Firstly, I am not trying to have a go at 4WFS but Bill Barnfield suggested that the following subject may be worthy of it’s own thread. So here goes.
Basically how many customers can you see breaking out a bevel gauge, protractor and centre find ruler (in my case) to adjust cants and toes on fins? Speaking for myself, none.
I do think 4WFS looks like a great system for team riders or messing around with your own creations. Kind of saves you routing out the whole box if you want to change the toe. But how many shapers are there in comparison to the general public out there who surf and does this mean that such a system is destined for financial doom?
I hope not, but Dean (can’t go wrong with a first name like that) feel free to post your current bank account balance, income projections, total material costs, markups, middle name, CV, where you see yourself in five years time (prison in my case) etc, etc, etc. Or not.
If the fin system is well designed and easy to install, looks good, no major disadvantages of weight for example and the fin selection is good then irrespective of all the bells and whistles of adjustability then its got a good chance of being in demand. But only if effective well made good looking, affordable fins are easily available too.
Suprisingly surfers are sheep. They want the same boards everyone else, surf the same places etc. so maybe the popularity will grow exponentially
I also wonder if having too much adjustability overwhelms people and are put off.
However there does seem to be a growing awareness of the benefit of good fins made from good materials. Whereas bendy plastic G5’s came with nearly every custom or off the rack now its the norm to have the better glassflex ones.
Seems to me that thruster shortboarders tend to stick with what fins came with the board whereas the AB3 type want the Bamboo,Glass,hexelite etc exotics.
Seems also that the thruster shortboarders dont want to alter fin position either but use the board pretty much as it came.
There seems to be much more interest in adjustability amongs the AB3 type and this seems to be a growing market.
Most of my boards have had some adjustability (Lokbox, Probox,4wfs )and although interested in working out for myself what fins do and how their position feels on a board I tend to go through an initial phase of experimenting to get a feel I like then leave it there. Most people I know have 2 or more boards so just change to a different board when conditions change.