http://www.surfcohawaii.com/testimonies.htm
eck
BB
pussy
Amen to that, brother!! I AM one of those testimonies, believe it or not. The only positive part to that whole situation is that I now get a small (enough to cover shipping from HI) discount when I order new fins from them in return for my testimonial.
All of my boards, and all of my friends’ and family’s boards are now proteck equipped. There’s just no good reason (price, performance, etc…) not to use them.
I would like it if they made more of the trailing edge flexible. Or a little more of the leading edge flexible.
Some of those shots are grusome.
I saw a guy who got skegged yesterday in the head. He’ll be ok, but the guy was a beginner and I really doubt he’ll be back for more.
For those of you who use Pro Teck fins, do they perform as well? Are they just “soft” around the leading and trailing edges?
Thnx
It depends upon which fins you get from them. They have a couple single fin templates that are soft bodied as well. But, their primary thruster line is just soft around the perimeter. We make the soft surfboard fins used in most surf schools. And, we’re developing an overmolded soft fin with a rigid internal frame. But, again at this point it’s for soft surfboards. Proteck does make their fins for our Red X boxes though.
I’ve had three protek truster sets, small with hard edges, large with soft edges and large with the new x-foil. I used to like the small ones in small waves as they where nice and loose, but they lack a bit of drive. I felt like the larger ones did create more drag and less drive than the G-PR I’m using now on that board. Getting that set was really a revelation for me. Those protek fins may work fine and dandy for other boards and/or other riders.
regards,
Håvard
I would have preferred to just not see some of those…
Anyone mind posting some of those shots over at the local breaks, maybe we can get some of these rookies out of the water.
rKelly:
If you’re in this business some of those rookies will be your customers. And if you’re not, some of those rookies will be the people that will keep your local shaper in business.
Wouldn’t you rather try to educate them on surfing etiquette than trying to spook them out of the water?
They need to be availible in regular, softer, and stiffer constructions. To account for water temps, wave sizing, and power of the surfer.
For sure, they are at least the 5th generation of softer leading and trailing edge fins I’ve seen, and every previous gen was draggy, kinda slow, and prone to stall/cavitation/spinouts when heavily loaded on bigger, faster waves.
Marketing might be changed also, to include advanced surfers, instead of just appealling to beginners.
Ever the eternal pessimist, but always looking at and trying new ideas…with a grain of salt.
My 2+1 setup on my 9-0 LB is 3" O’Fishl sides with a 7" Proteck; the board is a Chris Ruddy shape with lots of nose and tail rocker. The Proteck lacks a little drive, but you can compensate with sizing the side fins to suit your style. I’ve been using it for about 4 years, and like the looseness. Definitely not suitable as a single in my opinion. It’s safer especially at night and in crowded breaks. It can take a lot of abuse from rocks at low tide.
I think they could benefit from a few different fin templates as well. Now it’s like having the choice of G5 and a slightly smaller G5…
regards,
Håvard
I tried the Pro Tecks fins for the first time 4 years ago on my new high performance fish from H.I.C. I noticed 1 day that my friend was using new fins I had never seen them before I took alittle look and the ends were rubber like and I said “What the hell is this?” Anyway to make things short I asked my friend to try them out, they were a pair of G-5’s. Waikiki was a perfect 3 feet. My board was on fire tearing that shit up! Worked fine for me. Didn’t notice any difference between G-5 fins and the the Protects G-5. I gotta admit 1 thing though just to be honest I have never bought a pair.
Da Cheetah
If the G5 work for you, the proteks propably will too. Just for the record, the board in question doesn’t go any better with the FCS G5 fins than with the proteks.
One thing with surfcohawaii is the great cutomer service. They don’t mind sending a single fin halfway across the globe if you break one. Much cheaper than buying a new set at the local shop where they don’t sell replacements.
regards,
Håvard