Firewire Vader, Fins recommendations

[Bushflyr]

Yes. I ran my VG in a quad for a year or so with my "normal surf size" setup. It felt REALLY good mowing the lawn and going upwind, but on the wave it was super tight. I then went to a small quad setup. It was better, but still way too hard to turn. I could make it turn, but it took a ton of effort. I really felt like I was blowing out and running super wide on bottom turns. I switched to a G3 aliexpress thruster setup and it was MUCH better turning and I could stay in the pocket easier. No issues on bottom turns. I then knocked the center fin off on a coral head and swapped out to a G5 aliexpress set. It still feels pretty good upwind, but I feel like I'm back into having to horse the board around on lip hits and running wide on bottom turns. I just got another set of G3's so I'm going to swap them in and see it there really is a difference.

I don't think NCN's link is super applicable to kiting. It is interesting, but we don't need drive; We have kite power and we're already dropping into the wave with speed. So we need to concentrate on speed control, making tight bottom turns, and holding down power without stalling/washing out.

The VG has a super straight rail that doesn't need a ton of help from the fins, the VD with it's increased rocker may need a bit more fin, but that's also wave dependent, so YMMV.

[Dwight]

I think some of differences in recommendations, is directly related to the way we use the kite to surf waves

Myself for example.....I used to surf strapped and tear waves up at very high speeds. Speeds so high, it was more like a jet ski tearing waves up than real surfing. Surfing this way required small fins because there was too much lift to turn anything bigger.

Now, I only surf strapless, and treat the kite as a necessary evil, just to get into the waves. So I surf much slower, using gravity and wave power over kite power. Surfing this way, normal fin sizes are very loose.

[CaptainArgh]

Great info in this thread, guys. Thanks.

Based on feedback here at 185 lbs. I ordered the 5'3" Vader, a set of 5 medium fins to start, and a full set of WMFG stubby pads.
And I got a good lead on the Aliexpress site which is where I'll go once I break fins, want spares, or decide to play with different sizes.

Stoked!

[austroKiter]

Do you guys leave the unused fin boxes open or put in a filler? (Something like this: https://www.thesurfboardwarehouse.com/p ... -34in.aspx)

Is there a noticeable difference in drag when using a filler? Right now I ride without (thruster setup).

[WMFG]

Great info in this thread, guys. Thanks.

Based on feedback here at 185 lbs. I ordered the 5'3" Vader, a set of 5 medium fins to start, and a full set of WMFG stubby pads.
And I got a good lead on the Aliexpress site which is where I'll go once I break fins, want spares, or decide to play with different sizes.

Stoked!

Excellent choice!

Put the pads quite far back, I really find this board needs the back foot quite far back, so get your tail kick pretty much as far back as you can.

Some more pad installation instructions here:
http://wmfg.co/pages/traction-installat ... to-install

Email me if you have any questions on the pads info@WMFG.co

[Bushflyr]

Do you guys leave the unused fin boxes open or put in a filler? (Something like this: https://www.thesurfboardwarehouse.com/p ... -34in.aspx)

Is there a noticeable difference in drag when using a filler? Right now I ride without (thruster setup).

I put some fillers in just because I was in the shop and they were cheap. I don't notice any difference in drag or anything with or without them, so I definitely wouldn't waste any time or money seeking them out. OTOH, for the $2 or whatever they make the bottom of your board pretty.

[knotwindy]

+1. I can not feel any difference with or without them but that's just me.

[topmick]

I had the fillers & didn't notice any difference on my last board (VG).
If you leave them in for a while, they are a PITA to get out.

[Megabear]

Been running the 5.3 as a tri and quad.

TRI VS QUAD
As other say when you are running it is a quad, you gain more speed, upwind ability, but loose some turning ability and the ability to pivot straight up vertical to the wave face in the bottom turn. All things considered I like quad the most though.

FINS
Surprised to hear people like the soft plastic fins, I had the opposite experience trying out the F4 white composite fins, which did not work at all. I prefer stiffer fins. Also In general i like smaller fins for my 75 kg in cold conditions in scandinavia.

My Present set up is:
Creatures Medium Nat Young Carbon fins (http://www.creatures-usa.com/products/n ... le-tab-med)
Futures qd2 3.75 for rear fins. (https://futuresfins.com/en-us/qd2-3-75- ... -42-detail)

Which works really good, would love to try some even smaller fins as front fins. Looking forward to try the F4 techflex.

[MMac22]

Interesting, very different opinions with the Vader. I'm usually a quad guy. However, I found a quad setup to be draggy with this board, just didn't feel right. I then switched to a medium size thruster fin set and the board came alive. Faster and looser for me.