Located in the Northern Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, Bank Vaults is an excellent but scary reef break that offers up a heaving right-hand barrel. The waves here are dangerous and break for up to 150 meters over a shallow reef bottom. Clean up sets come out of nowhere and the lineup itself is pretty shifty. This reef is a swell magnet so is rarely flat. It gets better with size, but should really only be tackled by very experienced surfers after the head high mark.
What are the best surf conditions for Bank Vaults?
Gets good between chest high and triple overhead. We recommend riding a shortboard or a step-up as the size picks up. This break is suitable for advanced surfers only. The surf here is pretty consistent (6/10) and will be uncrowded usually (4/10). The best winds are from the North. The best swells are from the Southwest. Works on all tides.
We recommend wearing boardshorts or a bikini year-round. Water temperatures rise to 29 degrees in the summer and drop to 25 only in the winter. See the temperature chart below for more data on this.
