Are the New Seaside Fins ACTUALLY Worth It? (Full Review)

BlinkSurf2024-04-11

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5K views|5 months ago

💫 Short Summary

The video discusses the new Rob Machado quad fins, handmade in South Africa with carbon interlayers and bamboo, featuring a more curved and stiffer design. Changes include different cant angles and improved performance, control, and versatility. The speaker emphasizes matching fins to board size, with larger boards benefiting from quad sets and oversized boards like the Seaside suited for keel fins. Tips on using keels for surfing and the impact of fin choice on maneuverability are also covered. The new keels are recommended for their improved design and performance. Audience engagement includes questions on preferred fins for different conditions based on rider weight and height.

✨ Highlights

📊 Transcript

✦

Upgraded version of Rob Machado quad fins released.

01:01

Handmade in South Africa with laminated carbon interlayers and bamboo, featuring a foil on the inside and a more curved and stiffer design.

Changes include different cant angle, built-in angle in Futures fins, and a more upright back fin with a rounded shape.

Fins are 15% lighter, stronger, and have undergone significant upgrades.

Testers have noticed improved performance, control, and versatility, especially in mid-wave ranges, making them suitable for various types of boards.

✦

Matching fins to board size is crucial for optimal performance in surfing.

03:28

Larger boards should use regular quad sets for extended range.

Oversized boards like the Seaside are best suited for keel fins up to chest-high waves.

The speaker's six-foot-one Seaside with 46.5 liters is considered oversized for their six-foot-two height and is used as an effortless groveler for small waves.

The impact of fin choice on maneuverability is influenced by board size, with twin fin option also discussed for the Seaside.

✦

Tips on using keels for surfing.

06:02

Ankle positioning is important to avoid injury from the fin edge.

New keels are smoother and stiffer for a better surfing experience.

The speaker recommends the new keels for improved design and performance.

Questions are posed to the audience about preferred fins for different conditions based on rider weight and height, emphasizing impact on board size and performance.

00:00I had the first version

00:01of the Rob Machado quad fins.

00:05And people say

00:06I love mine.

00:07It's the best pairing I've ever had.

00:09And then other people say,

00:10Oh, I didn't like mine either.

00:11So what's different about version two?

00:12Well, these are handmade in South Africa,

00:15laminated carbon interlayers with bamboo.

00:19The first ones were Honeycomb.

00:20These ones also have a foil on them

00:23on the inside,

00:24where the other ones were flat.

00:25Also, Rob has raked

00:27this one back

00:28and given it a little more curve in it

00:30and made it stiffer.

00:32Also, he's changed the cant

00:33so instead of being out there,

00:36it's come in two degrees,

00:37that's the angle of it.

00:39And on Futures fins,

00:40the angle is built into the fin.

00:42The back fin is now more upright.

00:45And it also has a little bit of foil,

00:48and a little more rounded shape.

00:51So what they've done is

00:52effectively go like that.

00:54And that apparently

00:56gives it more of a sweet spot,

00:57just more like a split keel in a way,

01:00which I'm kind of excited about.

01:01So my first hypothesis is

01:03this should work on

01:05different types of boards better

01:06than the first version.

01:07That's what they say

01:09on the website as well.

01:10But I'm going to put them in

01:11my Seaside Volcanic and see

01:14how they feel for me,

01:15see if they actually feel better

01:16than the first version of these fins.

01:18And I think maybe

01:19when they went from

01:20Futures to Firewire,

01:22they've had a chance to sort of

01:24design them and upgrade them.

01:27They're also 15% lighter,

01:29they're way lighter.

01:30Apparently they're stronger as well.

01:32And of course,

01:33they look quite different.

01:35But let's see how they surf.

01:45So are these new Rob Machado fins' any good?

01:48I think they are.

01:49I actually can tell the difference.

01:50They are lighter,

01:51stronger,

01:52and they're more upright,

01:54it felt perfect with this board

01:56with this Seaside.

01:57It was surprisingly different

01:59from the first versions that I tried.

02:01So whatever changes Rob's made

02:03with the stiffness,

02:04the lightness, the cant,

02:06and the foil,

02:07it's all been worthwhile.

02:08And I think this board

02:10would work really well with these fins

02:12right up to a mid-wave range.

02:14I've surfed this board

02:15with regular quad fins

02:18in bigger waves.

02:19And I have a few friends

02:20who have surfed this board

02:21with regular quad fins.

02:23We'll see what that looks like

02:24and why that might work.

02:25So here we have

02:26a regular quad set of Firewire.

02:29This is what I've been surfing

02:31this board with

02:31before I got the new keels

02:33after I sold the first version of the keels,

02:36and it surfs fine. And especially when

02:39the wave's a bit juicier,

02:40you're going to find

02:41you have a little more control

02:42because the fins are spread out

02:44into more corners.

02:46It's less like that

02:47between-fin keel

02:48and it's more like

02:49a regular performance board, quad feel.

02:52And I have friends

02:53who surfed their boards

02:54in the Maldives.

02:56And up to head high,

02:58and they use these fins

03:00match to their size.

03:01I'm 95 kilograms.

03:04So I'm going to be using this large set.

03:07my friend is about 68 kilograms,

03:10he rides the medium set,

03:11and he loves it.

03:12So if you want more range

03:14on your Seaside,

03:16get a regular set of quads

03:18to extend the range of it.

03:19I think the keels

03:22are just going to get a bit

03:24out of control

03:25at that head-high range.

03:27And so just dropping that fin size

03:28By the way,

03:29it's about 10% less surface area

03:32with this regular quad set

03:34than the Machado keel set.

03:37This is what it looks like

03:38if you were to lay

03:39the regular quads

03:40over the Machado keel set.

03:42You can see the keels

03:44have a lot more drive here.

03:47And these regular quads

03:49are just a little more upright.

03:50And in the back, the rears,

03:52you can see

03:53there's a little more

03:53surface area on the standard quads.

03:56And there's still plenty of drive,

03:59but more of a squashed down profile

04:00for that rear trailer.

04:02And that's why

04:03I think the regular quads

04:04are going to step up better

04:05on this board.

04:06But let's face it,

04:07you're not really buying this board

04:09as a really-good-wave board.

04:11Generally, it's more of a groveler board.

04:12If you're going to ride the Seaside as a twin

04:14which some people want to do,

04:16then something like this

04:18AMK Al Merrick keel

04:20could do the job.

04:21But I will say

04:22I don't ride my Seaside as a twin

04:25because it was originally

04:27designed as a quad

04:29and it replaced the Go Fish.

04:33So if you want a twin,

04:35get a Too Fish

04:36or something else.

04:37There's plenty of other twin fins

04:40that I would rather ride

04:41before I ride my Seaside as a twin.

04:44But if you only have one Seaside

04:46and you really want to feel

04:47that twin fin feel

04:49then at least you could do that

04:50with something like the AMK.

04:52Something else to consider

04:53when you're thinking about your fin choice

04:55is how big is your Seaside

04:58compared to you.

04:59When I got this Seaside,

05:01I went for a fairly large sizing,

05:03I'm six foot two and a bit

05:05on a good day.

05:06And this Seaside is six foot one.

05:08So it's kind of an oversized Seaside.

05:11It's actually 46 and a half liters.

05:13And that's on the high side for me,

05:14but I really wanted an

05:16effortless groveler,

05:18I wanted to be able to glide around

05:19and not have to work too hard

05:21on those tiny, tiny days,

05:22one to two feet.

05:23So I think for me

05:25on an oversize board,

05:26these keels are going to work great,

05:28up to maybe chest high,

05:31but as soon as we start going above that,

05:33that's when I would want to put those

05:34regular quads back in,

05:36because I'm going to find

05:38there's a lot of board,

05:39it's gonna be harder to

05:41get that rail in

05:42on the bottom turn.

05:43And if I had an undersized Seaside,

05:46a very short Seaside for my size,

05:49then I think these fins would actually work

05:51for quite some time

05:52until you need to replace them

05:53because you can't handle all that drive

05:55when there's just less surface area.

05:57Keep in mind these things

05:58are extremely wide

06:00from side to side.

06:01And there's one other thing I discovered

06:03when you are sitting up on your board

06:04in the lineup

06:05just keep in mind

06:06to put your ankles nice and wide.

06:08It's pretty easy to jab your ankle

06:10on the fin edge here or here.

06:13And luckily, these new keels

06:15are actually quite smooth

06:16and didn't need any sanding

06:18so they didn't break skin

06:20which is good.

06:21So for me, I'm really glad

06:22I sold the first version

06:23and I got these brand new ones

06:25because they're stiffer, lighter,

06:27they're a little more upright

06:29in terms of cant

06:29and they're just a little more foiled.

06:31They feel great,

06:32but I'm curious

06:33which fins have you found

06:34that work best for your Seaside?

06:37In what conditions?

06:38And also importantly,

06:39what rider weight or height are you?

06:42Because I think that would make

06:43a small difference

06:44in whether you have a regular-sized,

06:46oversized or undersized Seaside,

06:47it's going to make all the difference.

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