Looking for some Fin type insight: I picked up a set of FCS fins and was asked which ones I wanted. Yet another opportunity to show that I ‘only know that I know nothing.’(who said that?). The person helping me realized that I needed some guidance and asked what level of surfer I was building the board for. After a small discussion on the ability of my bro as well as the type of stick being built and his weight made he made his assessment and gave me a basic set of GPR-Xs’. Of course I promptly went to the website and found many different types of fins being hawked by as many different marketing strategies. As I am only familiar with glass on fins I feel compelled to reach out to the Swaylock brotherhood for pros’ and cons’ of the various , foils, rakes, sizes, styles(including curved) of these fins. Thanks in advance, Magoo p.s. Anyone ever make fins that fit into the FCS slots? How did they work? Thanks, M
From my limited experience, the G5’s are the standard, multi-purpose fins that come with most boards. That’s not to say that these are the best fins, just something that’s kind of middle-of-the-road. The GPR-X’s would probably work better for a bigger guy/wave. I see a lot of small guys using the blue and white Slater fins, K 2.5??? I really like the TC Redlines. They hold in and have lots a drive. I usually use the TC Redline side fins and swap the center fin depending on the waves or how I feel. I think FCS will let you test a set of fins at most surfshops.>>> Looking for some Fin type insight: I picked up a set of FCS fins and was > asked which ones I wanted. Yet another opportunity to show that I ‘only > know that I know nothing.’(who said that?). The person helping me realized > that I needed some guidance and asked what level of surfer I was building > the board for. After a small discussion on the ability of my bro as well > as the type of stick being built and his weight made he made his > assessment and gave me a basic set of GPR-X’s. Of course I promptly went > to the website and found many different types of fins being hawked by as > many different marketing strategies. As I am only familiar with glass on > fins I feel compelled to reach out to the Swaylock brotherhood for pros’ > and cons’ of the various , foils, rakes, sizes, styles(including curved) > of these fins. Thanks in advance, Magoo>>> p.s. Anyone ever make fins that fit into the FCS slots? How did they work? > Thanks, M
i’ve used a bunch of the fcs templates and like the composite GR’s best, lots of drive and flex(i’m 5’11" 160#). it all comes down to personal preference and style. i also have YU’s(good smaller fins, use the trailer with G-R sides most), G-AM’s(like G-R’s but too stiff for me), G-5’s(good basic all around fin, rarely used), and the curved fins(which i never adapted too, felt too stiff and tracky). i also have a tiny G-S trailer i use on my fish on small days. this is obviously one of the biggest benefits to interchangeable fins. a lot of shops have a test drive program where you can actually take out a set and try them. i wish i had done that before buying the curved fins.these are only my observations, and i haven’t tried every fin they make. the TC Redlines look really nice too.hope that helps a bit…
p.s. Anyone ever make fins that fit into the FCS slots? How did they work? > Thanks, M … I made a set of “Rising Sun” side fins…A photo is in the board archives… They worked fine, I’ve gone back to single fins exclusivley since then…Paul
I manufacture a competing fin system called Red X. There are some basic fundamentals which affect how fins preform. In short they are Base, Height, Rake, Form shape, Foil Shape, Cant & Toe. I wrote an article a while back that explains how each of these characteristic interact. You can find the article at the address listed below. http://www.wetsand.com/article-email.asp?ID=21&CatID=102