Surfboard Fins

SURFBOARD FINS

Surfboard fins sit on the underside of surfboards and are extremely important to your surfing experience. Fins will always be located on the underside of the board's tail. Today there are countless different types of surfboard fins. Not only that they are available in a multitude of colors and shapes. Surfboard fins are also available in several different materials. The different material types can generally be divided into fibreglass, carbon fiber and plastic. As you can probably sense, there are many different aspects that can be taken into consideration when buying new surfboard fins. Westwind is here to help you find the right purchase, which is why we have created this information guide. If you have the slightest doubt, just continue reading.

In the following, we will uncover:

• Why surfboard fins are necessary?
• The 4 main types of surfboard fins.
• Which size fins are right for you.

The necessity of surfboard fins

Surfboard fins help determine the direction of your surfboard when you surf a wave. Without fins mounted on your board, the board will be very difficult to control. Without a doubt, you will find it difficult to even stand a handful of meters on a wave. However, experienced surfers can get a lot of fun out of surfing without fins, also called finless surfing, as it is a completely different way of surfing. But again to get something fun out of finless surfing it is crucial that you are a skilled surfer. This also emphasizes that surfboard fins are necessary for the vast majority of people! We will now use some column space to explain an important term when it comes to the important effect of surfboard fins, namely the termdrive. Drive must be understood as the acceleration your fins produce when you come out of turns or other manoeuvres. Therefore, it is important to find a good combination of surfboard and fins to have a great surf experience.

Thruster, single fins, twin fins & quad setups

Just as there are different onessurfboards and surfboardshapes, there are also several different types of surfboard fins and so-called fin setups. Here we will review 4 general types of surfboard fins. Including thruster, single fins, twin fins & quad setups. The thruster setup is the most popular or in other words widespread fin setup. It is characterized by consisting of 3 fins. Two fins that are mirror images of each other, which are placed close to the board's rails. While the third fin is a center fin located on the board's stringer furthest towards the back of the board. The thruster setup is used on the vast majority of shortboards.

In the completely different ball alley, we have the single fine setup. This type of fin is used on many, indeed almost all longboards, and is characterized by having a large surface area compared to other types of fins. Boards with single fin setups will be very directionally stable and offer a lot of speed. Typically, single fins must be placed in a so-called US fin box. This fin box is very durable should you be unlucky enough to hit the bottom. Which is smart when singlefins are often longer and stick deeper into the water. However, there are also many single fins with the smart FCS II system.

Twin fins are used for so-called fish shapes. As the name suggests, a twin fin setup consists of two fins. Twin fins are designed to provide maximum fun in small and less powerful waves. They offer tons of speed, but it also takes some experience to be able to handle that speed. Twin fins and fish boards are increasingly becoming more and more popular.

Quad-fin setups are for the surfer who wants lots of speed and high maneuverability in small waves. In larger waves, they also provide a good grip on the wave and therefore a feeling of more control. They are characterized by consisting of one set of larger fins and two smaller fins. They can be used on everything from shortboards, fish- and funshapes.

Find size guide

Below you will find our size guide for thruster fins, i.e. a set of 3 surfboard fins. Thruster setups will be indicated in sizes from small - extra large, and the choice of size depends primarily on your body weight. To better understand how the choice of fin size affects your surfing. We would like to give an example of the difference between an 80kg surfer choosing a set of medium fins and a set of large fins. The medium fins will give the surfer the feeling that the board is more lively underfoot, and will tend to wear out a bit in sharp maneuvers. The medium fin therefore gives the 80kg surfer a looser surfing experience. If the surfer had instead chosen to surf a set of large fins, he would feel that the board was more predictable. However, at the cost of turns and other maneuvers would have to be performed with more precision and correct weight distribution in order to succeed. There will therefore be advantages and disadvantages depending on which size fin you choose and the choice will depend on your body weight and surfing style.

Find Size | Surfer weight

Small | 50-65 kg

Medium | 65-80 kg

Large | 80-90 kg

Extra Large | 90+ kg