While we’re still talking on the topic of safety, I feel the need to recommend Surfco noseguards. The great thing about this product is that it does not affect performance in any way, yet can greatly reduce the risk of losing an eye. The pointy tip on shortboards creates an extremely dangerous hazard especially when getting rolled around in turbulent whitewash or when the leash causes the board to spring back toward the unsuspecting surfer.

Surfers have shared their horror stories with Surfco and all of them explain that if only they had used noseguards, they would have avoided major injury. If you visit the Surfco shop in Pearl City, Hawaii, there’s a book with testimonials complete with uncensored photos of surfboard doing plenty of damage. A California surfing rep pulled into a closeout barrel one day and as he was getting rag dolled, the surfboard snapped back towards him and the tip punctured through the side of his jaw all the way through his tongue! You could see all the stitches required to sew his jaw closed and the sickening image of a tongue resembling a shredded doughnut.

I wish more people used noseguards for the safety of themselves but more importantly for the safety of others. I recall one incident when a shortboarder snaked a wave from me by dropping in behind me and as he was flying down the uncontrollably and ended up colliding with me full speed. The tip of his shortboard stabbed my butt but miraculously I didn’t surfer any gashes. A few inches to the left and we would have been talking about a slightly different version of Gerry Lopez’s colon bag story. If that guy who collided with me had a noseguard it would have substantially decreased the risk of serious injury…kamikaze surfers like that should be required to use noseguards in all of their boards.

If you’re one of the macho types and don’t like people knowing that you use noseguards, Surfco offers noseguards in white or clear colors to help match your board and they also come in a Super Slick formula which doesn’t stick in your surf bag. Noseguards are available for the following types of boards:

Shortboards (Flip nose boards)
All other Shortboards (Retro/Older style boards)
Longboards
Funboards

This week we tried Surfco’s Proteck X-Foil regular flex fins. The Hawaii based company offers high performance fins which feature urethane edges providing surfers with fluid flow and more importantly, reduce fin-related injuries. These are not cheapo fins for beginners and while the trailing edges are flexible, they provide a loose and forgiving ride for advanced surfers.

Proteck fins thruster fins come in both 4.25″ and the standard 4.5″ templates. Surfco also offers fins in a variety of colors and fin systems including FCS, Future, Lok Box, O’Fishl, and NSP. The fins also come in three flexes: regular, stiff, and carbon flex.

We tried both the 4.25″ and 4.5″ templates with great results. What we found was that the 4.25″ fins work well with a smaller board (we tested it with a 5’9 TORE Rocket Fish). These smaller templated fins can help loosen your board up in smaller weaker surf (head high and under). Just remember, it wouldn’t make sense to use 4.25″ fins in your 7’6 funboard. On the other hand, the 4.5″ Protecks worked great in a standard 6’2 shortboard and felt just as good if not better than stock FCS fins. The Protecks provided a lot more confidence in hitting the lip without worrying about putting a gash in your head with a mis-timed lip smack.

The stiff flex fins work best in overhead and larger surf and also work well for the larger/heavier surfer. The Proteck Carbon Fins are extremely stiff and provide the least amount of forgiveness but work well in larger surf (overhead plus) and are designed for the better surfer.

Overall, we highly recommend Proteck fins. They provide surprisingly great performance and even more importantly, reduce the risk of fin-related injuries. With an unprecedented number of surfers crowding line-ups these days, we wish that every surfer would use these fins and improve their surfing and make it safer for everyone else.

I just recently tested Surfco’s 9″ Proteck Powerflex longboard fin in our Kimo Greene 9’0 x 22″ x 3″ Honolulu model. I had been using a regular flex 9″ Proteck center fin as a single in the Honolulu model but we had a few days of pretty small/slower surf so I decided to give the flexible Powerflex fin a go. The main feature about the Powerflex fin is that it actually flexes in your turns and releases coming out. I have to say that this fin worked extremely well in the smaller/slower surf and gave the Honolulu model a smooth feel to it. Turns and cutbacks felt like butter and I could really feel the fin flexing just the right amount helping to smooth out my turns. The regular flex proteck fin felt a little too stiff in the slower waves and was slightly less forgiving in the smaller surf.

The only downside to this fin is that it only works well in shoulder/chest high surf and under. I found that in head to overhead plus surf the fin flexed too much and lacked enough drive to really generate sufficient speed but in the smaller surf it provided the perfect blend of flex and drive.

Surf Safer

The other great feature of the Powerflex fin along with all Proteck fins is that they protect you from nasty fin cuts. The Powerflex fin features a flexible core along with softer urethane edges which can save you and your fellow surfers a trip to the emergency room. Proteck fins perform just as well if not better than carbon and fiberglass fins. Research has shown that 66% of all surfing injuries are caused by the ultra sharp leading and trailing edges of carbon and fiberglass fins. Using Protecks gives me the confidence to attempt maneuvers without worrying about getting skegged. I’ve been hit by my Protecks numerous times and the worst I’ve received was a minor bruise. Had I been using fiberglass fins, I probably would have had 20 stitches in my leg. Many surfers have been making the switch and surfing smarter.

One of my Dave Parmenter fishes originally came with FCS triple plug keel fins. I’ve never seen keel fins on modern/hybrid fishes before so when I saw the fins on my fish I was somewhat skeptical. I’ve heard a few shapers say that keel fins are needed for retro fishes with wide tails. That being said, the FCS keel fins looked like a bit too much fin for my narrow tailed 5’9 fish. Another note worth mentioning is that the FCS keel fins are quite heavy and made my fish feel extremely tail heavy. I’m not exactly sure if that has any negative effects on performance but I think that lighter fins work better.

These fins weren’t working very well and the board was totally unresponsive without any speed. It was basically a dead duck in the water and a total dud! I decided to replace the heavy keel fins with the FCS MR Twin fins iand all of a sudden, the board had life again. The MR Twin fins created a unique blend of drive and looseness inn the turns which made this board a terror in smaller surf. The MR’s trailer fin (included in the MR twin set) created more drive in the Parmenter fish in larger surf. The MR fin with trailer is a very versatile system which allows you to change the dynamics of your board for a variety of conditions.

FCS MR Twin Fin with Trailer

The immense popularity of old school/retro style fishes has made the twin fin cool again. Surfers were so fixated on thruster fin setups for years but currently, it’s cool to have twins.

Most retro twin fin fishes utilize a fin of the past, also known as the keel fin. While most surfers probably don’t know the difference between the various types of keel fins, my own experience has shown me that the board being equal, different keel fins have different characteristics.

Old School Keel Fins

One of my favorite fish boards utilized a very old keel fin design without much rake in the fin (see photo below). When I first saw this board, I thought “Wow, that is an old school fin…it must be very hi-performance.” I was quite surprised at my first go out with the board. Most of the fishes I had ridden prior to that board were quite slippy and too loose for my liking. This board however, had tremendous drive and felt more like a thruster than a loose twin fin fish. If you’re looking for a twin fin with a good amount of drive yet still loose enough to throw your tail around, the old school keel fin is for you.

The only negative I have about these retro low rake keel fins is that they make it more difficult to release the fins than a fin with more rake. The low rake gives these keel fins an extremely wide base which is great for drive but less than great for turns and snaps. You can still throw your weight around with these fins, just not as easily as modern keel fins.

Keel fins with very low rake

Modern Keel Fins

If you’re a surfer who’s ridden a thruster fin setup for most of your life, a modern keel fin with moderate rake may be what you’re looking for. These fins make retro fishes extremely loose, almost to the point where you feel like you can push a turn hard enough and disengage the fins into a 360. I would say that these fins are perfect for the surfer who really wants to feel a significant difference from their standard thruster shortboard.

Moderate raked keel fin

Personally, I like my fishes to be slightly more drivey. That way, I can surf it like a thruster but with the wave catching ability and insane down the line speed of a fish. To summarize, if you want your fish to feel more like a thruster, go with the low rake keel fins. If you want an extremely loose and slippy board with the potential for 360’s in the pocket, get a moderate/high raked twin fin.