What fins for the new stick

I usually just buy the fins that people tell me to buy. Ride Kellys on Merricks I heard.

 

Shapers Fins is an Australian company that makes a bunch of fins in Futures and FCS templates. They seem fine based on a couple sets I've had. I think Futures are made in California. I would say there is little or no difference between the two fin sets you linked to.

 

I find the fastest fins match the color of the board

 

I didn't like how swept back the AM template is - draws turns out too much for me. AM's are supposedly good for decent size point break, but I prefer a more upright fin like the WCT for standard beach break.

 

Honeycomb is the best of all combs.

 

I love Kelly's fins, they really have nice drive to them and you can feel a difference. I ride them in a Wynn biscuit, that 5'9" x 20 1/2 x 2 5/8. I'm 145 lb.

 

future WCT specs are actually really close to FCS K2.1 - I agree, I really like this fin template

The K3 is a little more swept back than the K2.1 - the Future YU is pretty close; as is the Solus

 

Blackstix - AM1s love them. they have a slight concave that adds a lot of lift and speed to the board. not great for fast/larger surf, board gets too skittish. switch to the WCT's when the surf gets a few feed overhead. their flat inside edges keep the board's speed in check, and their low rake allows for tighter turns.

 

AM2s rule. and i dont even ride a merrick

 

First off, don't believe all the hype and magazine push. If you really want to know what works best try to find out what the pros use in the contests. This isn't always easy though because they don't always want you to know. If they are getting paid to promote something else then they have to keep what they truly use a secret from the public.

I actually know of several well named pros that surf a particular board they like but have to cover it with a sticker of the board they are sponsored by.

Anyway as far as fin selection you can spend the money trying all different kinds, shapes, sizes, etc... and chances are if you don't rip you aren't going to know the difference anyway.

I always recommend for most common surfing folks to use a bigger fin. (That's actually what the pros use)

Bigger fins create more drive and speed and also allow for harder ripping turns.

You can use three, four, five or even one fin but what works best is three. Once again, do a fin count on the boards used in contests.

 

well there's a matter of goddamn opinion if i've ever heard one!


to the OP...you said the board felt good out in CA. well, what fins were you using out there? sounds like a good starting point to me.
IMO, i think the K2.1/WCT fin is too small for you. you'd benefit a LOT from a slightly bigger fin. the AM-2 is my go-to fin for futures, regardless of the brand of board i'm riding. when i had a neckbeard & rode the True Ames version & really liked it. ditto w/ my white diamond. if you want something more upright & pivoty, the MB-2 is a good choice.

 

Hilarious.

http://www.surfersvillage.com/content/four-fins-flaring-mick-uses-quad-set-win-tahiti

http://www.cisurfboards.com/blog/2012/kelly-slater-wins-volcom-fiji-pro-2012/

 

100%. And look at all the pics of the pros bustin airs and going vertical on large waves. Almost all are tri fins. And I am a hack, and when I put bigger fins in my fish it is still loose, but I can carve harder and it has more drive and speed. Those stiff weird shaped Futures do go really fast and make sections normal non-carbon fins don't. Somehow friction/drag is minimized thru science.

 

maybe it's just a matter of acclimation, but I'm 15 lbs more than the OP (at the WCT upper weight "borderline") and I actually prefer staying on the slightly smaller fin side. When I tried the next size up, I felt over-finned...in fact, I've ridden the WCT with the TT1 (small/trailer center) in head high waves and could crank bottom turns fine with no sliding.

 

Very good point KM.

Let's please recognize the preferred fin for the 50-and-over LB crowd is the Honeycombover. They say you can hardly notice it.

 

Ya'll get sucked into the BS fin thing so easily. Under finned, over finned, fat guy, skinny dude, what's Kelly riding today? I long for the days when the dang things were part of the hull the designer intended and that's it. No phony stories to get me to buy more junk. You really think carbon fiber honeycomb fins are going to make you surf better? Bet you don't have a clue what the skeg toe in and cant are on your barney rubble pro model are. Or how far off the tail they are set. Those are numbers that really affect the way a board turns, drives, and releases as far as keels go. If I had a nickel for every LB geezer that told me how his turbo tunnel changed his life I could actually get a ticket to Nica to surf with you trustafarians. Then I could learn to surf good enough to tell the difference between injection molded thermo plastic nylon impregnated polyvinl and pressure laminated bi-directional carbon with nomex cored epoxy resin $150 fins.

 

what, exactly, do you think the fins glassed on to your old, delaminating 90's thruster were made out of? injection molded plastic & nylon? nope...fiberglass (& later, RTM honeycomb & fiberglass)! the reason fin companies started selling injection molded plastic/nylon fins is because they are CHEAP to produce & are LIGHT WEIGHT. that's it. have you looked at the flex pattern of your plastic fins? ever felt like you couldn't get drive out of your board? pop through turns? change your fins, buddy.
it's so sad/funny to me that people are so on guard against being sold bs that they lash out against the idea that fins make a difference, all the while frothing over the newest ci/lost/firewire/js model...that they're going to put ****ty super flexy fins in. then ***** about how the model sucks b/c it doesn't work for them.

 

Hilarious.

http://www.surfersvillage.com/conten...set-win-tahiti

http://www.cisurfboards.com/blog/201...fiji-pro-2012/

Exactly my point bassplayer.... they actually made note of kelly riding a quad because its very rare to ride anything but tri.

NJsurfer, the reason they started making removable fins was to create a fin market. Sure it makes it a little easier on trips to remove your fins. In the business world though this is creating a market.

Now they have all kinds of different fins. From big to small, aerodynamic, fluidynamic, some that move, whistle, vibrate, glow in the dark etc....

Truth is a good standard larger size fin (not too big) something around a g-7 is going to be the best set up for the typical surfer. This size fin creates more drive and speed.

Have to agree with Garbanzobean.... most of you would never know the difference if your fins were switched out and replaced with something different.