Strapless surfkite board fins

[mr_daruman]

This is mainly for strappless riding.
What is your favorite fins setup/types of fins? Quads, Thruster, stiff carbon fins , 3d fins, 5fins, twins,foil fins (ala Futures elevon), no fins,etc...

For perfect glassy conditions with head-high waves, strong wind, I prefer thrusters. The rest of the time, quads. For tiny waves or flat water I use twins with very small center fin. Due to the power/speed of kitesurfing I mostly use stiff fins (half carbon). All Futures box > hard impact on rocks just loose the fin, no board damage. With FCS the back of the fin digs into the board.

[BWD]

Sounds reasonable to me.
I kinda like solid glass or g10 futures, very stiff and resist rocks and sandbars as well as possible. Slight weight penalty versus carbon/foam core is worth it I think.

[Dengan]

For perfect glassy conditions with head-high waves, strong wind, I prefer thrusters. The rest of the time, quads. For tiny waves or flat water I use twins with very small center fin.

Dont suppose you could explain the main differences in the set-ups?
Eg does a thruster help tighter turn?
I have a quad set up in medium wVes usually, trying to figure out whAt the differences are and can only find descpriptions such as 'quads are looser or more skatey- not exactly sure what either of those mean!
I know, i will try out different set ups but want to know what changes i should look for.
Hope you dont mind me answering a question with more questions!
Cheers

[dylan*]

in my experience: quads dont have a center fin, so will feel looser in the middle of a turn, for me it means it's easier to slide out. But when you set a rail it grips better because you have two fins instead of 1. people usually say a thruster gives you more of a pivoting turn but ive found (depending on the tail shape) if you're rolling from one rail to the other there isnt much difference. for top to bottom surfing where you're riding the board flatter more of the time, i prefer a thruster, it feels a little easier to stay in control. for hollower waves where you're more just riding down the line, i like quad slightly more. i usually just leave my board as a thruster and never change it because i'm lazy though

[topmick]

^^^I agree with everything Dylan wrote & mostly ride with thruster set, I would also like to add that Quads can also help with going up wind.
My favorite fins are the Mulcoy pro 5 fin set on my Evo.

[Dengan]

Thats helpful thanks dylan- at the moment im focussed on improving my turns, making them more 'snappy', so sounds like i meed to switch back to a thruster!
Cheers

[Strekke]

Good topic! I've only been playing around with quad vs thruster for a few months on my Vader - Futures V2 F4. Quad helps with upwind and it goes a little faster; thruster slows it down a bit but gives more grip and maybe a bit snappier turns. Came off a thruster WAM, so was used to the "on rails" feel. However, for efficiency/upwind reasons, I've mostly been riding the Vader on quads, and am getting the hang of it. If you want tight and more locked in turns, dig in your heel and put pressure on the back foot heel, really digging in that rail/tail. However, for top to bottom turns, I have recently made the "click" on how to slide out! Putting less pressure on your heel and pushing more weight on the front/toes of your backfoot in the turn on the top of the wave really lets the board slide out over the lip, creating a nice spray. Kind of like how you have your foot in a strap while windsurfing, keeping your foot flat and pushing it forward at the same time. It reminds me of my snowboard days, making big slidey turns in powder - so much fun. Give it a try and swap from quad to thruster and back a few times in the same session - you will really feel a difference. Personally i'm loving the quad slides, but also looking forward to my next big wave + superpowered session to switch back to thruster, locked in turns on rails, and carve everything to shreds!