Fins

How many of you have experimented with different fins on your surfboard? Working in a surf shop got me really interested in different fins and how they change the way your surfboard rides. I have played around with quite a few FCS fins, mostly those recommended by our friendly FCS rep. My current favourites are the PC-5 - they completely changed the way my surfboard rides.

I just wanted to open this discussion for anyone interested in fins and how they work…

As a bigger guy I have had some bad bad experiences with FCS, the plugs just won’t stop ripping out, not from hitting anything, just from stresses inflicted from a 100kg guy reefing them around.  I have been halfway through backside bottom turns and felt the fins snap and then spun out, not a good feeling.  I’m not saying this in the light of being the wordls most powerful surfer or anything like that but it’s happened on more occasions than I have fingers to count with.

As a result of that I swapped over to the On A Mission system as my shaper was of the opinion it was indestructible and I was in the process of ordering 4 boards for Indo and didn’t want them all to be farked in the fin dept within 2 days.  The OAM never ripped out but they weren’t the best fins really, got on futures and really liked those both as asystem and the fins themselves.

The only FCS fins I really liked were made of fibreglass, I got them from Skipp. They had cut them down them from a big stock fixed fin and had divits like a golf ball.
I also tried curved side fins, again made of glass. With the extra surface area could be smaller and gave my board more drive in turns.

Any board I order have fixed fins. Fixed a fins are so much better than a replaceable system. Waaay less drag.

Replaceable fins are only intended for boards that spend a lot of time on planes or for surfers that only ride the one board in different conditions/breaks.

I prefer to use a different board than different fin system.

i’m running futures on my board, its a 5 fin box setup so i can have quad or thruster or even a twinnie if the thought comes around one day. i had a fcs type of design on my old board, it was Raptor very similar to fcs but with a stainless steel rod at right angles through the lugs that the grub screws clamped down on…product was great but i think fcs had a much bigger markethold.

the futures are sick though for sure, love the system and my new board i am so stoked with.

5’6 Lost Motivator

spazspam

Hey guys, long time no post!

I’m looking into getting a new set of fins for my 6’4” CI Flyer II.

Currently riding it with a large set of G-AM which can feel a little stiff. Only other fins I have used are the basic m-5’s these felt a little unstable usually in more hollow surf but haven’t used them for about a year or so now and I think I’ve progressed a fair way since then.

I have been reading up a bit on the H-3 Nexus. Not sure on sizing for these (either thinking medium or large). I’m about 184cm and 75-80kg.

Has anyone used these fins? In theory they sound great but have read mixed reviews and fairly pricey.

Can you guys recommend anything else?

Not much opportunity to test fins where I am so it’s going to have to be a best estimated guess from internet reviews and advice.

Cheers!

Haven’t read anything about these much less tried them.  With the cost of fins these days I’m not sure what exactly I would spend my money on other than Kelly’s.  I have generally just got new fins when I buy a new board and just opt for a set I don’t already have!

You could try the PC-5s or PC-7s. Either will give you more drive than the M-5 and they will be looser than the G-AM. I’ve been super happy with the PC-5s and they perform better than any other fin I previously tried. The H-3 Nexus seems to be the middle ground between the PCs and G-AMs.