posts: 133165
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| post_id | thread_id | thread_title | post_number | author_username | post_date | post_date_iso | post_body |
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| 133165 | 2241 | The Perpetual Flothru | 63 | DKNJ | Jun 19, 2018 | 2018-06-19T18:46:10-0400 | Chilly Willy said: The Flothru rolled into my mailbox yesterday afternoon (thanks, @deemce !) -- just in time for a small but decent little south swell, offshore winds, and the start of my week of vacation. I ran it in my 10'0" G&S Retro Redfin, thinking that it is semi pig-like and might be appropriate for a D-fin. I wasn't sure what to expect -- was it a gimmick or would it transport me instantly to Slider's Point? I did some A/B testing between the Flothru and the standard Red Fin fin, so my first impressions are as compared to that fin. Round 1: Flothru. I started out with the Flothru and thought it surfed well. I couldn't tell initially whether anything was actually "flowing through" it -- it just felt like it rode nicely for the mostly set-my-line-and-go thigh high runners I was riding. I was mostly attributing it to the way the board rides and/or the generally fun quality of the waves (although, I later realized that some of these feelings were the fin). It felt a little looser, but I wasn't sure since there wasn't much room on the face to turn. Kick outs seemed easier than normal. I finally took off on a nice waist high wave and felt the first hint of "flothru" -- it was easy to turn with a soft, subtly drifty feel to it. Nothing extreme, but a very pleasant and fun feeling. Round 2: Red fin. I swapped it out for the usual red fin. I could tell right from my first paddle that the red fin tracked better without any drifty feel to it. Catching some waves, I could tell that the board suddenly had a much longer turning radius. It felt fast with some added drive, but I found myself missing the playful shorter radius turns of the yellow fin, especially with the smaller waves. The slower turns made the board feel bigger and heavier and required more effort to turn. Round 3: Flothru. I kooked out for a bit when I got back on the Flothru, snarfing on a few nice waves before I got reacquainted with it and moved it around in the box a bit. All the way up was a bit too banana peel slidey, but I managed to find a spot I liked and spent the rest of the session enjoying it. (Note: It was nice to be able to move it around since the red fin fills the whole box. This one has some room for adjustment.) Turns felt way tighter and pivotey, which was perfect for small stuff and left-go-right fades. Kickouts are indeed easy with it -- the sharp and extreme turn of the kickout kills your drive (in a good way) and lets you pivot right out of the wave, whereas the red fin requires more momentum and more room to drive it out. Although it didn't have the same tension-like drive as the red fin, it still goes fast when you trim (I think mostly a characteristic of the board). Overall, I actually really enjoyed it and thought it made that 10'0" beast -- my longest board -- feel lighter and shorter. I wouldn't mind having one myself to run it once in a while when I'm feeling a bit fin kinky. I'll try to give it a try in some other boards before sending it to the next lucky recipient. I'm stoked to be a part of the fin's journey -- thanks @sonOsea ! View attachment 6870 View attachment 6871 View attachment 6873 View attachment 6872 PS: Inspired by the fin, I had myself some flothru breakfast afterwards: View attachment 6874 Click to expand... Chilly, i would love, love, love to get my dirty little hands on that fin before it leaves NJ. |