REMINDER: THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. has no obligation to monitor the Forums. However, THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. reserves the right to review any materials submitted to or posted on the Forums, and remove, delete, redact or otherwise modify such materials, in its sole discretion and for any reason whatsoever, at any time and from time to time, without notice or further obligation to you. THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. has no obligation to display or post any materials provided by you. THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. reserves the right to disclose, at any time and from time to time, any information or materials that we deem necessary or appropriate to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, contract obligation, legal or dispute process or government request. Click on the following hyperlinks to further read the applicable Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
RETURN OF THE QUAD
- Thread starter casa_mugrienta
- Start date
Which takes us back to the t(h)ruster.
The most reliable thing out there.
Seems twins and quads are a moneypit of various fin combos if this place is any indication. 95% of shapers can't even seem to match the fins with the board, or don't even try.
Waves are scarce for most of us average joes. I'm lucky enough to get more time than most in the water and still no way do I have sessions/time to waste trying to dial in a bunch of different fin setups.
This is a construct in your head and it's where we differ.
I find it fun experimenting with different boards and fins.......getting different feelz than I wouldn't otherwise get on a thruster.
I still have those thrusters for when I want that predictability, but I find myself pulling out the wildcards more often because they are a challenge and more rewarding once you figure them out.
the flipside is that i've hated some boards as a thruster but once switching to a quad they've become my go-to boards. The Pyzel Phantom in particular. I didn't dig it as a thruster but riding it as a quad is magical for me.
So I'm all about the 5-fin setups!
So I'm all about the 5-fin setups!
For the most part, I agree with you. I generally know what thruster set to throw in to make a board feel good. With my twins, maybe I've gotten lucky, but the one and only fin set I've thrown in has felt extremely positive.
With both thrusters and twins, once I have a magic fin set, I can pretty much switch them between boards and they feel great. First session on my latest shortboard twin and it was the best feeling ever. Pretty similar to a thruster but with way more speed and way more dynamic. No getting used to the fin set, no adjusting my style to fit the fin, no weird bogs happening. This rarely happens to me with quads though-- certain turns will feel good, others will feel awkward, takes trial and error, especially with the rears, and it's a money pit with how expensive fins are now.
I have a pretty much new quad hanging out in my garage I always want to ride, but it hasn't felt like a magic board yet. I think it could be with the right fin set, but I ain't got time (or money) for all that. Maybe I'll bring it out next time there's some energy to push off of, but I'm much more likely to grab something that I know will work.
I concur with SwallowTail. It made sense to me to straight to Stretch and trust him with all the details. Since the 2006 I have had a couple of F4's, 2x4's, Buzzsaw's, G-Buzz, Super Buzz, and Mr. Buzz and when I have it set up with Stretch's quad set for the board they were the best quads. Cuts down on time and money to go to one who knows. Oddly, if they had a thruster center box they worked well as thrusters. The difference is that Stretch's quads (except ST3 fin template) are pretty small. When I ride a thruster I like larger fins. When I ride a Stretch quad in better waves I like his ST2 which is a smaller front.
Stretch def has it dialed in.
over finning quads is common, likely a contributor to people not digging them.
the 72 swallow looks better suited for us normal folk IMO.
Oh and I rode a thruster in proper waves today. 3 fins still very relevant
Oh and I rode a thruster in proper waves today. 3 fins still very relevant
I watched the whole of this video and towards the end (44:00) he gets a comment from Tom Carroll then he goes, "I'm going to make this a quad. Thank you Tom, made me think to try this as a quad."
Last edited:
Perhaps you're not giving it enough of a chance?
I was the same way too. Only rode my thruster. Only rode 1 board in all conditions. I enjoyed that at the time.
And it's cool, you're entitled to ride what you want, when you want.
All I'm saying is that it might change for you at some point where you hit a wall with the thruster and don't feel like you're progressing any further. That can get pretty boring and maybe you find something sparky in another alt set-up some day.
Looking back, I do wish I experimented with other boards sooner. I think it would have made me a better all around surfer. I envy guys like Curren, Rasta, Josh Kerr, Burch, (and others) who can hop on any board and rip. They have more of a lasting legacy to me than someone just known for ripping a pointy thruster.
I literally never ride the same board more than two times in a row. variety is the spice of life and I love switching it up. I'm sure I'd be a better surfer if I narrowed down my quiver but that's not fun for me.
Used a new board this morning as a thruster. It was pretty great. That said, I felt I could go a hair faster when needed if it were a quad. I'll try that this afternoon. #humblebrag #hurricanekayfuckingrules
Quads have always been my favorite fin setup based on the waves I surf most. Learned to surf on an oversized Mitsven quad fish. Twin plus trailer a close second, been having fun on that setup in various boards the last 1-2 years. Thruster feels reliable when in waves bigger/punchier than my norm. As far as pure twins, the best ones I've ridden have been a Zippifish with Lokbox keels, an R. Twin Fin with upright fiberglass fins, and currently my 6'6 Moonstone with honeycomb keels.
Apologies, inebriated fingers. This is how I feel about the quad i also have hanging in the rafters. It goes good but is just a little less reliable than the thruster I have for similar conditions. Having said that, I do get a bigger buzz from riding it…….
Quads (for everyday waves) are a modification of a twin fin.
Quads (for barrels) area modification of a thruster.
They’re two different things.
If I lived somewhere the waves were a little bit peakier or a little bit less flat-faced, I might be inclined to agree about just riding a thruster. When we get a run of fun surf with decent sandbar condition sometimes I'll go through a phase where I ride one thruster like a Baby Buggy in everything.
But quads get down the line better than thrusters and really help in weaker surf with a tendency to close out vs conditions that are more bowly/peaky and allow for unrushed pace.
Sorting the fins out takes some trial and error but I didn't think it was that rough. I think there's way too many 50/50 and 70/30 etc quad rears. I am sure those are very useful for your 9'6" quad at Mavs and Kelly's 5'6" quad at DOH Cloudbreak.
IMHO For the average surfer who wants a bit more zip out of each pump in sub-par thigh to stomach high surf, the flat-foiled trailers are the way and the light.
But quads get down the line better than thrusters and really help in weaker surf with a tendency to close out vs conditions that are more bowly/peaky and allow for unrushed pace.
Sorting the fins out takes some trial and error but I didn't think it was that rough. I think there's way too many 50/50 and 70/30 etc quad rears. I am sure those are very useful for your 9'6" quad at Mavs and Kelly's 5'6" quad at DOH Cloudbreak.
IMHO For the average surfer who wants a bit more zip out of each pump in sub-par thigh to stomach high surf, the flat-foiled trailers are the way and the light.
I have no idea about the rears or fronts further forward or further backwards, but to Duffy's point, the rears set out wide towards the rail I thought/read was for your grovel quad fish, and the round pins with the rears set a bit closer to the stringer is more of a good wave setup, I think it's McKee placement or some such.
In addition to placement, I think fin cant varies somewhat and plays into these five box setups' feeling as thruster vs quad.