KUROSH KIANI
A long with your sail, how your rig works, your body size and your style of sailing, the fin comes in at a high percentage, maybe 20% of your whole setup. To me it is very important. To change your fin can make as much impact as changing your sail. The difficult part is acquiring the best fins. Some riders are already in with the top fin producers and have access to better fins essentially. Luckily for most guys, F-Hot, Z Fins and Maui Ultra Fins all make fins that perform at a high level. So it has become easier to buy competitive fins. There are still a few guys in exclusive clubs that have access to the very best fins from the custom fin guys. That is a nice one to be a member of. The guys that are making the very best fins are hand making them. They can also produce a fin based on your input and this is a very important part of the whole mechanics of windsurfing. In general a good fin will work for any rider, but if you want to take it next level you could try to buy a fin where the bend curve, the length and the rake fits your size and style of sailing. I have spent close to a 1000 euro on a fin before! But now we have a lot of different brands where you can now buy a fin for a fraction of that price. I have about 20 fins at an event, which normally whittles down to my five favourites. On the road I am constantly swapping fins around to make sure I know how they all work. In some locations a fin can work better than others depending on the wind conditions. My fin bag goes together with my clothing bag when I travel. It is the one thing I don’t want to lose. You build up a fin stash over the years. They are priceless and sometimes you just can’t buy that magic fin again. I am using Maui Ultra fins and their fins come out the same every time and they are getting better and better. I see myself replacing many of my old custom fins with standard production fins that are working just as well.