Tech talk: What size of fins do I actually need?

27.02.2023

What’s up everyone? Welcome back to another Appletree Surfboards tech talk video. You might remember that two years ago we had a whole video range about fins and about rake. One of you actually posted the question, which we sort of overlooked, and that was what size of fins do I actually need?

This video will be a quick introduction on fin sizes and if you want to look back the video about rake and about the different fin shapes and constructions, we’ll link it down below this video. But this video is just about the sizing.

FIN TYPES ON A KITE SURFBOARD

How to choose the correct size of fins?

Now, most fins that you get are actually not designed for kite surfing, so it’s sometimes a bit daunting for people to sort of choose what to get. For sizing, what we usually advise people to do is to look at the weight range that is posted on the fin by the producer of that fin. So it will usually be XS, S, M, L and XL fins. Get the one that matches your weight as close as possible. That should work in most conditions. It should give you sort of a good balance of grip and still loose to do your turns. From there you can start to experiment.

Adjust the size of fins according to your riding style

If you feel that you need a bit more grip, especially when the waves are bigger for instance, or if you wanna do more arcing turns, you can go for a larger size fin. If you wanna have that more sort of loose and snappy feeling, definitely always go for a one size smaller or even two sizes smaller. But do remember that if you go smaller, you will also lose some upwind ability because the fin in a surfboard is so important in driving you upwind that you need a little bit of size there.

Mix and match

What I sometimes even advise people to do, is to mix and match, like it’s not a fixed thing. So if you can, get your back fin, the one in the middle. Put a smaller fin there or even put like a really small fin there. But keep these two on a larger size, this will really loosen up the board a lot. So if you do a turn, it will break out and you get that nice sliding feeling. The one that’s on the rail will still give you that up wind drive.

Size of fins
Applino v2

Start with the fin that’s closest to your body weight

So the best advice that we can give you, start with the fin that’s closest to your body weight, according to the manufacturer’s advice. Then from there, try to experiment. Get different sets, buy different sets with your friends. If you break a fin, you still have the middle one, you can switch it around. The set doesn’t have to be the same all the time. Experiment and find your own set that works for you.

This is it for this month. Hope to see you next time in another tech talk video. We’ve got lots of cool and interesting subjects coming up this year. Subscribe to our channel and I’ll see you next time. Cheers.

CHECK OTHER TECH TALKS
Next episode

Excited about our next Tech-Talk video? Or are you wondering if your question will be discussed in the next episode? Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll send you an email when the next video is out!