G'day All, just wondering if anyone has some good fins to recommend? I have a starboard 8'5" pro (2012) and just find the factory fins not quite right. I'd like to power it up a bit as when it gets over 4ft the tail starts to get a bit skittish. The same fins are fine on the 2012 9'1" pro.
Has anyone tried those FCS 3D fins?
Cheers
tang
I am a great fan of the (OZ made) C-Drive fins, if you want superb grip.
You can read my review + thread at the zone: www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=15007.0
They can slow down a little the board however, and have too much grip for your taste.
I also like a lot the FCS H3 Nexus. Not as much grip as he C-Drive, but excellent speed, carried during the whole turn, giving a feeling of acceleration through turns that surprised me. But I didnt try a lot of fins, so there may may be other very good ones.
I tried many (all my surf fins) and the fcs h3 nexus are my favorites, up to head high I use quads, nexus fronts and fcs stretch backs (double foiled) with the little nubster, I thought this thing was a joke but actually it feels a lot better with it (IMO). And any bigger I go thruster h3 nexus. My board is a quatro 8'6" and so far very happy with the setup
Select to expand quotebolocom said..
I tried many (all my surf fins) and the fcs h3 nexus are my favorites, up to head high I use quads, nexus fronts and fcs stretch backs (double foiled) with the little nubster, I thought this thing was a joke but actually it feels a lot better with it (IMO). And any bigger I go thruster h3 nexus. My board is a quatro 8'6" and so far very happy with the setup
one word "lopez"
Thanks gents,
Must try those C-drive fins out, as the theory sounds pretty sensible, and the combo of hold/drive thru bottom turns/cutties and looser off the top sounds fan-fricken-tastic.
cheers
tang
A couple of things.......
1) does anyone in Torquay/jan juc have a set of c-drives that I could test out (for a longneck, of course), as there's nowhere to demo them;
2) has anyone tried those FCS 3D fins with the offset keel-thing on them?
Cheers
Tang
bite the bullet, buy the c-drives and give yourself some time to get used to them. i loved them on my mana
pete
I've used the cdrives and found they worked really well in the board I put them in at the time, but didn't seem to do it in a couple of boards I've had since, so I reckon it had a bit to do with the board how well they perform.
i also have a set of the fcs 3ds, work well as rear fins in a quad, good drive off the bottom, but didn't like them as side bites.
Been using h3 nexus in short board defiantly feel the speed difference when compared to 7s and gxq rear picked up a set of kinetic racing Bruce iron quad similar up right fin with a bit more of a normal tip I rate these fins even better than the nexus seem to carri speed through all of your turns they may be a bit small for sup Joel Parkinson's quad set be worth a look kinetic racing chek em
I have just got some Jackson Close fins from Shapers and rate them the best SUP fins i have used. I used to have Lopez quads in my last board and thought they were good. These JC fins are unreal. They give the board heaps of drive and speed but you can still bust the tail out.
Note: used on a Carbrina 99.5L 8'8" x 28' wide with a pulled in pin tail
To acknowledge the most helpful advice i received a month or so ago, i thout i better report back after the feedback. i got a set of c-drives and have to say they really do work. They give a degree of acceleration and control that I thought I had forgotten from my short boarding days. Mine are XL and I've only had them in the 2012 starboard 8'5" but I can't see myself surfing anything else from now on. They handle both flat faces and round waves brilliantly, though i have read, and agree, that speed makes them work best, so maybe avoid em in the little stuff. I could go on.
Thanks for the advice, cheers tang.
Tang, glad you enjoyed the C-Drive fins. These fins are really underrated, more people should try them, although not everybody will like them, some people telling me they have "too much grip" for their liking.
Thanks colas, I don't think there is such a thing as too much grip.....anyway, these fins certainly didn't make me go in straight lines, they gave me turbo-charged bottom turns leading to smooth and fast top turns and delightful big roundhouses. It was as though the 4.6" rail beneath me was transformed back to 2.5", just like the good old days. In 5 days I surfed 5ft solid Torquay point, 3-4ft winki and 3-4ft rincon - all very different waves and the fins went beautifully in them all. No turning back now.
Cheers
Select to expand quotecolas said..
Tang, glad you enjoyed the C-Drive fins. These fins are really underrated, more people should try them, although not everybody will like them, some people telling me they have "too much grip" for their liking.
Hi mate,
Just want to pick your brain on something. What do you think of dimple technology when it comes to fins.
Cheers Ozzie
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..Yeah I knew what you were talking about
Oops, the "you" was for other readers that may not have been aware of the new dimple fins.
Anyways, based on my experiments with sanding fins & hulls, I would say that I expect only a marginal improvement from dimpled fins. However, a dimpled hull (not the angulo 10 cm wide dimples, but the same size as the golf ball dimples) would be really interesting to try. Sanding your fins gives you a marginal improvement, not worth ruining the looks of beautiful fins in my opinion, but you will feel the improvement in sanding your hull & rails to a point where water hosed on it makes sheet of water, not beads. Sanding opaque fins like the C-Drives is a no-brainer however.
After sanding the hull, the board will seem to "squirt forward" more easily in turns for instance. However, I only did it on opaque boards that are not already rough enough "as is". I do not think it is worth ruining a nice glossy finish, especially over decorated blanks, or apparent carbon fiber or wood.
Sanding the paddle blades should make sense too (to waste less energy thrusting the blade in and out water), and is easier to make than dimpling a blade as quickblade did. I tried it, but I must admit I didn't feel a lot of difference, but I do not race so I haven't really measured the gain.
