Keel fin feedback?

[ANIMA]

I cant find the thread, but has anyone tried the Naked Viking (NVS) Fascination fins?
I have the Akila Aipa twins, but they feel like they lack drive, so i wanted a pivot style fins with a wide base to get some drive. The fascination look money but wondering if anyone has any experience with them.

 

[drunjk]

 

[njsurfer42]

Almost 4m wait, but 100% worth the wait! Brian Wynn produced a stunning pair of fish for me. Red & blue are new additions, greenie dates to late winter or early spring 2014 but is still going strong. All 3 are 5’8”x21”x2 5/8” & about 12” across the pins. Captain Fin Co. Christiansen keel in the red board, bamboo Geppy #2 from True Ames in the blue, & True Ames CI large up front, Futures 4.15 flat foil quad rear in the green.

 

[Aruka]

3 fish in identical dims but different colors is quite the design forum power move

 

[sdsrfr]

enjoying the stamps keels. 5 degrees of cant which is less than all of my other sets.

noticeable boost in drive at the bottom end of wave size. seems to get into waves a lot easier than my other sets. More base setting the fin further back, too.

 

[flyinraptr]

View attachment 96632
Almost 4m wait, but 100% worth the wait! Brian Wynn produced a stunning pair of fish for me. Red & blue are new additions, greenie dates to late winter or early spring 2014 but is still going strong. All 3 are 5’8”x21”x2 5/8” & about 12” across the pins. Captain Fin Co. Christiansen keel in the red board, bamboo Geppy #2 from True Ames in the blue, & True Ames CI large up front, Futures 4.15 flat foil quad rear in the green.

Sweet!

 

[flyinraptr]

Update - decided to give the Surf Squared keels another go in my 6'10" .... this time run em with the twinzer canards. A handful of sessions in chest to overhead conditions - for whatever reason - the setup just clicked. Could be just getting used to them - although previously ran em without the twinzer canards. The canards actually feel like they help loosen them up a bit - especially on bottom turns. With both my 6'4 and the 6'10" - i've definitely gotten to the point where i much prefer going with keels versus upright twin fins - when running the front canard fins.

 

[Aruka]

I cant find the thread, but has anyone tried the Naked Viking (NVS) Fascination fins?
I have the Akila Aipa twins, but they feel like they lack drive, so i wanted a pivot style fins with a wide base to get some drive. The fascination look money but wondering if anyone has any experience with them.

I've got a set. I really like them in my Album Townsend. Bit more drive compared to more upright twin fins. I wouldn't consider them a pivot style fin though. They are pretty raked back and surf like something between an upright twin and a keel fin. More suited to open face carves than pivotal turns. They will pivot better than a full on keel and for a shorter board where you are looking for more drive they may be a good option. There are also the regular NVS Album Twins which are bigger than the Akila's but are still a fairly upright twin. That's what I've been riding in my Lightbender. They remind me of a True Ames twin but with a little more refined tip outline With the g10 construction they have a finer foil and a twangy flex.

 

[ANIMA]

I've got a set. I really like them in my Album Townsend. Bit more drive compared to more upright twin fins. I wouldn't consider them a pivot style fin though. They are pretty raked back and surf like something between an upright twin and a keel fin. More suited to open face carves than pivotal turns. They will pivot better than a full on keel and for a shorter board where you are looking for more drive they may be a good option. There are also the regular NVS Album Twins which are bigger than the Akila's but are still a fairly upright twin. That's what I've been riding in my Lightbender. They remind me of a True Ames twin but with a little more refined tip outline With the g10 construction they have a finer foil and a twangy flex.

Nice! Thank you. I will looking into getting a set of those after i give these Fascination fins a go.
Have you had any experience with the Al Merrick Keel that Noel is so fond of? He suggested that fin to me.

 

[Aruka]

Nice! Thank you. I will looking into getting a set of those after i give these Fascination fins a go.
Have you had any experience with the Al Merrick Keel that Noel is so fond of? He suggested that fin to me.

Yeah I rode them in my Banjo but only one session so far. They feel like a good balanced keel. They are a lot of fin but don't feel quite as sticky as some keels. I need to try them in my Lightbender but just been waiting for a lined up day.

 

[ANIMA]

Yeah I rode them in my Banjo but only one session so far. They feel like a good balanced keel. They are a lot of fin but don't feel quite as sticky as some keels. I need to try them in my Lightbender but just been waiting for a lined up day.

I just checked out the the Banjo and the Lightbender. That Lightbender looks like a sick fish outline! Small and compact. Do you mostly ride those Album Twin fin in that board? With that pulled in tail i would think it turns well enough that you wouldnt want to much of an upright fin? The Banjo looks sick too, but that Lightbender looks like a good time!

 

[Aruka]

I just checked out the the Banjo and the Lightbender. That Lightbender looks like a sick fish outline! Small and compact. Do you mostly ride those Album Twin fin in that board? With that pulled in tail i would think it turns well enough that you wouldnt want to much of an upright fin? The Banjo looks sick too, but that Lightbender looks like a good time!

Yeah it's been a really fun board so far. I started with the Fascination twin fins in the Lightbender and they felt good but I was surfing small beachbreak dumpers so I wanted more pivot and the regular Album twins definitely helped in that regard. I haven't felt any need to change fins since I put them in. I will play around with fins a bit more at some point I'm sure.

 

[ANIMA]

Yeah it's been a really fun board so far. I started with the Fascination twin fins in the Lightbender and they felt good but I was surfing small beachbreak dumpers so I wanted more pivot and the regular Album twins definitely helped in that regard. I haven't felt any need to change fins since I put them in. I will play around with fins a bit more at some point I'm sure.

Maiden voyage on the fins.
The fins felt super good, but you are right @Aruka -- they feel like something between an upright twin and a keel fin. The fin is pretty deep in the water so you get a lot of traction. But the base felt a slight bit wide (the photos are a little deceptive). Really nice drive. Good pivot, but i had to put my foot back behind the fins. I think the Album Twins will be interesting comparison. I'm ordering those today.

 

[ANIMA]

Anyone try the Triton Twin Keel fins?

Triton Twin - Apex

The Triton Keels are a more raked back keel template. Think lots of speed down the line and clean lines with full-rail-engagement turns. You’ll be able to maintain and even build speed through turns on these beauties. We kept the surface area moderate so that they wouldn’t feel tracky and...

www.surfnvs.com

 

[kpd73]

That Fascination Twin looks SO much like the 1st gen McCallum twin fins- hideous black and gold design with an old mans face on it - but the fins absolutely ripped in anything they went in.

I'm interested to hear about those Triton twins as well, have an FCS 1 mini sims that is begging for something like that.

 

[flyinraptr]

Anyone try the Triton Twin Keel fins?

Triton Twin - Apex

The Triton Keels are a more raked back keel template. Think lots of speed down the line and clean lines with full-rail-engagement turns. You’ll be able to maintain and even build speed through turns on these beauties. We kept the surface area moderate so that they wouldn’t feel tracky and...

www.surfnvs.com

No - but the template looks similar to the Surf Squared Keels. Size comparison ...

Surf Squared - Base: 7.0". Height: 5.25". Area: 25.0"²
NVS -
Area: FCS: 22.70 square inch / Futures: 22.32 square inch
Height: 4.63 inch
Base: 6.34 inch

Looks like the NVS keel is slightly smaller - the Surf Squared keels feel a little big for my 6'4" .... just right for the 6'10". The NVS keels would probably be a good fit for the 6'4".

 

[ciscojaws]

3 fish in identical dims but different colors is quite the design forum power move

yeah @njsurfer42 basically just unzipped his fly

 

[Aruka]

Anyone try the Triton Twin Keel fins?

Triton Twin - Apex

The Triton Keels are a more raked back keel template. Think lots of speed down the line and clean lines with full-rail-engagement turns. You’ll be able to maintain and even build speed through turns on these beauties. We kept the surface area moderate so that they wouldn’t feel tracky and...

www.surfnvs.com

I have a set that I got like two years ago. I only tried them in the Banjo a couple times. They felt kind of odd to me at the time. They are smaller in area and kind of short compared to my favored keels and they felt like they weren't as stable as what I was used to. They still had good drive but I didn't fall in love. I think for a lighter person or the right board combo they could be fine it just wasn't what I was after.

 

[sdsrfr]

I kinda want tim to make me a banjo with the boxes further back. It was eye opening using his fins which set the trailing edge @7.5” from the tips.

I recon almost all other keels out there puts the trailing edge anywhere from 0.5 to 1.5” further forward.

 

[ANIMA]

@Aruka Do you have any interest in Noel Salas HP Keels that he designed with NVS?
I watched his video on the fins and they sound like they might be a step in the right direction in relation to the Fascination fins or the Al Merrick keel fins (shorter base and more upright template).