Located on the North shore of Oahu, The Banzai Pipeline is the most iconic wave in the world. This reef break offers up gaping and punishing left-hand barrels for the world’s best surfers when the winter swells start filling in. The outer reefs will refract the swell into First Reef, which sits just 50 meters offshore. Here the wave peaks and throws hard, creating a difficult drop into a supersonic tube. Once it gets over 12 foot roll-ins to big barrels are common as the wave tends to cap on Second Reef, a little farther out. Legends such as Gerry Lopez, Mark Richards, Tom Carrol, Derek Ho, and John John Florence have all made their name as well as a massive mark on surf history riding this wave. Surfing here is incredibly dangerous, as it breaks for up to 150 meters over a shallow, cave-filled reef.
What are the best surf conditions for Pipeline?
Gets good between head high and triple overhead. We recommend riding a shortboard, then step-up, then your biggest board as the size picks up. This break is for advanced surfers only. The surf here sometimes has a wave (4/10) and will always be insanely crowded even when bad (10/10). The best winds are from the Southeast. The best swells are from the Northwest and West. Works best on a mid-tide.
We recommend wearing board shorts or a bikini year round as water temperatures range between 27 and 24. See the temperature chart below for more data on this.
