K4fins small SUP fins review
K4 SUP fins review
pic Steve Barrow
Fins play such an important part in your stand up paddle board set up and getting the right configuration can see your performance levels go through the roof.
Tez Plavenieks got hold of a thruster set up from K4 Fins to put through their paces – here’s what he thought.
What type?
Choosing a set of fins for your SUP is never easy. You have to firstly be honest with yourself about the types of conditions you mainly ride. Next, you have to be straight up about your ability – it’s no good wanting ultimate skate performance if you don’t possess the skills. Lastly, being transparent about your gear is also key to nailing your ultimate fin set up. Aspiring to the smallest skegs on the market is all well and good but if your board is too big then forget it.
For the purposes of this review I’d be using a Loco 7’10ft dedicated surf SUP. My main conditions are mainly waist to head high south coast waves that can be choppy and suffer heavily from tidal influences.
I like a board this size to have drive off the bottom and give me speed up to the lip but also be loose enough to slide the tail out on demand. I therefore chose a pair of K4 12s for the side and Mr Thorp’s secret weapon for the central foil – a 10cm Shark.
My chosen configuration was essentially a trailer tri fin grouping – hopefully giving me the best of both twinzer and thruster performance.
Onto the water
Fins can sometimes impede the straight line tracking and stability of SUPs. If you got too small then you’ll find you have to keep putting a lot of corrective strokes in while too big will see the tail pulling away from you.
The size of SUP I was riding though was short in length so tracking problems were not even in the equation.
Once out at the take off I was slightly concerned as to how the drop and bottom turn would be. Having such a small fin could be a recipe for disaster and result in spin out. However, I shouldn’t have been concerned as the Shark and side bites gripped sending me flying back up to the lip with no troubles at all.
Once at the apex I was able carve one off the top with as much force as I dared. I was actually surprised just how much grip and control I had. The fins can break free at will but bite again when needed or keep everything in check and bang one of the froth without loss of traction – the choice is yours.
Summing up
This type of fin configuration worked well with the 7’10ft I was using and having tested them in everything from knee to head high, offshore to cross shore, I’m convinced that as an all round set up for boards less than 8’5ft in length they’re nearly perfect for 78 – 85kg riders.
If you’re a lightweight then possibly some smaller side fins would work better but essentially this skeg set works well for crossing over between pure carving performance and a newer school skate style.
You can check out more SUP fin types from K4 in their store – the perfect set are there for you…