Surfing Waves

im looking at buying some more fins, iv been surfing for about 3-4 months now, i skim alot, and used bodyboard ect.. and picked it up quik, have a billabong 6"4, i want a fin that will give me alot more drive and speed down the line, does anyone have any advice what to get iv been looking at the carbon sunny garcia and tom carrol models. are these any good? what do other people ride? i surf in 1-4 ft waves . would these fins be any good in those conditions? cheers

im using scarfini hx2 fins at the moment which im not having a problem with, good for the xxxxx were getting at the moment down here

sunny and tom carrolls surfing was all about speed and power so i can imagine thats what their fins are all about.

anyone on here tried the fcs 3D red tips? might get the for christmas

oh yeah was looking at boardridersguide.com and they have loads stuff for sale at knock of prices(including fins)

Sunny Garcia and Tom Carrol fins are pretty large fins. Will be drivey but very tight. Al Merrick and Rawson fins are still pretty big but the center fin is a little smaller so not as tight. For Future fins, the John Carper is a good drivey fin. Ummm, just wondering why you need so much drive for 1-4 ft waves.

Just know that the larger the fins, the more drive, but you sacrifice looseness (release) so going to be harder to turn. YU fins are good for small waves and G5 are good all around fins (good drive and good release).

Fcs red tip provides hold (harder to pop the fin out), lift, and drive but doesn't release very well (harder to pop the fin out).

Ive just fitted a set of carbon sunny garcia fins to my new Simon Anderson intercepter 6'5". Im taking it out for a major test drive tomorrow !

What fins have you got on at the moment?

1-4ft is pretty much what I surf most of the time and of FCS I've had old composite G5, old composite GPR, the old composite Rusty ones, the old composite K2.1 and currently on the new M5 Glass Flex.
My favourite is the K2.1 so far but I'm getting used to the M5 slowly - the M5 seems less forgiving and I can feel them not flexing like the K2.1 did so they do spin out more but its probably due to my technique and I expect them to spin out less as I get used to them.
I may get some Glass Flex K2.1 after I get the hang of the M5 properly.
I have used the GPR in bigger waves and they did alright I suppose looking back but in smaller 1-4ft waves I'd go for the K2.1 or M5. Depends what you like personally too but that is my choice FWIW.

Yeah, I like K2.1 & M5 too. I didn't like K fins in carbon fiber though.

i just brought some glass flex k3s last night, anyone tried these out yet? what are they like?

iv been using g5s that came with the board, i brought some al merrick (g am) template fins the other week. but have not tried them out yet.

I think the K3 are for bigger down the line type waves, but I've not tried them myself.

smallwavegrovellerchick wrote:Yeah, I like K2.1 & M5 too. I didn't like K fins in carbon fiber though.

What didn't you like about them?

Broosta wrote:

smallwavegrovellerchick wrote:Yeah, I like K2.1 & M5 too. I didn't like K fins in carbon fiber though.

What didn't you like about them?

They felt stiff...no flex

smallwavegrovellerchick wrote:Sunny Garcia and Tom Carrol fins are pretty large fins. Will be drivey but very tight. Al Merrick and Rawson fins are still pretty big but the center fin is a little smaller so not as tight. For Future fins, the John Carper is a good drivey fin. Ummm, just wondering why you need so much drive for 1-4 ft waves.

Just know that the larger the fins, the more drive, but you sacrifice looseness (release) so going to be harder to turn. YU fins are good for small waves and G5 are good all around fins (good drive and good release).

Fcs red tip provides hold (harder to pop the fin out), lift, and drive but doesn't release very well (harder to pop the fin out).

you know your stuff

Went from 7's To the G5's.
The 7's were fairly quickly disposed of. The 5's were good alrounders but I wanted more slide and performance in smaller waves.
Now running K2's(Carbon) and they feel great. Have surfed solid 6' and they were great. Small surf, they rip. Hard bottom turns you can hear them - seriously whoossh thru the water, not that it means anything....
Im about 95kg and I get good drive and hold with the K2's and they can slide when I want them to. I looked at the H2's but I have heard mixed reviews.
A little more flex in a K2 style would be my next choice to try...

Makes me think I should give the H2s another try.

Yeah... Ill prob' get a set eventually and try them still.