Longboard Fins

Bigger is better for nose riding. The most locked in nose, ridingest boart i've been on was a 9'6" squared off tail with a hatchet fin. Not fun to turn but could set a line and cruise forever.

 

Liked a velzey nose rider. Not a real full fin. Just upright and stiff.

 

For noseriding, you gotta have a bigger fun with area, Depending on your style :

This one is an all time fav
https://rainbowfins.com/shop/ols/products/el-gato-95

If you have more of a pivot style surfing, a barn door style is always a good choice, or something like this:
https://rainbowfins.com/shop/ols/products/nomad

 

I think those fin choices are all respectable... very tried and true style fins for noseriding, especially in long, lined up point breaks.

But... noseriding a beach break is different. You've heard me preach this before... a fin with superior hold for noseriding doesn't do you any good if you can't set your line quickly and get out onto the nose within literally a second or two. My local beachbreaks are fairly punchy, even when small. We don't get those lazy, long period, wrapping waves that give you time to find your line. You've got to pretty much either take off on an angle and run out to the tip, or pull right up into the pocket off your bottom turn and jump up front. So I need a fin that allows me to whip the board around easily, hold on the wave face, and respond to tiny adjustments in trim from the tip.

For me, that's a longer fin with a springy flex and a medium tip. I ride a 9" Josh Farbarow flex fin. The overall area of the fin and the length provide plenty of hold, and the flex let's me turn with ease.
https://www.trueames.com/products/farberow-flex-single-fin?variant=20923654468

 

You gotta bring the LB out into some better surf. It's like driving and never getting out of 2nd gear if you stay in thigh high surf.

 

Right on, i gotcha. I've been on thigh high waves for weeks now and want to get a couple walled up sections sometime soon.

 

I've tried a big pivot fin and just didn't love it. I currently have a 9.75" Greenough 4A on my 9'6" and I'm loving it so far! I find it nose rides just as good as the pivot fin, with the added benefit of being easier to turn and position myself into the sweet spot.

For me, the trick to getting the hang of nose riding was figuring out where to be on the wave more so than having the proper fin. I see a lot of guys pop up, cruise down the line, get way out ahead of the pocket, then try to walk to the nose. I read somewhere, maybe even on this forum, that you want to be in the "oh shit" section of the wave, and I've found that to really be the case. When you're looking at the wave and it's walled up right next to you, get up there! I'm on the east coast, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

Couldn't agree more. Especially on east coast beach breaks. Get up there ASAP. It will either work or it won't. The more you do it the more it'll work. It's fun figuring it out.

 

Hey man, once you get the hang of it, getting to the nose isn't that hard. Doing it with style is (I'm still working that out myself!) Just keep practicing and don't get discouraged if you blow a few waves. There will be more!

I use a calf leash in situations where I don't feel comfortable being leashless. It rarely gets in the way, and it's a good safety net in bigger surf and during the summer when lots of people are bathing in the water, even at non-guarded surf beaches. I know, there's a lot of gate keeping around logging with a rope. Eff em!

Keep at it and stay stoked!

 

This is so spot on. There was a dude killing it at T-mar today on the LB. When he walked to the nose, he was right there next to the crumble, near the top of the wave. I got to see quite a few good ones from this guy since I was sitting on the inside, feasting on scraps.

 

HH,
What I'm saying is turn into the wave and walk right up there regardless if it's right or wrong. You'll just start making it happen.

Watch some video of Alex Knost. Dude just goes for it almost anywhere.

 

Depending upon the speed and energy of the wave, you have to adjust your board's angle to the wave face. It's not a HUGE difference, but it's definitely there. And this fits right into that theory of being in the "oh shit" part of the wave.

On those crumbly ones, your board is less parallel with the wave and more pointing toward the beach. Your tail is under water, being held down by the crumbling water, which counterbalances your weight on the nose. You'll be pretty much in the center of your nose at the tip. You'll find you really can't outrun the wave like this, so you're traveling the same speed as the wave is breaking.

On a steeper, faster wave, your board's more parallel to the wave face, and using a lot more rail. In this situation, your rail and tail rocker are creating suction, counterbalancing your weight up front. You'll usually be on the inside of your nose at the tip. You'll find you can easily outrun the wave like this, and will often have to step back and stall... pivot... or cutback to get back into the pocket.

There's a real skill to be able to do both on the same wave. Sometimes the drop will be mushy, so you hop up front and ride from the center of the nose at first, then when the wave starts to wall up, you actually adjust your trim from the tip and pull tighter into the wave face by putting more pressure on the inside nose rail... and pick up speed.

 

That's what I'm talking about! You making me want to go surf some sh!t