Hey skiing is still our number 1 activity at our end as well, but man surfing is a lot of fun. I bought 3 bags used for about 250.00 with shipping. they came with one small pump which is ready to call it a life, so this week I'm going to buy 2 new ones, but bottom line is you don't need to spend a fortune. Plenty O used bags for sale and pumps can be bought anywhere for under 100.00. As for the speed thing try a hand held GPS for now.