Been chasing an 8ft 5 " Striker for a while and finally got my hands on one last week. Came with the standard JL thruster setup but was wondering what everyone else is using for :

1. all round surf
2. Nose riding

thanks

I have had 2x8.11,and an 8.5 striker,and the common thing with them and all of Jimmy's sups is ,fin wise,for me ,is the cluster of the quad!..IMO the rear quads are way back,I call it the Hawaiian factor probably due to the power in there waves,so quads never worked for me,I tried lots of straight thruster set ups , the best thruster set up was med c drives ..yeah / nah,tried mr twin ,twin with tiny rear ,still felt weird,the best the 8.5 went for me was with the very first Harley Ingelby red fins ,which are a 2+ 1 set up,fronts are a more vertical template with less tip,quite similar to jimmy's fronts only a bit stiffer the rear is 5.5-5.75 ?,I personally found the standard Jimmy 7" rear to be to big for anything other than small nose riding waves ,if I still had it I would try The Quobbas, as well as modern keels/ small rear,one thing for sure with its flatter rocker you will love the way it paddles and how fast/ manoeuvrable it is on a wave,just be careful and factor in the lack of nose lift when coming back down from vertical moves. yes I'm a Jimmy fan,and a finaholic,we are all different with what we want from our sup riding ,so I hope you find YOUR fin set up and enjoy the Striker..

I have an 8'11, never really liked the 2+1 as it was too stiff so used an m/l thruster setup for a long time. Just changed to medium Quobba thruster setup a few months ago and it's awesome, faster and looser.

It goes well on the nose but it's too good to turn to put a big single in that would be to go for noseriding

I'd run a couple of sets of fins depending on conditions, and preferred riding style for the day.

Waist high or smaller - 9" or 9.5" HP longboard single fin. Fun cruisy style, get FCS centre as no tools needed.
Shoulder high to Head high - Thruster with smaller rear. Smaller rear allows for slashing the tail more, more aggressive surfing
Overhead+ - thruster with same size rear at the back of the box. More hold for higher speeds, yet still agile.

If you couldn't be bothered changing fins, i'd look for something like this for the centre:
www.surffcs.com.au/collections/athlete-series/products/fcs-ii-harley-single-fin
And med Quobba's for the sides. I'd just move the centre fin for/aft depending on conditions.

I'll add some general comments here:
- for smaller waves you want fins to help generate speed / drive. bigger fins help this.
- for medium waves you can basically pick whatever your preference is
- for bigger waves you want the fins to help control the speed.

There is no one ideal for all conditions. Each has its own compromise. It's why many surfers just get an all rounder set based on their weight and stop thinking about it...

I use 4.25 fronts and 4" rears on my 8.5. The Protecks have saved my bacon many times.

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xurfxup said..

I use 4.25 fronts and 4" rears on my 8.5. The Protecks have saved my bacon many times.

I'm curious do the safety fins detract from performance ? If so is it very noticeable ?

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justaddwater said..

xurfxup said..

I use 4.25 fronts and 4" rears on my 8.5. The Protecks have saved my bacon many times.

I'm curious do the safety fins detract from performance ? If so is it very noticeable ?

Not in my experience. They are rigid fibreglass fins but have a very tough flexible polyurethane edge. Not much different than other fins but I'm no pro surfer.
They still hurt if you land on them but haven't had a cut since I've had them.
Keeps me on the water.

Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciated. I have a bit more homework to do I think

I use AM1 fronts and a center that is just under 8" in my 8'5" Striker (see pic). I have the center placed in the middle of the box. It seems like a good all around set up for turning from the tail and nose riding.

For awhile I was using the larger AM2s, but I felt that didn't let me use/feel/engage the rail as much.

I've also tried it as a quad (with Futures QD2 4.15s) and as a 5 fin with a little 3" True Ames center fin box nubster, but I like the board best as a 2+1.

Just bought BostonSUP's 8'5 Striker and took it out yesterday. Blown away by this board... selling my 8'5 Destroyer and maybe my 9'2 Kalama cause I doubt they'll get any action anymore.

I ran it with 4" sides and an 8" center (all the way forward) in waist-stomach waves and it went beautifully.

I would also like to try a Quobba medium (4.5") in the center and wondering if I should switch the sides to 4.5" or 5.5" as well or just leave the 4"ers in there. Or maybe switch everything to 5.5" with a GL-1 set I have.

North shore,I spent a lot of time one the strikers,more the 8.11,but like you wanted to try the 8.5.it went best for me as a 2+1 the old red Harley Ingeby set up ,fronts very similar to the existing JLin size but stiffer, and the rear 5.25 with a wide base,and tip flex only,Warningwith it's flat rocker and built in speed/ manoeuvrability be careful coming down from vertical moves as there is very little nose rocker to keep you safe,