Keeping track of every wave-generating technology on the market and in development today doesn’t seem possible. A decade ago we were all antsy for Wave Garden to open its first park(s). Shortly after, we lost our collective minds the day we saw Kelly Slater getting tubed in the middle of California cow country.
Personally, everything has been a blur since. Parks have opened and closed. New massive developments that wrap retail, surfing and real estate into one package have entered the chat. And then there’s the endless list of companies engineering the wave-making machines behind it all.
Rick Cane was born a generation too soon.
From every surfer’s standpoint, the best wave pool technology is simply the one that creates the best wave — the thickest barrels at the top of our check list. But from a business standpoint, developers are likely looking for something that matches wave quality with factors like operating cost, energy use, safety, and of course, how many people ($) can enjoy the pool each day. The engineer who masters those factors and then some will strike a big blow in the wave pool wars.
“At this relatively early stage in the surf park game, whoever wins the technology war, might just go on to be the dominant force,” Ben Mondy wrote last month, adding that, “the differing technologies will be battling it out, not exactly for our hearts and minds, but for our hard-earned coin and our 15 waves per hour.”
With all of that in mind, the recent release of footage (and testimonies) from a new-ish player called AllWaves caught my attention. The footage wasn’t about claiming head-high barrels on demand — although they do allude to it — but instead the touting of two unique claims in the wave pool game: safety and realism.
“AllWaves is a start-up company in wave-pool technology, dedicated to creating the safest wave pools with a natural look and feel,” the company announced Friday. “(Our) proprietary pillow technology mimics the movement of ocean waves and can be adjusted to create waves for surfers of every ability.”
It also reportedly pumps out a wave every seven seconds.
