How To Pack For Any Surf Trip

Strike trips are easy. When a swell’s dialled and you know what conditions to expect, aligning the right equipment is a breeze. It’s the longer stints — 10 days or more — that tend to present difficulties. Size can change, winds will turn and you have to be calculated with choosing the right quiver. Because even the smallest packing slip-up can result in getting stuck at a double-overhead reef break with nothing more than a groveler under your feet.

Now, Brazilian surfer Lucas Silveira might still be lurking a bit underground. But it’s no secret he’s one the most well-rounded surfers around. So when he took a two-week jaunt through Indo, we were intrigued to hear how a guy who’s surfing style has little weaknesses packs for the best while remaining prepared for the worst.

Stab: So, how did you prep for two weeks of travel?
Lucas: I didn’t have much prep, my brother and my girlfriend went to meet me in Bali so they brought a couple of step-ups so I didn’t have to break all my good contest boards.

How did you know which boards to bring? Were you over-gunned? Under-gunned?
I usually don’t bring any guns or step-ups to Indo ‘cause it’s so perfect you don’t need a big board. And when you plan a trip without knowing the swell you have to guess how it’s gonna be… While wishing for a big swell. But I’ve been really under-gunned in past trips. This time, though, I had people to bring me boards — I had a couple of 6’3”s and a 6’4”. It was perfect ‘till I broke them all and went back to being under-gunned again. 

So, I had two big board bags with only comp boards, ’cause the trip was between a QS leg. And I had some new boards that I picked up from Rusty in Japan. I had everything from a 5’10” to the 6’4” but I still wish I brought a 6’6” for that one afternoon at Nias, though. Some extra paddle would’ve helped. 

If was leaving home for a trip like that, I would probably bring one groveler, two or three normal shortboards and two or three step-ups depending on where I’m planning to go. Especially if there’s swell. 

Did you have a favourite “go-to” board?
I didn’t really use my favourite board ‘cause I was trying to save it for contests. But I had one 6’1” that I got in Hawaii at the end of last year shaped by Rusty that I used at Nias after I broke all the bigger boards that kind of saved the trip. It’s one of those warrior boards that’s been through a lot and is still alive. I was thinking it was gonna be too small, but it held fine and I got some of the best waves of the trip on it. The last wave of the clip was one of them.

Where are you off to next?
I’m in South Africa now and have some time here to get waves in Namibia and J-Bay. But we won’t have much time to do any freesurfing ‘till after the US Open in August. So now that I had enough good waves it’s time to grind for some results on the QS!

Have a bit of quiver inspo now? Here’s a fibreglass suggestion: Rusty’s Model 8. If it works for Lucas (he prefers riding a 6’1”) there’s no reason it shouldn’t work for you, too. Maybe just make sure you’re the same height as him first. And if not, adjust dimensions accordingly.