What are you using, size type ect (FCS, Futures) & glass on fins likes dislikes, discuss.

Yea I go for the M5s generally, but I love glass on's. So much drive, or at least it feels more solid. Ive tried so many different fins and combos ect and M5s are still the best all round fin in FCS. The performance core series feel most like glass on's IMO.
Over the years Ive collected a ship load of fins, I could start my own test drive centre

What size do you have in the performance core??

K2.1 Performance core for my short board which i love, K3 Glass Flex for my 6'8"which are good as well and have also tried the AM2 Performance core but did'nt like them as much as the K2.1's.

I've ordered a new mal and it will have M5's fitted.

mac

I've got Lokbox in my boards. IMHO much better than the industry monopoliser. Almost as good as glass-ons.

doggie said...

62mac said...

I've ordered a new mal and it will have M5's fitted.

mac

So will you still go for a fin box for the middle?
Will it be a Mactavish?

Or should we have a comp to guess?

No point having a comp, you won it Yep it will have a fin box
with a 5 inch centre fin,looking forward to the change.

mac

62mac said...

My son has a new board on its way 6.3,it will have Futures Black Label fins.

mac

MMmm the black sicks look the goods. Very nice construction, and the finish is much better than most other brands Ive seen. Very solid fin boxes as well

Torch said...

PC5 for the drive to get across the wave and k2.5 for the snaps and tight turns

would rather run lockbox if shapers used them more, alot stronger

2 cents

Agreed, fron the few that Ive seen fitted with lockbox they are a better system IMO but at the end of the day Soar Hexalite fixed fins are the future, but not for travelling tho

^^On that type of board do you move the middle fin around or just set and forget?
Like pulling the fin to the rear of the board would make it stiffer ie harder to turn ect but more drive? Have you used different length fins ect for different conditions ect?

doggie said...

^^Do locbox have a screw in the front or rear of the fin, if at all havnt seen many of them about, what type of board are they in?

The screw is on the side, but it doesn't hold the fin down. It holds down a metal tab that holds the fin down. If you have a big impact the metal is supposed to bend and pop the fin out without damaging the box (not sure how well this works, hasn't happened to me). The screw runs in a metal thread, so you can't strip it. You can crank the screwdriver as hard as you can (and you're supposed to). The fin base is tapered so the tighter you screw, the tighter the fin becomes. The box is oval and has a large flange that's glassed over, so the box doesn't rip out. Have a look at their website. You can buy individual boxes etc so a shaper should be able to fit them if you ask. Taylor Knox is their big name team rider. They're popular in California but I came across them on swaylocks.

doggie said...

^^On that type of board do you move the middle fin around or just set and forget?
Like pulling the fin to the rear of the board would make it stiffer ie harder to turn ect but more drive? Have you used different length fins ect for different conditions ect?

I move the centre fin around on my longboards a fair amount - though lately I've been surfing with the 9" cutaway with it closer to the front end of the box just seem to have found a sweet spot for it.

I have a 6 or 7" centre as well I forgot about that one (it came with the 9'4") though I haven't used very much. I didn't really like it for some reason just didn't feel good under foot might have to try it again.

Generally on a beach break I ride with the fin towards the front and on more a point wave I put it a little further back.

New fins in new home..

Channels, fins are what AB sent, very fine tip with M3 style base, looks small but in combo with channels is very good.
Channels tend to stiffen a board a bit so they take base and thing out the tip of the fin, so it loosens up the tail.

Doggies channel tips

hopkincj said...

Hey Doggie, Those Shapers SQ5 fins look filthy, can't wait to see how they go, for sure the quality looks as good as the FCS Performance Core. What was the price compared to a set of FCS Q-PC5 fins? Can't make out the dimensions of your Burton, is it a Fat Bullet?

Na its the Troy brooks round tail quad, its got MK2 on it but its a MK1. They never made the MK2 in these dimentions 6,4 x 19 1/8 x 2 3/8 The fins were $120ish from memory. It seems wide doesnt surf like a wide board, got heaps of drive/speed.
Im 80kgs on average and 6.0 when I get out of bed, sumhow I fell shorter in the arvo, gravity sucks!!

barndog said...

For shortboards i go the futures system, and have a set of AM1 black stix that i rotate to my favourite board at the time. The futures just seem like a better system to me, the base is glassed into the board so it feels similar to glass ins. The black stix have the carbon fibre leading edge so whilst they flex, mainly in the tip, the base is solid and when they snap back, the carbon fibre brings them in quick, all sounds a bit technical but after years on Glass ins and FCS these are the way to go, well, for me anyway....

There is only one problem that I can see with futures is the screw goes into the front or leading edge of the fin, I would have thought that would cause cavitation but if you say that they feel solid that cant be the case.