How does a quad-fin surfboard perform differently from a thruster with 3 fins?
Good question, Aidan. Quads have been around for a long time, but it’s nice to see more surfers giving them a try again. In a nutshell: Speed: I have definitely seen the increased speed from a quad. I borrowed a friend’s Piranha and immediately realized the difference. Since shapers design the bottom contour of a board to shoot water out the back, that back fin causes drag. I think it had the biggest difference for me on small waves. Response: I liked the quad’s feeling, but it does surf a bit differently. The thruster’s center fin helps you track, while I felt like the quad was super loose. The dowside to the extra fin’s hold and drive is that I struggled to get release near the top of the wave. Large Waves: This does not apply to me but a lot of heavy wave surfers are shifting to quads. They like both fins on the rail working together in the wave’s face.
A board with four fins has been proven to be faster than a thruster. Also, because the fins are set lower down the board, they are under your back foot allowing responsiveness and ease of control to be all the better too. I read something earlier in the year saying that a quad-fin board surpasses a thruster in control and you can’t get a better board where the speed and control are perfectly matched.
