FCS 3D Red Tip

[Laguna]

Tried this out the other day from an fcs test centre. The surf was only small 1-2ft choppy so I couldnt test out its speed, but it deffinately helps out in smaller surf. It works better than the G5 i was using in choppy waves too - its more stable. What I love about it is that it gives you extra lift on waves, which is handy on small waves. I think im going to be getting this fin once my student loan comes through

Any suggestions on side fins to try out with it?

(Full range of FCS fins

[bluesnowcone]

i was going to buy this fin but i got into longboarding, is it easy to turn?

[Laguna]

Ye, turning on it seemed fine. Cant say too much about turning as it was only 2ft but I couldn't find anything really bad about it. Deffinately feels more stable and a bit smoother. £50 for just one fin is crazy though

[Brent]

Hi, been using a red-tip for about 18 months, I use it in a 6'7" mini-gun for larger wave conditions. It's best in conditions that are choppy or with side winds that throw a side chop across faces - conditions that almost throw you from your feet - stuff like that.
It is a copy of an Australian fin from the mid 1980's I can't remember the guys name involved - but he did go on to doing ground breaking fin work for America's cup yachts.

It is not a loose fin, not by any means, it stablises the rear end of your board, removing all hopping & bucking in rough conditions, enables sweeping carves & turns at high speed - with complete stability. But it is no slash & hack fin.

[Laguna]

Are there any good fins that work well alongside it?
I was thinking about getting that for chopy/messy days which happens a lot around here, and then getting some high performance fins for big clean days for speed and sharp turns.

[Brent]

FG-5's are my fin of choice for good conditions. In bigger surf (and being 160 pounds) I find they're perfect.
But G5's are almost exactly the same anyway.

If you've got a sense of humor try a little GS trailer or GX middle fin in with G5's on the outside. Turns your board into a 26" skateboard. All over the place like a bar of soap.

[Laguna]

lol I was thinking what that would be like. I will have to try it one day. I like the G5's , havent tried the FG-5's yet. But I imagined they wern't too different. I want to try out the K2.1's one day. Think I will have to just try out a load of fins when theres a decent swell. Thanks

[Brian]

lol sorry I have no idea about anything to do with fins...anyone have FCS M-5's cus thats what I have...seem to work fine

[Laguna]

My friend has the M5's, they are based on the same template as the G5's which im using. The M5's are suppose to be stiffer, smoother and more responsive.

I think the M5's are the new standard set of FCS fins that comes with surfboards now, like the G5's use to be.

[Brent]

All the G series fins are made of plastic.
The M series are made from a different type of plastic and are slightly lighter.
I believe the main reason FCS had to change to the new plastic was to achieve higher accuracy moulding their foils to create the slight concave inner fin surface that features on all M series fins - the exact same shape as what they achieve on their FG series of fins using the more expensive fiberglass.