Giving up their weekly carton of imported beer would probably save more kilograms in the long run, but to some surfers, shaving weight off their equipment is almost an obsession.
Hex-core fibreblass fins are popular among the pro surfing set becuase they are undoubtedly lighter, and the last thing they’d want to do is add weight to their 4oz ultra-light glass jobs. A properly installed set of FCS plugs probably add about the same weight to a board as the extra resin and strips of cloth applied to the base of a set of glassed in fins, but what about the fins themselves?
We chucked a couple of well known FCS fins on the scales, and then did the same with our Rincon fibreglass fins. The model we chose was the FCS Kelly Slater K2.1, in Glass Flex and the new Performance Core models, as these are the closest in size and shape to the Rincon. Below is a snap we took of each set on the scales, first up the Performance Core k2.1′s.
Then the k2.1 fins in Glass Flex.
And finally a set of Southoz Rincon fins in fiblreglass.
It’s no surprise to see the Hex core FCS fins come in lightest, but what was unexpected was just how close the Glass Flex K2.1′s and the Rincon fins were – so close we’d need better quality scales to call it!
At around 185g the hex core fins are about four-fifths the weight of the others, and lighter by about the same amount as using a bit less wax on your deck. But given there is no difference in weight, and little difference in price, why wouldn’t you want the performance benefits of high quality fibreglass fins?
And if you are really worried about the effect 30 grams will have on your board’s performance, maybe ask your shaper to shave half an inch off the length of your next custom!
