i dont believe the "tour" is a place where style is encouraged, the surfers "have" style but generally not stylish
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Did Thrusters Screw Up Surfing??
- Thread starter ReForest
- Start date
for sure...the thruster gave surfing control so that collectively the understanding of what is possible on a wave was made clear and 40 years later with that understanding it can be applied on what ever craft you like.
ride everything...unless you are a professional tour surfer
for me: thrusters = reliable and consistent performance. sometimes u just want the damn boar to just work. try dialing in a quad set on a finicky boar or look at that twin fin thread lolz
Agreed. I mostly ride non-thrusters but when it's good and I don't want any funny business, I know what to ride.
speaking of thrusters, someone needs to ride both the Two Happy and the Inferno 72 and compare them
yes
neutral, forgiving. A flatter, thicker thruster is still your best bet for most California beach breaks imo
I always come back to them
yeah, old reliable, consistent response. But after riding only thrusters for 25+ years, and then going deep down a twin/quad rabbithole the last few years, I can also make the case for NOT needing a center fin for anything under HH (aka 90% of the time) at the south county reefs I usually surf. Obviously we know GG invented twin placements 30 years ago, but now guys like Akila and Album have got the twins to the point where I almost never miss a 3rd fin, regardless of conditions. YMMV.
To each his own. I do plan on spending my surfing golden years on a 6'6 trifin egg...
Have to credit GG here I think same way (board with fins) and when it comes to quads only one name for me comes to mind Stretch and his custom quad set #2 from fins unlimited has never failed yet nor has his twin set (2 win) and stretch controllers #3
I tried a early quad around '82-'83 end of twins early thrusters and hated it. I was just in teens going down line few turns at time. I sold and scored a thruster and was magic board wish I still had it. Took me early '00 try quads again and some how f4 used was the board that sold me and started getting custom boards from Stretch. Another late discovery for me was Malcom Campbell bonzers magic. During my prime late teens early adult wish I knew because during glass slipper era I got me a magic single pintail did me right.
I also surf mostly where I live in Hawaii, east side reefs which are predominantly onshore. You really need reliable control for those conditions. And then when you are in big clean surf on the north shore the thrusters provide the same reliability, control at speed. So I just find myself with a big quiver of thrusters... I still love twin keels for good clean point or reef surf if I'm surfing frontside, and single fins on longboards, always.
I say no .... i think the influence of pro surfing and the idea of wanting to ride what the "pros" ride had more impact. I also think that when Simon Anderson first introduced the thruster he had a definite competitive advantage that spurned on the standardization of the thruster as the go to performance board. But i also think with the evolution of bottom contours, rockers, rails, etc. etc. applied to other fin configurations that competitive advantage has been minimalized if not surpassed. I'd say with today's boards the choice in fin configuration now is more about feel and the type of lines you want to draw versus performance advantage.
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Truth right there on quads. I have a quad that I loved. I snapped one of the trailer fins. Never found anther set of fins that felt good. Gave up on it.
Fins unlimited #2 stretch template only quad set you need or a least for stretch quads