FCS2 Glass Flex vs other materials

[OldSalt]

Hi all,

I am looking at FCS2 Reactors to get as much pivot (cheating) as I can out of a very wide taileded and slightly oversized Superbrand Fling.

So, I am looking for the most upright pivot fin I can get, and it seems like Reactors are the ones.

Now, Glass Flex Reactors come in at 80 bucks, while the Neo Glass is 120 and the PC are 180!

I wanted to ask what people's thoughts were on Glass Flex? I do have some Performers in GF. I mean, is it only really high end surfers that are going to notice the difference materials? I wonder if it comes down more to shape than materials.

In terms of this board... It's a very wide rounded diamond tailed, flat rockered, fairly straight railed and super fast down the line board. Used in 2 foot mush to 4 foot steeper waves. And I consider myself a reasonably solid intermediate, surfing since 1997.

Many thanks for any input!

C

[waikikikichan]

I hated the Reactor template. I too, wanted a fin with more pivot. But it ended up feeling like a shopping cart with four caster wheels all around. Yes, it did pivot, but in place. There was NO drive.

I went to the other opposite extreme to the Carver template. And that works so much better, for me.

Why don't you visit your local surf shop to see if they have the FCS Test Drive. You can borrow the fins for free. Try before you buy.

[OldSalt]

I hated the Reactor template. I too, wanted a fin with more pivot. But it ended up feeling like a shopping cart with four caster wheels all around. Yes, it did pivot, but in place. There was NO drive.

I went to the other opposite extreme to the Carver template. And that works so much better, for me.

Why don't you visit your local surf shop to see if they have the FCS Test Drive. You can borrow the fins for free. Try before you buy.

Hey thanks for the reply, that is really very interesting! What an analogy lol! That's enough to turn anyone off Reactors. I saw a similar comment by some kids reviewing the reactor in a youtube video. Strangely enough, the guys at Superbrand actually recommended the Carver as a quad for the Superbrand Fling. Maybe I should just stop asking around and take the shaper's advice!! It just seems to me that the carver would only make the turns even wider. It seems counter intuitive to me.

Thanks mate... I'll try it. Carvers re way easier to find here in NZ, too. Which is handy.

[IB_Surfer]

Answers based on my surfing experiences:

1) I do not like glassflex fins, period. I like performance core or straight fiberlgass options, they pivot better and hold truer in steep waves.

2) I have not tried the Reactors because, mostly, I am happy with the other fins I own. However, the best pivot I found where the AM fins (Al Merrick), they have more cant and toe in, so are supper snappy. However, one draw back, they seem to drag a little while you are catching the wave, so I had to paddle harder to use them, so I only use them when it's super walled.

Hope that helps

[Prancing monkey]

++ carvers. Go for neo glass; glass flex are basically plastic and have a bit too much flex in them. Fine for when I started out but turns felt slow / delayed one I started to push harder. However for my level (lower end intermediate I guess) the neo glass felt fine.

[one0one]

I got the HS fins in Performance Core, which are in the reactor family.. I love them but they are specific.. for waves upto 3.5 4 foot.. they make your turn radius shorter.. good for snaps in shoulder high waves, but doing round house cutties is really fast, and doesn't feel like it is supposed to lol.. good for those flat wide boards that dont turn like a hpsb..

i weigh 82-84 kgs, so neo glass fins just bend when i surf them, and you cant launch out of the pocket on a bottom turn.. they just lose traction.. i'm heavy footed when skate boarding so i think i'm the same surfing.. in small waves they are my go to fin.. you can do lots of turns in a small wave space.. although i now use the 2 + 1 MR fins also depending on what i want to do on the wave.. if you weigh less than 70 neo glass could go.. but PC or carbon better imo..
chchur

[Prancing monkey]

I got the HS fins in Performance Core, which are in the reactor family.. I love them but they are specific.. for waves upto 3.5 4 foot.. they make your turn radius shorter.. good for snaps in shoulder high waves, but doing round house cutties is really fast, and doesn't feel like it is supposed to lol.. good for those flat wide boards that dont turn like a hpsb..

i weigh 82-84 kgs, so neo glass fins just bend when i surf them, and you cant launch out of the pocket on a bottom turn.. they just lose traction.. i'm heavy footed when skate boarding so i think i'm the same surfing.. in small waves they are my go to fin.. you can do lots of turns in a small wave space.. although i now use the 2 + 1 MR fins also depending on what i want to do on the wave.. if you weigh less than 70 neo glass could go.. but PC or carbon better imo..
chchur

I think the key here may be how hard you turn (I. E. Proficiency, experience and ability) . I'm 85kg and didn't find the neo glass flexy. Same with the weight / size ratios.... Large pc7s (carbon versions) felt too sticky to me. Saying that, I've been surfing rock hard xlarge fibreglass mccoy tris and dialler quads for the last 11 months so my thoughts may have changed by now!!!

[IB_Surfer]

I think the key here may be how hard you turn (I. E. Proficiency, experience and ability) . I'm 85kg and didn't find the neo glass flexy. Same with the weight / size ratios.... Large pc7s (carbon versions) felt too sticky to me. Saying that, I've been surfing rock hard xlarge fibreglass mccoy tris and dialler quads for the last 11 months so my thoughts may have changed by now!!!

And size of board: I still use glassflex on my funboard and such just because they just don't turn so hard so might as well save money on fins. I have over a dozen boards and buying fiberglass fins for all or them would be too expensive. So let me take it back one notch: size M fiberglass fins for shortboard and big day guns, glass flex ok for loggy and fun boards.

[one0one]

I think different surfers put different pressure on fins.. I notice some lite surfers never use neo glass but Kelly and Toledo do in small surf.. Even noel leans toward large fins and his weights almost a groms haha.. I definitely jump off the bottom on fast waves loading up the fins..

[Naeco78]

I wanted to ask what people's thoughts were on Glass Flex? I do have some Performers in GF. I mean, is it only really high end surfers that are going to notice the difference materials? I wonder if it comes down more to shape than materials.

In terms of this board... It's a very wide rounded diamond tailed, flat rockered, fairly straight railed and super fast down the line board. Used in 2 foot mush to 4 foot steeper waves. And I consider myself a reasonably solid intermediate, surfing since 1997.

I had the same thoughts about fins until I took a set of Nylon fins out on an overhead day. It may as well have been a finless board on my bottom turns. It was a wide tailed board also and the fins were supposed to "flex" but they just never bounced back. Down goes Frazier.
They worked a little more in chest to shoulder waves.. they were functional i guess.. but the flex was just too much for me.

The Glass Flex are a step up.. but not nearly as responsive as PC and up the line. I think the materials do make a big difference, especially as the waves increase in size/speed. And probably significantly affected by surfer/board too

[one0one]

thats exactly how i felt.. All my fins are pc or carban pc..

[OldSalt]

Thanks for all the feedback on this question. Very much appreciated. I thought it had wound up but see there were a lot more replies til late last year. So thanks for the info all

Medium Reactors as a thruster liven that board right up. The difference was absolutely glowingly apparent. Now its a go to out here at my local point break, Kumera Patch, here in NZ. Cheers! C

[jaffa1949]

Kia Ora nice spot among the sweet potatoes