Flexible center fins for river paddling
Flexible fins are a key piece of equipment for the river. During both river surfing and down river paddling, soft, flexible fins help to avoid damage to your fin boxes and board. The following is a list of various flexible center fins and where you can purchase them.
saruSURF 3″ flex fin
Flex: Medium
Best uses: intermediate river surfing when used in combination with side bite fins, advanced river surfing when used alone, down river paddling through shallow runs
Price: $24
Where to buy: halagear.com
saruSURF 4.6 flex fin
Flex: Soft (most flexible fin listed here)
Best uses: intermediate to advanced river surfing, down river paddling through shallow runs
Price: $24
Where to buy: halagear.com
FCS M-5 (with longboard finbox adapter)
Flex: Medium/Stiff
Best uses: intermediate to advanced river surfing
Price: $40 for fins, plus $18 for adapter
Where to buy: surffcs.com (fins), CKS Online (FCS to longboard adapter)
Proteck Super Flex 7″ Performance Fin
Flex: Medium
Best uses: beginner to intermediate river surfing, down river paddling where there is a low chance of hitting rocks
Price: $66
Where to buy: surfcohawaii.com
saruSURF 8″ flex fin
Flex: Soft
Best uses: beginner river surfing, down river paddling where there is NO chance of hitting rocks
Price: $24
Where to buy: halagear.com
saruSURF 9″ flex fin
Flex: Medium/Soft
Best uses: down river paddling where there is NO chance of hitting rocks, down river sprint races
Price: $24
Where to buy: halagear.com
Am I missing any flexible fins from this list? What fins are you using on the river? Leave me a comment!
I currently use the SaruSurf 4.6 Flex Fin on my Bic SUP AceTEC for river surfing/paddling here in also landlocked Pennsylvania. Great fin! so much nicer than face planting when an unseen rock snatches your board out from underneath you!
Curious if you’ve found any flexible fins for the thruster set up – specifically the outer two FCS slot-style fins? I’ve done some searching, but nothing has really popped out at me. FCS makes a (pricey!) set, but I would love it if one of these other companies put out a similar thruster set!
Great article! THanks for the info!
Jay, the FCS M-5’s are the only flexible fins for a thruster setup that I use. You’re right, there are not a lot of options out there. Proteck also makes flexible fins, but on their thruster sets they just use their FCS center fins on the sides (i.e. there’s no difference between the left, right and center fins). It might work fine for down river paddling, but surfing might be a little weird. I’ve also used the FCS SUP River Keel Tri Fin Set, which are not flexible but are so small that they’re unlikely to get hung up on rocks.
The other thing to think about is that fact that FCS fin plugs are not very strong. Even with a flexible fin, it’s easy to destroy your FCS fin plugs. When there’s a good chance of hitting rocks I’ll only use longboard style center fins (like the saruSurf fins) and stay away from FCS fins. If it’s unlikely I’ll hit rocks then I use FCS fins, and I’ll even use hard fins.
Thanks for the tips! I tried the FCS River Keel set and snapped all 3 on my first day using them. Was a sad day, indeed.
I usually run with the SaruSurf flex fin in the longbox and fCS G5’s on the outside, but When I’m shooting rapids i do tend to take off the outer set just in case. Hadn’t thought about destroying the FCS plugs. Good call! I just don’t care for the sloppy turns without the thruster setup, but it’s a new year and what better time to try something new!
Thanks for the THOUGHTS! Have fun out there :o)
You’re welcome! Thanks for the comments!
The FCS River Keel set is pretty brittle… I’ve broken my fair share of them as well. I think removing fins when there’s a chance to get hung up on rocks is the right choice. I’ll do the same thing, and even go finless if it’s too shallow. I figure it’s better to have a sloppy feeling board than to get launched over the nose and face plant into some rocks.
great review of options out there.
so are all these fins compatible with the futures strongbox which my SUP is equipped with? don’t want to have to deal with adapters, just keep it simple.
I’m not 100% sure, but if this is what your fin box looks like: http://www.foamez.com/futures-1075-1shot-strongbox-finbox-p-848.html then all of these fins should fit it. If you want, send me an email with a picture of your fin boxes and I’ll let you know if these fins will work.
yeap, that’s it! thanks for the help.