MATOS: KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT FINS ON A SHORT SUP

Not all our shortSUPs have the same fin boxes configurations. The Mob, the Karmen and the Alley are different and you have to adapt your setup according to your activity.

• If you have a Mob…

The Mob is equipped with four fin boxes for a quad setup. A quad setup is made of: two large fins in the front and two smaller ones on the tail. The two rear fins are a sort of duplicate of the central fin of a thruster setup. With four of these, the overall surface area is therefore larger, you have more drive, more speed and more grip. This setup also brings steadiness to the surf, and if the board is more stable, it’s also easier to surf.

A quad setup is ideal in low power waves and when we have a wide tail like the Mob. Even in hollow waves, a quad setup brings a great grip during a bottom turn, and the ability to keep a high line on the wave; so you can produce a lot of speed to get through the faster sections easily.

Mob boards are wide, so when you put it on the rail and give some angle to the board, you will always have two fins in contact with water. A thruster setup would be inefficient because when you take a lot of angle, the central fin would be out of the water. It’s this contact of at least two lateral fins that allows you to have grip, to give angle to your board, and therefore to build enough energy at the bottom turn to be shot out towards the lip and wrapping a turn.

You’ll be able to play with the shape and the size of the fins on the Mob, so you will be able to stick as close as possible to the surfing feeling you are looking for.

• If you have a Karmen…

On the Karmen, except for the 9’10 which is delivered with a central US box and two side boxes, they are equipped with 5 fin boxes, so you can surf it as a thruster or a quad.

The 2+1 setup on the Karmen 9’10 is the one that will bring the most versatility to the board, in this set-up we will try to optimize the control and the grip once the board is on the rail. Thanks to its length, the Karmen 9’10 is also an excellent board for cruising, the possibility to put a large central fin to limit the row effect becomes an asset in cruising.

The thruster setup consists of three fins of the same size. We will be looking for maximum liveliness and speed. The board will be very lively and maneuverable. Without a doubt, this is the most common setup. Because it is both a versatile and high performance setup. It’s this setup that allows it to have a lot of pivot, to go from rail to rail in a fluid and fast way. This also allows you to tighten your turns to the maximum.

The quad setup can be used in a big range of conditions. The quad setup is the configuration that produces the most speed and grip, so it’s ideal in fast and hollow conditions to get through sections with ease. However, it’s also a setup that works in small waves, where you’ll need to generate speed quickly.

You can adjust the setup to the conditions, but you can also decide to do whatever you want.

• If you have an Alley…

The Alley boards are delivered with three fin boxes for a thruster setup, this is surfing’s top level set-up. It’s this fin setup that checks all the boxes in events, that is to make the most radical turns in the least amount of space.

There are two different types of setup on this high performance shortSUP. A first with 3 FCS 2 boxes on the small sizes (7’2, 7’4 and 7’6) which will give a lot of maneuverability and therefore possibility to the rider. It’s perfect to go for the most radical turns.

The second setup is found on the larger sizes of the Alley (7’8, 8’1 and 8’6). There are 5 FCS2 boxes for a quad setup. Concretely, it allows you to gain more stability, speed and grip. Ideal when conditions get bigger and the rider wants maximum drive.