Fcs vs futures

spjones123

Legend (inyourownmind)
Oct 24, 2005
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Traditionally, our brand has always been a big supporting partner with FCS. I always liked the product. We made Futures earn their growth in the market. Twenty years ago, we were maybe 75% FCS, 25% Futures. That whittled down to maybe 60% / 40% over time, but when FCS II came out, I was smitten — as were many. The box itself, the fin assortments, and merchandising that rolled out with the box… it was awesome! They probably pushed Futures back to 25-30% max for a couple years.”

“Recently, things have swayed,” Biolos continues. “As a brand, we are focusing more on working closer with Futures than we have in the past. Their box is probably 25 years old now, but it’s firm and effective. Every single Futures box is made in the USA. This means something in our world today. I respect it. Even though they are made in Huntington Beach, they are selling for the same price as the imported Chinese fins that dominate the global market. We deserve a choice when buying fins — support China or support domestic manufacturing. Importing products is a fact of life, and we all do it to some degree, but I would love to see FCS commit to some domestically made products. They have a painfully slow development process compared to Futures, which is also frustrating. These two things alone put Futures on a pedestal — for me, at least.”
Biolos also cites the impact of team riders in his recent sway towards Futures. “Another valid point for Futures is custom fins for team riders and shapers made in-house. As a designer, having quick access to developing new ideas and models — for myself and for team riders — is very beneficial. It’s the number 1 reason Griffin switched to Futures. They dialed him in fast. Lately, we’ve been making custom fins with the bases moved around, allowing us to tweak fin placement on existing boards. It’s not available to the public, but the positive outcomes that trickle down to customers are real…and rapid. I like doing business with Futures — I talk to the owner when I do, which has never been the case with FCS.”

And Matt’s final thoughts? “In the end, it’s up to the two brands to earn the customer. We [board manufacturers] simply sit in the middle, between them and the surfers. The surfer decides.”
 

sh3

Michael Peterson status
Dec 1, 2008
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Vince is an incredible person. That means a TON.
 

GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
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FCS for me. I've accumulated FCS fins since the beginning along with the installation tools. That alone is a huge factor in staying loyal all these years. The boxes are solid as long as the person installing them and glassing the board does the job right.

BEWARE OF SHITTY CHINESE IMITATIONS OF BOTH FCS AND FUTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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MrSteve

Gerry Lopez status
Oct 1, 2015
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BEWARE OF SHITTY CHINESE IMITATIONS OF BOTH FCS AND FUTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
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West of the Atlantic. East of the ICW.
Learn how to spot the fakes. Note that they do not say FCS on them and also note the grooved top surface of the boxes where a genuine FCSII box has a pattern of circles in the plastic and is actually filled with a high density foam to keep the boxes light and strong where the fakes are solid plastic. On the plus side, these things are so hard to get fins in and out of that you'll probably never lose a fin. On the flip side you might blow out your boxes putting fins in or taking them out.

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Things get even more interesting with fake Futures boxes. The fake Futures boxes can be pretty much indistinguishable from the real deal. Perhaps they are just as good as the real deal because there isn't a whole lot going on with a Futures box other than a single grub screw. In some cases the fake Futures boxes even have what appears to be a Futures logo. The tell tale with these is the lack of resin vent holes down the sides of the boxes. Given the knock offs cost 1/4 of the real deal I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of boards on the market have the fakes in them.

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bird.LA

Rabbitt Bartholomew status
Jul 14, 2002
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Man, I hate Futures because I've had so many boards with one fin box that's a little too tight or a little too loose for the fins. Either get wobble or it's a major PITA to put in or remove fins.

Got a Lost board like that right now actually... had to buy one of those kooky fin puller things just to make it bearable to take the board on surf trips the box is so tight.
 
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ChaseTMP

Billy Hamilton status
Apr 6, 2014
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S. Redondo
Man, I hate Futures because I've had so many boards with one fin box that's a little too tight or a little too loose for the fins. Either get wobble or it's a major PITA to put in or remove fins.

Got a Lost board like that right now actually... had to buy one of those kooky fin puller things just to make it bearable to take the board on surf trips the box is so tight.
I had the same problem and that coupled with at least one box getting a stress crack that would suck water on every Futures equipped bort finally made me say no more.

FCSII isn't perfect. I was an early adopter and have lost two fins through spontaneous ejection. FCS sent me a replacement fin free of charge both times. I cracked my first FCSII box a couple of weekends ago going over a Torq midlength that was shot under my bort. I've probably had 20+ borts with FCSII.
 

Sharkbiscuit

Duke status
Aug 6, 2003
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I'm still not sure what was wrong with FCS Fusion boxes.

Wish FCS2 had a swept fin at about 13700mm/16in area. I like my ancient FCS1s but somehow my front fin front screw hole got stripped on one of my boards and now it's FCS2 only.
Carver XL look too large and Carver L too small.

I like the Pyzels but it's not always steep/pockety. Going to try the DHD large. No idea what "beveled" means for the inside foil, I read something about sanded finish? I just want a decently big swept fucker with flat sides.

For FCS2 I just bunch a towel up against it and whack it, or use a shoe to smash it in/out.

I want to like Futures but the quad rear selection seems a bit weak especially for the really small templates I like and they are a pain in the ass with the want to get stuck, trap water, need to fresh water paper towel wipe the salt out of the boxes, or next time you're going to have crusted crystals all around it...
 

claw87

Legend (inyourownmind)
Jan 30, 2017
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I'm still not sure what was wrong with FCS Fusion boxes.

Wish FCS2 had a swept fin at about 13700mm/16in area. I like my ancient FCS1s but somehow my front fin front screw hole got stripped on one of my boards and now it's FCS2 only.
Carver XL look too large and Carver L too small.

I like the Pyzels but it's not always steep/pockety. Going to try the DHD large. No idea what "beveled" means for the inside foil, I read something about sanded finish? I just want a decently big swept fucker with flat sides.

For FCS2 I just bunch a towel up against it and whack it, or use a shoe to smash it in/out.

I want to like Futures but the quad rear selection seems a bit weak especially for the really small templates I like and they are a pain in the ass with the want to get stuck, trap water, need to fresh water paper towel wipe the salt out of the boxes, or next time you're going to have crusted crystals all around it...
"Beveled" refers to the leading edge, if a quad rear is 50/50 or 80/20 beveled side fins feel like 95/5. The MF, my go to, are like that too. Couldn't really tell a difference between them and the DHDs by the way.
Did you check out the fcs fin data page yet? JW and JS look like they might fit your bill.

Much like chase and bird my experience with futures has been a PITA, there always seems to be some sort of issue with fitting. I also don't like that the location of the screw requires fins with bigger base to have a cutaway design.

Really wish fcs would calm down with the graphics a bit though and offer some full fiberglass options.
 

sh3

Michael Peterson status
Dec 1, 2008
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I apologize for inserting facts and science into a thread based solely on opinion and lack of objectivity.

Apparently this killed the thread as Futures is objectively a superior system.

By the way, I particularly liked when he just pulled the FCS-II fin out with just 14 pounds of pressure. Explains all those orphaned fins out there.