Gearbox, the cashola was sent via US Postal Service this AM. Thanks for agreeing to ship them to me!
Pickles- which model XTR did you get? I think it was a Lost, correct? I got a 6'4" Rusty Pro-ject. So far, very fast down the line and drives hard. I have been riding the small 0-degree 437 Vectors in the board and I really like how it feels on snappy pocket-turns, but the original pump through the bottom turn does not seem to generate the acceleration and drive I would like and have come to expect. But the board locks in and drives in the barrel. Hence my wanting to try the similar fin with a little larger template.
I have also been riding the 3/2s with the hatchet fin. They scream down the line with a very locked-in but not over-finned feel. They make nice wide cutbacks and maintain speed. Kinda like the FCS CRV's but with much more drive and less skate. I actually have to ride with a heavier back foot than I usually do (remember I usually ride a little fishy-type board with the RedX XT1's+trailer fin). The only drawback so far is that the 3/2's seem to hang up on the initial drop-in a bit, like they take a little time to come up to speed. Kinda like a cop-car... the acceleration is not blistering, but the top end persuit speed is nutty. If it is really top-to-bottom this can be a bit rough, but once I set the fins in at the bottom I KNOW they are going to hold.
Another possibility is that my board has a bit more drawn-in tail then I usually ride (usually use a tad more hip with a narrow squash or round "thumbtail"). That might have something to do with the lack of initial acceleration. My friend Jason has been riding a Linden "W" model shortboard and the same 3/2 setup; his board has much more hip and a little more width and he does not seem to have the hang-up off the takeoff. Or it could be due to the fact that he is a very good surfer (I see similiarities between him and our very own Liquid; both are shop owners, both are very good surfers and successful competitors, and both rip on a wide array of boards from fishes to singlefins to thrusters to longboards). I'm going to borrow a few rides on his board next session to test that hypothesis.
I also have a set of Tom's next generation X2's (I think they have the 80/20 foil) and am ordering a new RedX board as we speak. Tom tells me they are very "free" feeling, which is something I really like. I'm as stoked for that experiment as these 460's.
Can you tell I love board design and fin theory? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
