They first came to my attention at Bells during the Rip Curl Pro when I saw hordes of wannabe club champions fisting $50 notes in the face of the guy selling them out of his backpack. As I walked past I overheard someone declare, “All the pro’s are using them now.”

The crowds and claims had perked my interest. What the fuck are they? Should I have one? What if they work and I’m missing out on something?

‘Fuck it, if Toby Martin’s got one I’ve gotta get one.’ I thought to myself as I sat opposite him, spooning the froth on an early morning coffee in DY a few weeks later.

I got mine in black and immediately began to notice acknowledging eyes from fellow wristband wearers. Even the odd nod and a wink, like I’m now part of some club that knows things that the rest of the world doesn’t.

What I’m talking about is the new craze that’s taken the sporting world by storm, the Power Balance wristband. A band of rubber with a hologram embedded that is purported to react positively with your body’s natural energy field and improve balance, strength and flexibility.

The science is not really compelling, in fact the Power Balance website is downright devoid of any substantiated testing… but the testimonials are a plenty. Dave Rastovich, Bruce Irons, Brett Simpson, NRL teams, Rubens Barrichello… they’ve even got the Shaq Attack singing their praises.

One thing I know for sure is that the more people I talk to the more I hear about “something working” or “feeling right” when they have it on.

Even our trusted online editor Col Bernasconi, when asked if it had any effect after successful regional surf titles, said, “Well I had it on and I bloody won! Maybe it does do something.”

My next step in my journey to see if this thing is just a conjuring from some shaman’s laboratory was to look up the meaning of placebo effect.

The source of all knowledge – Wikipedia – defines the placebo effect as: “The phenomenon of an inert substance resulting in a patient's medical improvement. The phenomenon is related to the perception and expectation which the patient has; if the substance is viewed as helpful, it can heal.” Or help balance, strength and flexibility in the Power Balance’s case.

Now I’m not saying it is a placebo. No, I’m just interested in the possible explanations for something that seems to have results but no real accessible R&D to back it up.

Not really convinced either way just yet it’s now time to consult the most credible source – personal experience. So over the next month or so I will be testing the Power Balance in a series of challenges both with and without it on.

Stand by for the results.