SURFBOARD FINS Complete Guide Part 2

[@chasdonahoe9190]

Thank you for doing the fin series it was super informative

[@lawson45uk]

Chas Donahoe all good mate. Thanks very much for you appreciation. Glad there are people finding it useful. Ofteb overlooked but very important part of getting your boards to feel how you want them to feel 👍

[@bananaschmidt2173]

Good Job, man!

[@russellpizel3750]

Well done! After scouring the net for 2 weeks trying to learn about fins, your vid is the best. I am mostly interested to know when to swap out fins, and what with, depending on conditions eg what to throw into my Lost uber-driver when its super big, vs average, vs super small. Also, I'm right on the border between a small and medium fin recommendation and wondering when to go smaller rather than a larger template? Your vid came closest to answering these questions.

[@lawson45uk]

Hi Russell. Thanks very much for the feedback, much appreciated glad people are finding it helpful. Honestly it's a really subjective and person thing and different people are looking for different things in different conditions. I think there will always be some trial and error but also the laws of surface area, rake and flex will still hold strong . If you use surface area as one of the most important this will allow you to find the larger than average small fins and the smaller than average Medium fins if you believe you fall in between the two. Personally i'm a big advocate of a larger fin than you possibly need myself and like the extra drive when it's small and the extra hold when it's big. Others might say they are happy with less fin when it's big. Also Rake VS upright the more raked will have a bit more rake and hold but also might leave you feeling a little stiff on turns so there is that option to go more upright. Personally I stay with the same fins for most conditions and i'm my hybrid boards that's a AM Large or a Matt Biolos large. If you have played around with the basic templates a little you can get some feedback on the different feels. Problem with a lot of fins is they dont always just chance one element so say FCS 2 they have a rector (upright), a performer (miduim rake) and a carver (generous rake) but they also change surface aera so it's not apples to apples on just one element if that makes sense. I think Futures do a series where the areas stay very similar and rake changes... Here is my take though rake or depth will really help with hold base will add drive but unfortunately all of these things can have an oposite downside. Personally small waves I go decent area to creat drive untill its getting in the way of turning bigger waves I like rake and depth to ensure hold and I really tend to like templates that have decent base depth and rake without a really fat tip almost across the board but the next guy might like a really fat short upright fin... Then you have to take all that into consideration along with the board feel... So same fins different board you might find one board is too loose, more rake or epth or surface area or a combination of the above might help. Super tight board to turn maybe more upright smaller area fin... Same with materials stiff is grip and drive flexible is a little more forgiving and easier to turn. Duper soft flex will be wet and noodly and slow to respond.. Your welcome to let me know what templates you have and what you do and don't like and I can try to suggest some options if that helps. I dont have much experience with small and meduim fins specifically but you can do a lit looking at teh fin charts and knowing what to add or remove in are rake etc to get the desired result. Hope that helps.

[@russellpizel3750]

@@lawson45uk Thanks for the detailed reply :) That's some helpful info there. You seem to be in agreement with everyone else about fin size - when in doubt - go bigger. (just to nerd out on fins a bit more - my limited experience so far has been the Mat Biolos medium, which blew me away - so much drive and speed - possibly too much for me on big waves??? I recently tried medium FCSII performers PC which I hoped would better control speed and be a bit more forgiving in the big surf - which I feel they they are. I know the uber-driver isn't shaped for big waves but will be interesting to see how much difference a fin can make)

[@redarma6241]

Hey man, thanks heaps for the fin guide! Unfortunately I found this the day after I bought some fins. Was looking for a set of thrusters. I ended up with the fcs accelerator performance core. Pretty stoked as it’s pretty close to what you recommend as a starting point. Didn’t have much range at out local shop (trying to buy local at the moment to support them so they’re still there after all this blows over). Anyway, I looked at a heap of fin guides on the net and this one is easily the clearest and the best. Great work!!

[@lawson45uk]

Hi Redarm. Awesome mate. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave some nice feedback really appreciate it. Yeah performers are definitely a good fin and probably about the perfect starting place. If you feel like there is something lacking from they're it's not too hard to pick something that might give you that extra something too. Give me a shout if you ever want a hand but thanks for watching and giving some feedback.

[@redarma6241]

GO SURF No problem mate, I was going to get some quad rears for the accelerators. Was thinking about some reactors. The board is an Omni. It has so much gold at the moment I thought it might free it up a bit. What do you reckon? Thanks again for the whole channel mate, really enjoy it.

[@lawson45uk]

Redarm A Ah sorry I totally missread I seem to have read performers for some reason 😬 ok so accelerator also a really good fin by they are a large surface area fin. What what do you weigh what's the dims and volume on your board and what size accelerators did you get then I can probably give you some more detail. For sure the reactors will make the back end a little looser the Omni should have lots of hold built in by design I would say so it's possible to offset that in a number of ways. Also how is the drive on the Omni and would you have happy to sacrifice a little drive for it to turn a little better. That might help me give you a few recommendations. If you message me on Instagram too I can always send some pics to show you comparisons of the different fin templates. With the accelerator fins it's possibly you may have more fin than you need for that board. Cheers. Install I think is go_surf_nz cheers

[@redarma6241]

GO SURF thanks man, for the reply. I weigh 67kg and have a 5’11 Omni at 37l. I actually got the board cause I wanted a board with plenty of hold for winter waves here on the south coast of Western Australia. It appears that’s what I’ve got. Only had a few surfs on it and it definitely has plenty of hold and drive. Pretty stoked with it. I’m not opposed to getting a new set of thrusters if that’s what needs to happen. Basically, the board showed up and I had no fins for it so I went to the shop and that’s all they had. I don’t know much about fins but am starting to see how much difference they can make. Thanks again for all your help mate!

[@redarma6241]

Oh yeah, the accelerator are medium’s.

[@tossedpenny]

Have you had a chance to review the FCS H4 yet? Curious on your opinion on them.

[@lawson45uk]

No I haven't sorry a friend has an really likes them. I'm fussy on surface area and like to ride a quad so the price on those and only being a thruster i'm not likely to buy them to be honest. Like the design though very similar to an old futures fin design. Cheers.

[@owenrafferty]

Thanks for this fin guide! I was just wondering why you switched from Futures to FCS 2: it's hard to get a good answer regarding which fin system is better, people either seem dead set on one or the other, or the exact opposite, that they're both great. I'm asking because I picked up a used board with FCS 2 boxes, and my other boards are original FCS. I only have 3 sets of pretty beaten-up FCS twin tab fins, so I'm not particularly invested in FCS, but I'd be interested to hear your perspective. Thanks!

[@lawson45uk]

Hei Owen. They are definitely both good systems.. I did do a detailed reply to this question somewhere but can’t find it. Might even do a feature on it one day.. So the old FCS1 I liked a lot of the fin templates but found the base connection to the board wasn’t as good as Futures so moved over to having both for a while then FCS2 came out and that addressed the base connection and you could still screw them in as well which eliminated the side play you can sometimes get in Futures if the clearances are not spot on so I got a bit over having so many fins in each system for the few boards I had in Futures as I order Customs in FCS2 so sold the Futures and got a new board instead.. I actually use both again now I’m shaping my own boards… There both great systems that are pretty strong reliable and well made but here are a few of the plus and minus… FCS2 Plus: strong, easy to fit, fins available everywhere, tool free, good range, Strong R&D quality fins, big players all on board. Minus: Can pop out (I screw them too to be safe), can be expensive, they tend to use the same or similar templates rebranded for some fins (especially rear quads) The patent means if you want after market it’s meant you have to go back to the old 2 tab versions (FCS1 Retrofit to FCS2 box) for a long time which sucks. Good now but did have very limited twins and keels. Futures: Plus: Boxes have a strong connection to the board, easy to fit, lots of fin designs, some really good foils especially V2, Excellent availability on aftermarket brands like Captain fin and Naked Viking etc so lots of options for special prices. Incredible twin and keel selection across all brands. Minus: Used to be slightly less available than FCS but not the case now. Can have some side play between fin and box. If boxes do pull out (unlikely) it will be messy. One big point people might not know is FCS have the Cant built into the box and Futures have it in the fin and they run different cants. FCS fronts will be 9 Deg. Futures I think 6 ish Deg?? Hope this all helps. Since I have all fins and boxes and tool for them I might do a wee feature some time as it’s probably a popular question for people and hard to know which to go for. Cheers.

[@owenrafferty]

@@lawson45uk Thanks for your detailed reply! I actually have a Torq funboard I picked up the other day used that has futures fins, and I noticed there's significant play with the fins, wasn't sure if it was a typical problem with futures, or if it was just the cheap Scarfini fins that came with the board. BTW, there's a brand of fins here in Spain called Feather Fins; all the Spanish pros are riding them. They make FCS 2 compatible bases and ship worldwide. A Futures vs FCS feature would be great. Thanks again!

[@lawson45uk]

Ohhhhhhhh yeah those fins do look nice. Good sturdy looking job of the FCS2 cuts I like it 👍 yeah I see a fee people are starting to make them into FCS2 bases now maybe patent is clear yeah does happen on some futures. Probably more so with boards that have heat and pressure involved in the process. Torqs are actually pretty decent for the price and what they are designed for. Finished are usually pretty accurate and decent which you can't say about everything at that price point. If the fins are staying in and they have wobble I just get some plastic thin flat packaging from a box or even wrap a sticker round the base and put them back in. I do it on my longboard fins too I can't stand wobbles 🤣

[@yogi-m9m]

Hi, what kind of size fins would you use for the Firewire The Gem 9'1"? Thank you

[@lawson45uk]

Hi mate. Probably best to check out my review of the GEM I give a few recommendations there. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZi2en-pa5plj7c

[@markl4143]

I use a greenough 4a 7.5 and 3.5 sides and it absolutely flies. Due to the models profile and bottom contours this set up I felt really worked well...♥️🌊🇮🇪🤙🤙

[@jean7589]

Hey mate! Jeremy again.. Just wanted some advice with fins for my tomo evo helium 5"10. I m a longboarder who got this board to step down from longboards and I m doing alright but I fell like I need more hold, control and balance, especially in the bottom turn. I need a set of quads in the futures. Or rear quads with other set of sides? Can you just tell me what to get and what would be the best set of fins for me? I m 77kilos. Good on longboard and learning on a shortboard.

[@lawson45uk]

Jeremy Wolff hey buddy. Had that same board myself. I personally love the large Al Merrick fins they have good drive and hold and still release when you need them to. Definitely a quad on the Evo. If your on futures the Large haden shapes quads are also great fins. If your running FCS 2 or even futures too probably good to get a 5 fin set of AM large.

[@lawson45uk]

Jeremy Wolff oh sorry just seen the rest of the message. Didn't see it all on the email. Yeah same as but you could always get the Hayden shapes rear quads if you just need rear quads but fronts I would still go either AM large it Hayden shapes large in futures. Captain fin have a few options too but those are my top fins for futures. Pepple also love john john large but I haven't tried them myself.

[@jean7589]

@@lawson45uk Cool I ll order those today. Can't wait. So Hayden shapes rear quads, medium for my size (77kilos) ? And for the sides, AM large or AI Merrick they come in sets of two fins ? Sorry I got confused. So many different names and it s hard to find on their website because they not in the quad set up when you filter through.

[@jean7589]

@@lawson45uk AM1 AM2 OR AM3 ? They have AM3 Merrick. So confusing ahaha

[@lawson45uk]

Jeremy Wolff the biggest ones ;-) lol yeah it's confusing aye. Pretty sure the AM2 are the large ones but just double check the futures site. I would either go a five fin set of the large AM or get the Hayden shapes but I don't know if it's easy to find the five fin sets of those and there pretty expensive. Again in the large size for Hayden shapes. Think that's HS1. If you filter thrusters by size on the futures site that gives you the info on the sides. The rear quads the Hayden shapes I think at the biggest. One it futures own ones is also very similar. Think the Hayden rears are a 4.2 futures own 4.15 qd2 are similar but a touch smaller.