I’m looking for fin advice for this board. Dimensions: 5’8" x 14/19.25/15.25 x 2.25
I’ve been riding it primarily with the starfin with sporadic results. I’ll get one wave where everything connects really well, then the next wave it seems like I’ve forgotten how to surf. I’ve only tried one session with the 7.5" L-Flex but it seemed like something was “missing”…not much drive and really difficult to get moving backside.
I realize much of my difficulty results from an internal struggle of trying to keep myself from attempting to ride it like a thruster but I’d still like to go with the best possible combination.
If anyone has any tips, I’m all ears. If it matters, I’m about 5’8" and 155lbs. Thank you for your time.
try any of the fins based on the Greenough 4A template. i like the one from Fibre Glas Fin Co. it has a bit more of a spine down the leading than the one from True Ames, which sometimes has a tendency to slide out. fin still flexes well off the back, but the stiffer front helps keep everything pointed in the right direction.
Thanks soulstice. The 4A was one of the fins I was looking at…although from guessing as I don’t have any real experience with these types of fins. A few others I was looking at were the Skip Frye flex, the Velzy Classic, and the TK Flex from Rainbow…these also from guessing.
skip the frye (no pun intended)…it’s too flexy for that board, and your tail will probably slide out on hard bottom turns or steep faces.
velzy might be okay – a little thinner and more raked back than the greenough. could work out well.
not sure how i feel about the rainbow. just doesn’t look like the right fin for the board. have you seen the “Boomerang” fin from Rainbow?..i dig it. a buddy of mine rides one in his 5’8" disc/egg board, and he loves it.
Is their “bioflex” fin the same as the Boomerang? I didn’t see one with that specific name.
Just out of curiosity, you mentioned that I should go with an 8" fin max. Is that due to my weight/height and/or board size? Also, should I confine my research to just somewhat thin and raky fins or are there any benefits of a more full templated fin for a board like mine?
Once again, thank you for your help soulstice! I have done lots of in the water research on dozens of thruster fin sets but it’s hard to get my mind around one fin doing all the work on a board.
nah…boomerang is this funky little thing. they don’t have it on their website, but it’s viewable on the .PDF catalog from Rainbow Distributing.
i think anything more than 8" would be too much for the board. you want it to hold and drive, but still be loose enough to throw around. here’s the basics, as relating to the greenough 4A (and the reason i jumped right to that fin template) – the flared base gives you good hold and drive while the flex through the tip will give you a nice squirt through turns. a fin like the boomerang is completely different, but who knows…it just might work.
i like to try lots of different fins in my boards. sometimes, you can find two completely different fins that both work well for the same board, but in different ways. $30 on a new fin, and it’s like you’re getting a whole 'nother board. i like fins…
As a short single-fin lover, I vote for the Frye flex fin. I love it, although I use it in a slightly bigger board (6’0") with the wide point forward. Regardless, it’s worth a try. The fin (or maybe my board) is very sensitive to adjusting the placement in the box… a fraction of an inch change feels like I switched to a whole new fin.
In my 6’0" I use the 8.5 inchech Frye. For “normal” conditions (winter Sunset Cliffs), I have it almost all the way up in the box, and I just move it back little by little as the waves get bigger/steeper. I’ve never had the “too flexy” issue that Soulstice described with the Frye…if anything, I like it flexy, but different strokes, I suppose… Personally, I can’t stand stiff fins, they make short single fins feel dead in the water.
Thanks trucker. I was actually down at Longboard Grotto a few minutes ago and had the 8.5" Frye flex fin in my hand but they didn’t have a comparably sized Greenough. They did have a smaller version and as you mentioned, it definitely felt like a stiffer fin. Thanks for the fin placement tip too, that’s where I’ll start my testing.
Thank you soulstice and trucker for the advice. I haven’t located the Greenough in my size yet but I picked up the 8.5" Frye flex yesterday. I used it today in 1-3 foot high tide peaks and it worked unbelievably well. It was pretty much all rights so I don’t know how it goes backside but I had a blast today for sure. Thanks guys!
I have a 5-10 single fin round pin with a very similar outline!
I have it set up with a FU K-Swift 8.0 – lots of rake but pretty stiff. My favorite position is with the tip about 2.5-3” up from the tail. The board drives great from the front and when you shift your weight back to the tail, it does amazing gouges. It does come unglued on high-speed cutbacks and deep bottom turns, but then again it’s a single fin.
