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Surf fins for kiting with regular surfboard

Created by bramber bramber  > 9 months ago, 26 Dec 2017
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bramber
bramber

VIC

135 posts

26 Dec 2017 7:55am
Im using a regular surfboard for kitesurfing in waves (a 6'4" firewire alternator) which has a decent amount of rocker.

Can anyone give recommendations for thruster surfboard fins suitable to use with the board, that accounts for the fact its being used with a kite?
dafish
dafish

NSW

1654 posts

26 Dec 2017 12:52pm
Loaded question. If you have a board with loads of rocker I would look at more of a stiff fin to get better upwind drive. If you are just banging around in shallow shore break then I would just get a few cheap honeycomb fin sets, (around 30 bucks a set). For my shallow thrasher this is all that I need. But if the surf is good, than I currently use a lovely set of Futures (Clay Marzo set for the quad, Jon Jon set for the thrusters.) Good thing with kiting is you can tell quickly what will or not work well. With surfing the rides are often so short that it takes a few sessions to really get to know the fin and it's characteristics.
bramber
bramber

VIC

135 posts

20 Jan 2018 2:29pm
Unfortunately my board has dual tab fcs plugs. Any fin recommendations for this setup for an 85kg rider?

Should I get fins stiffer or larger etc than normal surfing to account for it being used with a kite?
toppleover
toppleover

QLD

2067 posts

20 Jan 2018 5:29pm
Select to expand quote
bramber said..
Unfortunately my board has dual tab fcs plugs. Any fin recommendations for this setup for an 85kg rider?

Should I get fins stiffer or larger etc than normal surfing to account for it being used with a kite?


I personally wouldn't spend too much on dual tabs for Kiting, as they are easy to snap.
Just get the size recommended for your weight surfing.

Great fin deals on gumtree
mazdon
mazdon

1199 posts

22 Jan 2018 6:49pm
Hey bramber
further to topple, the size and shape of that board for kiting far outweighs the impact of fin changes most likely.
Just get some mid size, mid range quality fins and get going.

with the money you save, buy something like a 5'8 to 5'10, 20" wide, flattish fish or summery shape second hand for $150 or so. Get it fcs if possible if you want to use the same fins again (I prefer futures)

you will get far more variety and new learning experience out of comparing these 2 boards, then differing fin styles in the alternator.

then get new boards and repeat... and enjoy!
bramber
bramber

VIC

135 posts

23 Jan 2018 12:32am
I agree i need a better board. Im still learning strapless surf so the alternator is ok for now but i plan to upgrade when the board breaks. So far only managed to snap the fin though! Perhaps i need to practice more strapless airs ??
dafish
dafish

NSW

1654 posts

23 Jan 2018 7:21am
Select to expand quote
bramber said..
I agree i need a better board. Im still learning strapless surf so the alternator is ok for now but i plan to upgrade when the board breaks. So far only managed to snap the fin though! Perhaps i need to practice more strapless airs ??


Fcs fins will always be problematic as there is more stress on the fins with constant dynamic flow from kitesurfing. The fins are never at rest so the stress points on the little tabs do weaken quite quickly. I have snapped them several times just doing hard snaps off wave faces, but usually after I have used the fins for more than a month or so. Futures will not do that as the load is spread over the whole fin area. For what you are trying to achieve I would just get some cheap medium fins as suggested and take it from there. When you upgrade look at a board that will accept Futures.
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