Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsWell, it doesn't ALWAYS come back....
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2023
So, I bought one of these for my grandson, who vacations at the shore in NJ. He loved it. Played with it with his cousins, who also had surfer dudes. The dudes raced at the Jersey Shore, successfully, with abandon. I had never witnessed a dude in the surf, and was anxious to see the magic first hand. So, I bought my grandson another dude, so we could race on our cape cod vacation, several weeks later. We deflate the Jeep tires, drive oversand through the dunes at Race Point. The day is perfect....sun, warmth, calm wind, gentle surf (which, none of us would be experiencing first hand, cuz, you know...seals= sharks). However, surf met the Dude minimum requirements of wave height.
Dude is thrown in the surf...I ask my daughter...."How does this work? Will he come back?" She responds..."Relax, Mom, he'll come back".
We watch. Surfer Dude is having a great ride....to the left. Still riding, now further out. My daughter looks at me. I look at my grandson, who is getting wider eyed by the minute. "Where is Surfer Dude going?", he asks!
Surfer Dude is now further out. My son volunteers to go get him. "Are you KIDDING me? There are sharks in these waters!"
Surfer Dude continues on his now deep water journey, off shore, as my 4 year old grandson wails at the sight of a now teal colored bobbing dot on the beautiful blue waters of Race Point.
We watch the surf for some time, until Surfer Dude is no longer visible. Donegan Doolin (that was his name) is now at the mercy of the seals, the sharks, (those great white sharks do love a good surfer...) and perhaps he is amusing many a whale watcher off the coast.
In summary, Surfer Dude does NOT always come back. We are just glad we didn't toss is our original Surfer Dude for the race I envisioned watching. So, Hank still lives, although, my grandson will not likely be throwing Hank into the surf again. Hank is now relegated to the bathtub.
Note for improving this product: Add an airtag so we can follow the travels of those with wanderlust.