Fins

never been a fan of M-5's and found them pretty stiff, I see them as an general purpose fin to chuck on any board and being cheaper they are often the choice of fin that is sold with new boards

have a set of K2.1 (not the PC) and have found them fairly uninteresting too, in a loose square tail in waves where you can throw it around they seem to be OK, but in rounded pins going rail to rail they need some work when doing more arcing turns, for general beach breaks they seem to release and grab well on the hard turn when you have plenty of speed but they are not real good in between,

if you are prepared to pay the high end the H3 nexus is a really good allrounder and seems to work well in different boards, good drive and speed in beach breaks, and good for quick tight turning, price is high so see if you can test drive a set first

get a set of am-2. trust me. this is a ferrari.

fins are a personal thing, so many variables from surfer to surfer and from board to board as well as waves ridden, the best way to really know what fins you like is to take some time to try as many as you can...I find th M5's a good all round template, a happy medium between drive and manouverability but thats just me, I like a board a touch stiffer so I get more drive and I have to push the board thru turns, whereas some guys prefer a fin that requires less effort to turn and dont generally want to push them hard thru carves, which is when the nexus and KS2.1 ( and similar more upright-less raked templates ) seem to be preferred, this is only my experinces and like I said before, such a personal thing...what works on one board, doesnt always work on the next one.... placement, and bottom shapes, toe in and cant, tail area, rocker, surfers technique are just a few other things that make fins work differently from surfer to surfer....go forth and try lots...its fun too....

www.moresurfbords.com

^^^^^^

spoiled by too many north coast rollers I think, I wouldn't put a set of nexus in a wider, shorter board either

manlyisgay, I asume you are northern beaches and assume by standard shortboard you meant performance board so why I thought nexus would work for you, don't think by the less effort comment by MP that they aren't the go because in a narrower non fish like board in small unpredictable beach breaks they provide good options for carving turns as well as quick turns, carving turns on northern beaches beach breaks with M5's and alike on a performance board is like driving a land cruiser around a race track, when it fires up a bit you will find the nexus too loose as per mark's comments

Hey guy's , interesting info on fins, so I'm after some opinions and feed back.
I have the standard G5 and also H2's on both my short boards. The H2's go particularly well on one board but don't like them on the other.
I go to Indo once a year and surf the southern GBR a fair bit and have just got myself a new step up board (6'10 rounded pin. I'm 6'2 93kg) for when its solid. It has come with the M5's and I haven't got to surf it yet.
Whats a good option to try if the M5's aren't to my liking? I think the H2's will be to small.

no, you cant have too many fins but you can have not enough time to try em all....

www.moresurfboards.com

Hey Fitzy, scuse the belated reply but your post caught my eye.

I'm using FG5's on my standard shorty, 6'2" rounded square. I like them as an all-purpose fin. We are about the same size and weight (6' and 90kg) and when the surf kicks up, I like the signature Simon Anderson S 25's (the green ones). Also for my step up 6'6" pintail, I go for the AM2's. Apart from a few other sets of fins I own, these are pretty much my standard go to sets and don't bother with anything else.

I'd be interested to hear what other (ahem!) heavy surfers are using?

I've always liked the AM fins - they are smooth and drivey, but the narrow tip gives the fin sensitivity and release in top turns, so it's a nice combination. I am going to try them in performance core next (AM-2) because there is no doubt they are improved again with this construction.
The other fins I use a lot of are the P3's - the G5 size is just too big for me (68kg) but the P3's are are a quick all rounder without having too much fin to push around. Like them a lot. I ride an 5'10" Al Merrick Whip, or a 6'0 Rusty.

Hey, thanks for the reply Zenagain. Interesting you suggested the Simon fins as the new board was designed by the big fella himself!!

Anyway, just got back from indo and I used the H3 Nexus in the Large size and I loved them. They are a bit pricey. Anything from 2-8 foot, they felt great in all conditions. Didn't end up surfing the other boards after the second day.

Just ordered a new clearwater 6'0 round tail with future fins,looking at the solus or wct fin, anyone riden with these fins? Any ideas or feed back would be a great help.

in response to the original post. fins are more than anything, subject to preference. we all have different likes, dislikes, and more importantly styles. fins can get tricky. in an ideal world, each fin set should be designed specifically for the surfboard they are being placed in. certain fin characteristics work better with certain board outlines/tails.

as for the k2.1's, mere mortals (myself included) won't benefit from the them. they're not a fin designed for outright drive which most of us will notice first and is coincidentally the easiest fin characteristics to first notice. look at the fin. it's a relatively small fin in terms of height and base, has low/moderate sweep, and low/moderate fin area. this fin was made for kelly's style of surfing which would be high speed, smooth, with quick directional changes, and loose off the top. kelly doesn't need drive or speed. he creates it himself. the fins have next to no drive but are as smooth as butter through turns. they will require the surfer to surf not necessarily top to bottom but more of a figure 8's style of surfing. most of surfers either haven't reached the level of surfing to appreciate this set up or simply, it may just be a preference issue. nothing wrong with either.

experimentation is key. try different sets. if you find a set you like. try and find out what about that fin do you actually like. pay attention to the basics. height, base, sweep, foil, and cant

I agree the m5,s are crap, what fcs were thinking in making their standard give away cheap fin a stiff inside foil fin I don,t know? FCS has decided for everybody that the inside foil technology is the be all and end all so it is standard in the m series( which is generally the "free"set you are given when purchasing a board, the actual original black plastic g5,s felt much better than the m series and the Performance glass 5 is even better again, I use PG5 on a wide range of boards from 6,4 to 8,0, but putting the m5 (same template shape and size) in the same boards feels completely different lacking in drive and flex thru turns. I believe it is all a marketing ploy so as to give you a b grade set with your board so as to squeeze another $120 out of the consumer. As for question from gay manly, try one of the sets with bigger side fins and a slightly smaller or more raked out back fin, these will give you plently of drive from the sides but the lesser back fin will loosen up the tail perhaps the pat rawson , al merrick sets or even try PG 7 in side and PG 5 or 3 in rear, this works well in a short board with a wide tail. I am 75kg also so not super heavy but not a grommet either. Thants my 5 cents...

well you've convinced me mike.

i've been using the m5s in my shorties for the last coupla years (basically too lazy and too stingy to try anything else) and the pat rawsons in my gun.

gunna head out and get some pg5s asap.

cheers man.

Nice info fellas. right - PG5's. was looking for a good excuse for stalling my forehand topturn. was about to get out on the skate ramp and go blind side. i've been M5ing it forever in shortboards cept for the 6'0 MR super twin with the MR-TX's and the smaller centre fin. The board and setup handles double overhead (I'm 5'7 70kg) but i took the centre out in beachy mush and it was like a new loose board tweaking as never before. PG5's then for the standard short. hoping for guaranteed buckets off the top as the winter swells keep marching into the west coast.

I like DH2's with a smaller PC trailer(PC3 rear) gets the drive and sharp turns in up to 6ft.

Anyone had any experience with gasfins??? Can they be put in fcs plugs???

Also shapers fins any feedback???