How do you make your choice of surfboard fins?

[wlli]

Dear waveriders,

I was wondering being new in this sport, how you make your choice of fins?
And which fin is the best according to you?

And finally I had some thoughts of my own about an ultimate fin-design,
which could switch between a drive focussed fin into one which gives hold whenever you need it during surfing a wave?
What do you think about that?

[jaffa1949]

wLLi you're new to surfing and have an ultimate fin design that can switch between a drive focussed fin and one that gives hold, hey that really feels like you'd have con-----troll giving as the picture says hold whenever you need it.

What do I think about that? Go directly to the survey page do not pass go don't collect $200

FIN

[wlli]

Dear jaffa1949,

Thank you for your comment, could you explain a bit what you are talking about? Because I don't know whether it's good or bad?

[jaffa1949]

Fair enough, a lot of trolls come to the forum, asking questions that really are a survey in disguise, I was sniffing you out to see if you were a troll or a genuine new surfer and I was little puzzled how a newbie would be considering fin design so I gave you a little poke. No offense meant if you are not trolling!

[wlli]

Ah that's good to know. Well I started to look for some better fins, like what are the best. And there were so many kinds of fins, which left me a bit confused. So I starting thinking about how cool it would be if there was a fin which would adapt to me. Don't know yet how it could work, though.

[jaffa1949]

Ah that's good to know. Well I started to look for some better fins, like what are the best. And there were so many kinds of fins, which left me a bit confused. So I starting thinking about how cool it would be if there was a fin which would adapt to me. Don't know yet how it could work, though.

Wlli that would be the better mousetrap of the surfing world and I do sympathise with the confusion of fins out there, a lot designed by surfers , some by CAD programs and others by aero space techs and yacht designers, can I give you an answer , what works for you there is no universal board fin or other accessories, only what is best for what is in front of you.
Enjoy the search!

[naniekso]

whats your budget? lol

most things in surfing are ridiculously overpriced. but i guess when you have an addiction, your start to think irrationally?

[wlli]

@Jaffa1949:
Well it kinda start thinking that those build by surfers are better, because they know what they need. Btw what kind of fins do you use?

@naniekso: yeah I saw some over 200 dollars! I don't know if they really are that much better. Leave those to the pro's; probably as beginner it's better to buy a cheaper one to test? Some around 80 dollars sounds fair to me. What kind of fins do you actually prefer?

Just trying to get some more opinions from experienced surfers.

[jaffa1949]

Wlli I'm back to tell you the fins I use.

On my short board for bitey powerful waves I use futures Fins Vectors V3/2/1 side fins and their FCH2 (450) hatchet fin as a combo, allows me to carve as muchas I want with a squirt accelleration out of the bottom turns.
As my Pope Bisect travel 9ft board has future box I use the same side bites with an 8.75 Ruben Roxbburgh Por Model ( even though I'm not) centre fin.
For the 9ft board I had custom shaped for Indonesia the same centre fin but c drives as the side bites they allowed me to track higher on the face of the larger waves there to get the speed and hold to drop through the tighter barreling sections with strong speed.
Driving under or through the white water was not an option.
The moral of this story is as you get to know your abilities and the different waves you'll surf try different fins. A couple of guys I know have a log book so they can mix and match effectively

[wlli]

Thank you jaffa1949 for you explanation. So I should start trying out some fins by my own to catch my match.
That's going to cost me some money. I still think that it would be wonderful if I just could have one fin and customize it by myself to find the right shape.
Feels like tuning the fin, like in tuning cars. hahaa

[Kabazz]

Cheap ones!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 344wt_1132

[jaffa1949]

Watch the cheap ones , they can be inferior plastic or glassing from a knock out Chinese factory, the tabs break really easily and no refund My local surf shop mate has lots of people trying to get refunds from him with the el cheapos.

[Forage]

If you've got FCS fins, find a surf shop that has an FCS test centre. They take a deposit, and then you can try out a whole wack of fins for free, that way you can get an idea of what works for you without breaking the bank.

I wound up going with a set of H2 fins. The broke within a week, both the store owner and my shaper said it looked like a manufacturing defect, but FCS didn't want anything to do with it. These days I mostly ride the GMB fins in the cheap glass flex material. I'm happy with them.

[wlli]

I've got another question, which setup of the fins setup is good to start with? I've done some on single fin, but wonders which others are better according to you?

[garbarrage]

Good first thread wlli.. been messing about with fins myself recently, just getting a feel for different types. My strategy at the moment is to just get generics if thats the right word. The cheaper of the FCS options when I find a shape and size that suits the waves I surf most often I will try getting similar if not exactly the same shape in better material.

Jaffa, you seem to know a bit about fins. Any pointers for what part of the fins do what to a surfboard? What are we looking for in terms of size and shape and what sort of performance can we expect to find? Would really help make the experimenting a bit more efficient.

[jaffa1949]

Jaffa, you seem to know a bit about fins. Any pointers for what part of the fins do what to a surfboard? What are we looking for in terms of size and shape and what sort of performance can we expect to find? Would really help make the experimenting a bit more efficient.

Well this is going to put me to the acid test.
I'm going to my notes on fins and I will compile what I consider my understanding of fins to be!.
A couple of questions in formulating this, do you want a historical perspective as well or just the bare brutal concepts as I see them.
I am not an expert on this, and it will be from an Australian view point.
I am however confident as I am a confirmed user of fins, every surfboard I have ever ridden successfully has had fins.
I look forward to writing this.

[garbarrage]

Well this is going to put me to the acid test.
I'm going to my notes on fins and I will compile what I consider my understanding of fins to be!.
A couple of questions in formulating this, do you want a historical perspective as well or just the bare brutal concepts as I see them.
I am not an expert on this, and it will be from an Australian view point.
I am however confident as I am a confirmed user of fins, every surfboard I have ever ridden successfully has had fins.
I look forward to writing this.

Just bare brutal pragmatism will do the job but feel free to add any interesting tidbits you deem interesting or appropriate. Look forward to reading it. Especially to see if an Australian viewpoint will be much different to viewpoints from elsewhere.

[naniekso]

i personally like any kind of future fins. Ofishil fins are good too but future is very nice. They are much more structurally sound than fcs. just 2 days ago my fcs fins hit the reef(no big deal) but they freakn curved back into my surfboard and they put a gash in teh board! RAWR! future provides hold in the board. I know why FCS makes their design like that, but i want stability and strenght.