Glass ons vs Fins systems -

[WilburKookmyer]

Ok guys, lets have some opinions. I will make my position clear, I love my glass on fins and love the drive and feel.

So lets have it - who likes what and why?

[the.ronin]

Dude I remember Wilbur Kookmeyer!! I loved that guy!!!

[WilburKookmyer]

But Captain Goodvibes is possibly still alive!

[oldgrom]

Glass on are still the heavy weight contenders.... Period! But to find the perect fin board combo that works for you removable/adjustable fins are the rule. Once that is obtained (clone-a-board) with the fin choice/angle/setback etc. and glass em on for that supper board that ya can shread on.

[scsurf]

If you travel a lot with your boards, fin systems are the way to go. For the average stay at home surfer I don't think there is a great advantage.

Except of course the longboarder who wants to switch off from tri to single.

The board I consider my "magic" board has glassed on fins.
But just try to find a board with glassed on fins on the rack.

[drowningbitbybit]

I'm a pretty regular fin snapper, so fin systems for me without question.

[WilburKookmyer]

Stop buying boards off the rack and get out and support your local shaper!

[drowningbitbybit]

Stop buying boards off the rack and get out and support your local shaper!

Dont shapers use fin systems then?

[scsurf]

Around here most of the boards on the racks are made by local shapers.

I won't buy customs any more though the years I've found it better to select the shape I want from the rack.
Not always but some times you can find yourself in a situation where you order a custom board, when the shaper brings it out it's nothing like what you wanted. Then you ether say no thanks and walk or get stuck with a board you're unhappy with. I've done that 3 times between 2 different shapers.

I'm a small business man and support the little guy when ever possible, but I refuse to spend anymore of my hard earned money on sticks that don't work for me.

[WilburKookmyer]

Wow - i must be spoilt! Two shapers over past 10 years, every custom as ordered. Both guys know how to surf....very well, one was Australian over 35's champ one year, so I guess they know the feeling of getting what you ask for!

And yes they use fin systems but if you read the posts above, someones reason for using fin systems is that is what rack boards come with.

How many people have even surfed on glass on fins recently?

[DreadManFred]

i surfed on glass fins this summer in hawaii, dont like it was much as the fins system.

i think its a little more on the heavy side.

[garbarrage]

kinda been avoiding glass-ons as i've been hard on fins this far. drove one into by board last week with my knee. pretty horrible wipeout.
decided to get a pro job done on it as i shattered one of the plugs, so for that reason and since reading this thread i've become a bit more open minded about them.

doubt i'd notice a difference, but anyone care to point out the text book pros and cons of each one?

[oldgrom]

Me got a few with glass on and love em if I'm taking one or two sticks ,,,no prob if I'm loading a shizz pot it is nice to remove the fins.

[BoarderDave]

I dig my glass on's..

I wouldnt mind having a board with fin system though as well. But I definitely have no complaints about my glassed fins.

[kitesurfer]

You gotta love your glass on's.



These are on my thruster, its more work to fit them but they look and perform so much better.

On my kiteboard/wave boards i use red-x fins because they are adjustable allowing the board to be finely tuned, plus they are good and strong!

KS

[isaluteyou]

glassons are cool but i have two real problems with them.

1 - i surf a lot of reef and have blown out several fins. my glasson ones completely muffed the board when it blew out. whereas the other fin systems although did significant damage was a piece of cake to fix.

2 - you are stuck with the size cant interchange them for a different size or style.

Based on that i will never have glassons on a board i intend to ride on a daily basis

[esonscar]

Glass on's on my shortboard : an old, awesome jimmy Lewis, adjustable on my longboard : a glass on on my gun.

Prefer the feel of the glass ons !

Feel more planted BUT I haven’t tried the more modern fin systems - yet, so if I change my mind I’ll let you know.

[essex sucks]

fin system for me i am going to have lok box on all my boards i get since i got my quad

[IB_Surfer]

For starters, I only buy local custom, like having it my way.

Answer: Fin system for me. I surf reefs and rocky points in San Diego and baja, have snapped, scraped, torn out a plug and other fin misshaps, could easily have torn out the fiberglass if they where glass on's.

However, for performance, the glass on's are now the best, less weight, super thin and can be customized depending on yourneeds, but for every day wear and tear fin systems.

I like FCS because I like their fins foils and shapes, not necessarily because they are better than futures. Matter of fact, my shaper prefers futures, but I like FCS. Maybe cause I'm old...

[drowningbitbybit]

Feck feckin' feck - broke another fin today....