the brands in surf, no one quite collabs like the R-V-C-A. And, this collection with the Campbell brothers is no exception.

As we’re especially fond of this line, here are five pieces Stab Recommends. 

 

Campbell Bonzer Vehicles Long Sleeve T-Shirt 

How do you like your craft? Sitting in the back of your trunk ready to go at a moment’s notice? Single fins? Three fins? Two fins? Four?

All of the above?

Do you refer to your board as a vehicle? A magic carpet? A happiness vessel? Or do you just call it something you ride to kill time? Whatever the answer, the understated Bonzer Vehicles will look stunning sliding down your arm. 

bonz 02

Ford Archold in the Bonzer Vehicles tee.

Campbell Bros T-Shirt 

This is the shirt that started the whole collection. The straight B-o-n-z-e-r. No frills here, just a well-scribed logo that fades from purple to pink to yellow. It looks good in the shaping bay on Al as well as in the car park or at your friend’s backyard keg ‘n roll party. 

bonz 03

Al Knost in the Campbell Bros Tee.

Campbell Knows T-Shirt

There’s something about the psychedelic fin outlines on the back print of this shirt that’ll separate you from a crowd in the most subtle way. The Campbell Bros are a name any historically inclined surfer would be willing to rock across their chest and back. See Ford Archbold here, pulling boards from his tiny little pickup; it’s punk rock meets late 70’s strange. 

bonz 04

Ford wears the Campbell Knows Tee.

Campbell Venturi Long Sleeve T-Shirt. 

The graphic on the back of the Venturi Long tells you everything you need to know about water flow, its trajectory off the Bonzer set up, and why you ride the surfboard you do today. 

The design also has a space-age flair that complements its simple but striking graphics. 

If you don’t get the graphic, or the way water flows off the bottom of a surfboard, maybe this shirt isn’t for you. But, if it taps you in the surf tech spine, go ahead and rock one. 

For the record, “The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section of a pipe. The Venturi effect is named after Giovanni Battista Venturi, an Italian physicist,” according to the reputable Wiki…

bonz 05

The snapback is a fine accoutrement to the Venturi long sleeve.

Campbell Corduroy Button-Up Shirt. 

A quality button-up does no wrong. Neither do cords. And, when two classics connect it’s a cause for celebration. This shirt can be dressed up for cocktail hour, or down for a light unbuttoned layer over a casual tee for those not-so-brisk mornings. It comes in bronze and olive, but being one’s just shy of gold and silver, we back the bronze. 

If you like any of the above, we recommend you peep the entire collection right here.

086A1040

The Corduroy Collar.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Stab Edit Of The Year: Sam Piter Stars in ‘Rogue DNA’.

French blood flows in thick water.

Jul 13, 2025

Matty McG Skydives Into CT Heat, But Jordy’s Still The Main Event

A full day of heats at J-Bay, and only one shark warning.

Jul 12, 2025

Controversial Opinion: No One Needs To Yoga In Boardshorts

12 Trunks for the traditionalist.

Jul 12, 2025

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025
Advertisement