Quad fin Waveboards Worth the Hype?

Jaipal · Joined: 06 Apr 2002 Posts: 64 Location: Maui

Absolutely! Gonna be a blast. Let's meet up for sure. Good stuff going on.

-J

chophop · Joined: 16 Apr 1996 Posts: 182

Yes I agree with Jaipal the Quads are worth the Hype. They do sail different than any other board. And I think that this different is better. What does any body say about them for Bump n Jump and swell riding in Bay or River conditions? Cool

rich1 · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 146

Thought I'd resurrect this thread based on something very interesting that just happened at the AWT in Maui.

SwellRipper · Joined: 21 Apr 2009 Posts: 88 Location: Channel Marker 8A

The kid Bernd, who won the Maui men's Pro, beating KP in the final, rides quatro quads I believe. The final was in light wind with medium waves. I noticed KP rode single fin in Santa Cruz AWT and Bernd was on quad. I think maybe most of the pros are riding multifins in the waves right now, but not all.

rich1 · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 146

For sure most are on quads, I just wanted to point out that serious wave sailing still exists on singles. I'm also pretty sure that JP was on a single thruster, not really a single per se, but more like a single than a quad.

Another observation after watching all that wave sailing in difficult conditions (17 pros ended up on the rocks on day 1) was a lot of guys were catching a rail and going down as they initiated their cutbacks. I don't want to credit the comment to the wrong guy, but I think it was Matt Pritchard who called it the "quad bog" I may watch the whole thing again with an eye to the single finners to see if they were having the same issues.

For the record, I'm not anti quad, and I've never sailed one. My only multifin experience was with a quatro twin a couple of years back on Maui, and it was very loose on a wave, but I didn't like it any more than my single, just looser.

And, I might add, I'm a pretty crappy wave sailor, I love it, but I'm not going to be winning any contests.

3.7_Maui · Joined: 20 Jul 2012 Posts: 14

I laughed watching little retired old people, the kind that wear helmets and are neurotic in figuring out what sail to use. This crowd all starting to show up to the side-on beach with their new quad boards. I though to myself - man the marketing is working on these quad boards - but seriously how many of the above mentioned people need more bite on a wave, I mean are they really doing tweaked out vertical moves in the critical part of a wave? I also noticed I was suddenly one of the faster boards on the water- they can't be good since am always on a sinker and rig small. The upwind spots were suddenly extremely crowded since anyone on a quad can get high upwind. Whereas skill had always dictated that only the best could get high upwind - now that no longer holds true - so now skill no longer determines who gets to teh upwind wave spots and who gets the wave selection - skill no longer has much influence as I just explained. Now you see why I hate the quad!! Now the waves are crowded with people lacking the skills once required just to get into the lineup. Quads make me sick - I hate them - but the helmet wearing geeks will always want to look like the rad surfers they are not. The quad is supposed to be good in down the line conditions for some people - not side-on shore for everyone. At the Hookipa Makani classic many contestants were stalling out completely or falling - Matt Prichard called that the "quad bog". Funny how his brother KP came in second using a single fin! Anyway IMHO: a single fine equates to powerful bottom turns and rail to rail slashing, - and a quad equates to a slower board - but snappy. They also have more grip which is both good and bad. What about the twins and thrusters - I know some that swear to the thruster setup which has proven itself in surfing.

churan · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 38

I recomend u do a demo and decide before purchasing.
I still ride single fin JP/Naish. prowave.
These are fast top to bottom boards. Quads etc are surfy pocket boards that kindof change your style of riding.

Several guys i know bought quads and had to change the fin type setup etc to get them to feel right. Quads wont break loose for a slashing top turn!

One guy went back to riding his old style angulo chango over the quad.
It is a big investment. especially if you realize u dont like the ride.
Demo Demo good luck

3.7_Maui · Joined: 20 Jul 2012 Posts: 14

Look at those in the know - large sea creatures like dolphins and sharks. lets see, they all use a single fin set up.

ericwelty · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 32

OK, I thought I would put in my two cents. I really only sail waves, and have had the 72 Goya quad for one and a half seasons now and what I like about it is I don't spin out ( big plus ) it does seem a little slower than my single fins , but not much. Dan Chen has been going faster on his 75 Simmer quad than I can ever remember ( he passes me up now , DRATS ) The quad does feel looser , and I don't seem to catch as many weeds, even with the extra fins " GO FIGURE " , the other thing all my fins on the quad are still in good shape, not hitting the rocks much. My single fins get trashed , and pick up those pesky weeds more. I am now looking to replace my JP radical 80 single fin ( light wind board ) with the Simmer 85 quad. Then maybe I can catch Dan and get the wave before he does.[/b]