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NNSUP said..
Check out VMG Blades. They have 2 sizes of down winding fin. Beau OBrian, Trevor Tunnington, Titouan Puyo , Terrene Black and heaps of the pros can't be wrong.

Particularly if they're getting paid!

Just like to clarify that none of our VMG Blades team riders receive payment, they use our fins because they want to.

For those that don't know, we are a small Australian company with admittedly big ambition. We are certainly not in a postion to be buying team riders.

All of our R & D is done in Australia and manufacturing is offshore and paid for in USD.

What we have created will not suit everyone, but I'm so grateful for all of our Customers and Team Riders who have chosen to use our fins.

Thanks

Chris Ting

Beat me to it Chris.

Payment? VMG Blades is a small, low budget Sydney based company doing great fins that pros want to use.
Sure those guys and gals don't pay for their fins but free fins for that calibre of paddler aren't hard to get so they do have a choice.

Anyway, for the average paddler it should be more important to see if the fins work for them rather than buying based on what the pro guys and gals think. So demo and make your own mind up! Easy!

VMG Blades are simply a great company that produce fins that work. I am not sponsored and therefore have a choice of fins to use whether by the manufacturer of the boards or independents., I have been using these fins for over 12 months and they simply work whether Down Winding or in Flatwater racing. I couldn't be happier with my choice of fins and the workmanship. 10/10. :)

+1 for VMG. I have played around with a lot of DW fins and found the VMGs give you the best feed back. Since I got the 37 VMG I have not taken it out of my board. I also enjoy supporting an Australian company.

I certainly don't get paid, am most certainly not affiliated with any brand or manufacturer; anyone that knows me will attest to the fact that I will use any brand as long as I'm certain it works best for what I want.
I've tried many, many fins for DW, Flatwater race and the simple fact is the VMG fins felt like they work best.
I have no way of producing actual percentages or performance data, I think that's near impossible on something so dependant on feel and conditions.
Based on feel in several different boards and in many different conditions in Australia and overseas, I still reckon the VMG fins feel the best.
I love how the Mako 37" felt in my 24.75" Fanatic Falcon and now in my 25" Ace.
I've ran a proto rudder in my SIC Bullet in Maui this year and it was great. Definitely felt more responsive than the stock rudder.
The lightweight, fantastic construction is also great.
I wonder how many detractors have actually tried one...............

Anyone with any thoughts on my original heavier versus lighter question?

I would think that the ability to try the VMG fins could make a big difference for a purchasing decision.
In absolute if they are indeed the "only fin you will ever need" and you can address all conditions with two fins (i.e. a 37 and 44) then even at $300 each shipped overseas regardless of the production cost, amortization of the molds and profit margin, it is not a ridiculous proposal. I have most certainly spent more than $600 on fins over a period of several years. This approach however does not really work for people outside Oz and buying a $300 fin sight unseen just because top racers like them is a little bit less appealing. I would assume that if the owner of the brand would like to reach a wider audience then a different strategy would be needed. Either making the price more in line with other brand or expand seriously the distribution network. That said, it might very well not be a priority and there is nothing wrong to limit sales to a small segment of the market with high margins (as long as no new "must have" fin come to replace this product and the limited numbers of customers change their fins every once in a while).

Outside of the initial entry price, the concept of having only two fins of similar behavior (provided they fit equally well the fin boxes of several boards) is quite appealing in a kind of zen approach to fins.

The Ching fin is a nice light fin for long distance paddles in flat water, because the long base gives good tracking. But for the same reason, it's not a good downwind or surf fin, or for races with lots of buoy turns.

I think that if you want what the Ching fin offers, then you should take a look also at the Futures Keel fin. But that is again a flatwater-specific fin.

I like a True Ames Squirrel fin for downwinding in messy conditions. But the SIC Weedless fins are very good for downwinding too. Which is perhaps not surprising since the brand built it's reputation on downwind-specific boards. The SIC Weedless might be the most versatile fin currently available, IMO. They are good for flat water too. They look nice and are very light, and at least in Europe, are cheaper than comparable carbon fins.

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Grenfell said...
is there any logic in having a heavier for fin for downwinding?

I received a Black Project Maliko Race fin and am surprised at how heavy it is compared to a VMG!

No. I have a Black Project Maliko and it is crazy heavy. It unbalances my board when I'm carrying it. It also has a viciously sharp trailing edge that could do some real damage in a wipeout. It is made in G10 I think, which is overkill for a SUP IMO.

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LucBenac said..
I would think that the ability to try the VMG fins could make a big difference for a purchasing decision.
In absolute if they are indeed the "only fin you will ever need" and you can address all conditions with two fins (i.e. a 37 and 44) then even at $300 each shipped overseas regardless of the production cost, amortization of the molds and profit margin, it is not a ridiculous proposal. I have most certainly spent more than $600 on fins over a period of several years. This approach however does not really work for people outside Oz and buying a $300 fin sight unseen just because top racers like them is a little bit less appealing. I would assume that if the owner of the brand would like to reach a wider audience then a different strategy would be needed. Either making the price more in line with other brand or expand seriously the distribution network. That said, it might very well not be a priority and there is nothing wrong to limit sales to a small segment of the market with high margins (as long as no new "must have" fin come to replace this product and the limited numbers of customers change their fins every once in a while).

Outside of the initial entry price, the concept of having only two fins of similar behavior (provided they fit equally well the fin boxes of several boards) is quite appealing in a kind of zen approach to fins.

Hi Luc,

Actually we have just taken on an Agent in Canada, PM me and I'll send you the details.

We also have retailers and or agents/distributors in the US, Switzerland, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and more coming on all the time.

Thanks

Chris

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magillamelb said..

NNSUP said..
Check out VMG Blades. They have 2 sizes of down winding fin. Beau OBrian, Trevor Tunnington, Titouan Puyo , Terrene Black and heaps of the pros can't be wrong.

Particularly if they're getting paid!

Have you tried the VMG fins?

Paid? Im sitting here reading this thinking everyone with any doubt should just go and demo the fin. To say crew are getting paid, is just wrong! How many people in the sup sport are getting paid? Not many is my guess! Even the top guys getting a free fins would agree to pay for fins if it meant they paddled faster! Who would take and use a slower fin if the only reason was, it was free?

I use and love the 37 for DW and general ocean paddling, and the time trial for flat water. I suppose it's easy sitting behind a computer screen throwing commenuts out like this without having tried the product!

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Hi Luc,

Actually we have just taken on an Agent in Canada, PM me and I'll send you the details.

We also have retailers and or agents/distributors in the US, Switzerland, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and more coming on all the time.

Thanks

Chris

PM sent. Cheers, Luc

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Kieranr said..
I certainly don't get paid, am most certainly not affiliated with any brand or manufacturer; anyone that knows me will attest to the fact that I will use any brand as long as I'm certain it works best for what I want.
I've tried many, many fins for DW, Flatwater race and the simple fact is the VMG fins felt like they work best.
I have no way of producing actual percentages or performance data, I think that's near impossible on something so dependant on feel and conditions.
Based on feel in several different boards and in many different conditions in Australia and overseas, I still reckon the VMG fins feel the best.
I love how the Mako 37" felt in my 24.75" Fanatic Falcon and now in my 25" Ace.
I've ran a proto rudder in my SIC Bullet in Maui this year and it was great. Definitely felt more responsive than the stock rudder.
The lightweight, fantastic construction is also great.
I wonder how many detractors have actually tried one...............

Your type of endorsement is what every manufacturer wants to hear.

When a high level athlete becomes 'sponsored', they enter into a commercial arrangement with the supplier. There's an expectation by the supplier that they continue to perform well and report positively on the product to one and all and critically privately to the supplier if the product is undergoing further development. Connor Baxter is only going to report how good a Starboard product is publicly, just as Annabelle Anderson will publicly tell the world how good LK is. Is their opinion biased? Absolutely. Is what they say completely genuine? Probably, but the expectation is to report positively regardless of how a product performs which sells gear and ultimately helps fund their sport/lifestyle. It's no different from Novak Djokovich saying how good ANZ bank is. Their opinion has been bought to some extent because of that commercial arrangement. I've been there myself in another sport. Heaping praise on a product that we were replacing every 10 races instead of 10 years when nobody was around. It was what we were expected to do.

There is one person in particular in here that could quite easily get their gear for zilch, but chooses to pay for their gear. Whilst they may be biased, their views are also genuine and highly valued amongst many here.

Having used said fins previously, they are good, no doubt and appear to be in a small but select group where there is genuine science behind their design as opposed to a marketing department.

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DavidJohn said..
I've tried heap and found this new fin from FCS to be the best..

It's just a classic 9'' dolphin shape.. but being tool-less and very cheap is an added bonus.. [about 60 bucks]



There is also a slightly more expensive version of the same fin [if looks matter] that can be seen at the end of this vid.

Picked up one of these off the back of DJ's video and although I haven't had a chance to really give it a decent run, can't understand why all US centre box fins aren't manufactured with this simple tool-less solution. So easy to stop and change on the go and much easier to remove fins for transport/ storage.