Fins or no Fins, that is the question or something.

[PaulN]

So I have been surfing without fins for awhile now. I am riding a 6'2 Flashpoint that floats me at my chest or so, and have generally been having a lot of fun with it. Until today, when it was a little bigger and punchier. I found that I was making the drop way to late and messed up a few waves I usually make no problem.

I wanted to find out if the people that do not wear fins compensate for the lack of speed on takeoff by adding some foam for the paddle. Also, in bigger surf do you find yourself taking off late?

I liked wearing fins because I can compete for waves with anyone. However my wave count has not gone down that much. I love not having to mess with them getting into the water. However, a buddy of mine said yesterday "why don't you just stand?" and I really didn't have an answer. Why do you wear fins, or not wear fins?

[albert]

I wanted to find out if the people that do not wear fins compensate for the lack of speed on takeoff by adding some foam for the paddle. Also, in bigger surf do you find yourself taking off late?

not if you paddle harder...

[PaulN]

I wanted to find out if the people that do not wear fins compensate for the lack of speed on takeoff by adding some foam for the paddle. Also, in bigger surf do you find yourself taking off late?

not if you paddle harder...

Fins no fins-damn man give me more then that!

[Markem]

In response to your friend's question, when I've been asked this I would usually stand up on the next wave fins and all and say to the guy oh yeah that's much cooler.
Many of us stand occassionally, but to me nothing is like the low wide stance and view on a wave from a kneeboard. I really always liked formula one type of racing, and had a go kart when I was young. Maybe that's what I'm looking to recapture that feeling, to borrow a phrase from an old surfer "the closer to the bone the sweeter the meat". Nice pic with that one as I remember.
Personally I still have a lot to learn on a kneeboard and there's no hint of boredom yet with 35 years of apprenticeship under my knees.

Isn't it all about doing what you like, who cares what standies do, most of them want to surf like somebody else anyway.

Do what you love and you'll love doing it.
M2

[K-man]

So your saying that when it's bigger,you can't get into the wave as quickly as if you had fins?Which means,with fins you get that extra jolt?Which gets you over the edge faster.
Alberts point is on the money.Paddle harder,and keep it up till you build up the paddling muscles
I don't wear fins,and paddle pretty good.Late takeoffs?Like others,some I make some I don't...
I will drag an arm on some late ones,helps to turn and keeps me abit in the middle of the wave.
If it's late,and your leaning back sitting on the tail,your stalling,no speed...not stable..fall off.Lean forward and drive.Speed will keep you out of trouble.Took me a long time to figure this stuff out...plenty of face plants....

cheers.

[Dr. Bronner]

I ride a 6ft 3" kneeboard at 8ft Sunset with no fins. I just paddle harder.Works real good at Big Pipe also. I dont' like fins . They don't look very cool .

[Bill E.]

I only like fins Paul !!! They give me an extra 6" of paddle length from the tips of my fingers to the tips of the fins. And I like the four-point stance.

Oh and did I say I can swim underwater while holding on the board!!

Since none can stand on the top of your feet, it gives a little sole there.

Just dont wear the fins to a bull fight. Might get them stepped on.

[Dr. Bronner]

They give me an extra 6" of paddle length from the tips of my fingers to the tips of the fins. And I like the four-point stance.

Oh and did I say I can swim underwater while holding on the board!!



---Really good points . If I didn't wear fins I could never bring myself to wear those cute little slippers guys wear.

[ScottMac]

..

[red]

worn out shoulders + fins = 3 hour sessions

[Shaunsy]

Sometimes I wear flippers, sometimes not - and I can stand up wearing them but its a bit awkward.

But as Red says - I can surf for longer than anyone I regularly surf with when I wear flippers - because I can give my shoulders a break. Even with flippers it would be over 95% shoulder work. But that little break I give my shoulders enables me to keep paddling without resting. I usually only break for 10 or so kicks and back to the shoulders - because I can out -paddle most people that way.

Having been raised wearing flippers I find the nuances of handling my board out in the surf are compromised without them. So I usually go finless in small but pushy surf and wear them if its big or rippy or both.
In good surf I always wear them - because I know I won't stand up.

For me they are another tool to help my kneeboarding - and I reckon it looks pretty damn funny watching a set of flippers go over the falls attached to a kneelo. Or getting knocked off their feet on a reef jump-off.

So you got to think of others entertainment as well.

[maxb]

i'm a fin person why not take every advantage you can? they grip the top of the board for great snaps,you can drag a fin off the rail to stall,definitely get in earlier(great at big wedge and blacks) and work awfully well when caught inside. as for no fins,heymore power to you and do what you enjoy.

[eqKneelo]

I try not to wear them as much as possible.. and only wear Vipers with a cut down 2" blade when I do so there is no drag.
Fact is... best kneelos in the world (Simon, Gavin, Matty G, The Simpsons, ect) don't wear them because they are nothing but weight and drag... and you CAN SURF SO MUCH BETTER WITHOUT THEM by using your feet to power thru turns.
Look at the photo section. Best barrels and best turns are being done by guys without fins.
Truth is... you have to be MORE committed to surf without fins. It's harder to catch waves... but maybe that's the mindset you need to surf like those guys.
I wrestle with the decision every day.

For those of you who can't bear the idea of loosing your flips, just try cutting them way down. Makes a HUGE difference. (No weight/ No drag... Gigs' little flippers look like a pair of wide rubber slippers. He actually gets on his board and cuts them along the rails. And he Rrriipps!!! )
That, or start riding a 6'6" small wave board like Baden. Scuba fins wouldn't drag off that board.

[skansand]

ive been going out flipperless more often...usually at night cause of less competition for waves....its definetly the key to getting the most out of waves and making more waves as well...

even with my cut down makapuus ill notice it dragging off the end of my pintail flashpoint...not so much with my fish...

i also find that the late drops resulting from going flipperless translate to a boost in speed off the bottom, which sets you up for more radical manuevers off the top..

pumpings also alot easier and more affective..

and those cute little slippers or booties will save the tops of your feet when going flipperless...

then again, youll get less set waves and get dropped in on more often too....its nice schooling the longboarders who litterally overrun our so cal breaks....so on any given DAY ill be sporting the flippers most likely...

[Dr. Bronner]

I'm 52 and charge double-triple overhead waves on a 5ft 8 without flippers.Don't even wear a wetsuit either in Santa Cruz. It's much lighter that way and alot less drag.