Lost x MR California Twin & California Mid: A Complete Guide

The Board Mark Richards Built With Lost

The California Twin is Mark Richards' twin fin, brought up to date with Matt Biolos of Lost. MR has been shaping his retro twins for more than 20 years, and the collaboration started on a snowboarding trip to Mammoth, where he and Matt got talking about the twin-fin revival. MR told Matt he should build a Lost twin.

They based it on MR's favorite shape, the SuperTwin: a single-to-double concave bottom, a wing swallow tail, and a 2+1 fin box instead of a pure twin. Matt then reworked it for everyday surfers, adding a fuller nose and more width, and relaxing the rocker so it would paddle and go in the two-to-four-foot waves most of us ride most of the time. That first board took off, and the range grew to three: the original swallowtail Twin, a pulled-in roundtail Twin Pin, and the California Mid. This guide covers the two we carry: the short Twin and the Mid.

Twin or Mid: Which One Is for You?

Same design, two lengths, two different riders. The Twin is the short fish for surfers who already stand up and want small-wave speed with real turning. The Mid is for the surfer who wants to keep it easy without going to a longboard.

That second rider is the one Mark Richards is most passionate about. He is in his late 60s, still surfs every day, and sees every age in the water. The mid-length, he says, is for the surfer whose life, age, or time in the water makes a shortboard impractical, but who does not want to give up turning.

Sizes and Specs

The Twin is meant to be ridden short, and the Mid runs from a compact mid-length up past seven feet. These dimensions are straight from the boards we carry. Every size takes a 2+1 fin box.

California Twin

These ride short and wide, so a lot of surfers take one a few inches under their usual shortboard. Do not go by length alone, though.

California Mid

The Mid comes with either an FCS II or a Futures fin system depending on the board. Mark Richards tunes the rocker and outline to each length rather than copying one shape up the range, so a 7-footer is not just a stretched 6'8. We do not pick a size by weight alone, because where and how often you surf matters just as much. Send us your height, weight, current board, and home break and we will point you to the right one.

How They Ride, and Why

The thing that makes the California Twin stand out is that it does two jobs most small fish cannot do at once: it cruises and glides, and it holds a hard line in the pocket. Plenty of twin-fin fish are fun to carve on but go soft the moment you try to surf them like a shortboard. This one keeps driving when you push it.

A few design choices are behind that. The fuller nose and wide, mostly flat outline plane fast and paddle easily in weak surf, so you are up and moving on waves other boards miss. Underneath, a single concave that runs into a double concave through the fins gives clean rail-to-rail flow. It drives off the bottom and links turns without hesitation, and there is enough rail line to hold even when the wave stands up overhead.

Then there is the wing swallow tail, the stepped tail that is MR's signature. It solves two problems at once.

The area under your back foot gives drive so the tail does not bog, and trimming the very end lets the board pivot and sink onto a rail quickly when you want to turn hard. One trade-off worth knowing: because the Twin is short and wide, it rewards good footing. Stand on the sweet spot and it turns crisp and clean. The 2+1 stabilizer widens that margin, which is part of why most people ride it that way.

On the Mid, the same ideas are tuned for glide. It carries low rocker for speed and paddle power, with a curvier rail line so it still turns. As MR describes it, the whole trick with a mid-length is finding the balance between nose width and tail lift so the board paddles well, carries over flat sections, and still comes around when you put it on a rail, rather than being the kind of flat, rockerless mid-length that goes fast in a straight line and does nothing else.

Twin or 2+1: Getting the Fins Right

Every California board uses a 2+1 fin box, which means two main fins plus an optional small center stabilizer. That one box is most of the board's range, and it is worth understanding before you choose a setup.

Ride it as a pure twin and it is at its loosest and fastest in a straight line, which is a blast when the surf is tiny and you just want to skate around. But most riders, Mark Richards included, find the board really comes alive with the small stabilizer fin dropped in. As a pure twin it can feel like it gives up a little drive coming off the bottom; the trailer restores that push and lets you lean on a rail with confidence. Think of it this way: a pure twin is the loosest, skatiest setup and a thruster is the most locked-in, and the 2+1 sits right in between, giving you some of each.

Twin fins have a reputation for sliding, but that is mostly about the surfer, not the design.

Keep your weight over your back foot, use your heel and toe to set the rail through a turn, and a good twin bites and drives out. Run it as a twin when it is small and you want skate, add the trailer when you want to lean on it or the surf has some size. We fit fins by style and how you surf, not by a formula. If you want to go deeper on the fins, read our guides to the Mark Richards twin fin and the FCS II MR Freeride twins, or just tell us how you ride.

Black Sheep and Lightspeed Construction

The California Mid we carry is built in Black Sheep, and the Twin in FCS II Lightspeed. Both are light, lively composite builds rather than standard fiberglass, and both feel fast and hold up well.

Both use an EPS core sealed with epoxy, which matters for repairs: use epoxy-only materials, since the polyester resin in a basic ding kit will not bond and can cause more damage. For anything past a light scratch, bring it to a shop that handles epoxy boards, or drop by 320 Ward Avenue and we will point you to the right fix.

What Waves They Are Built For

These are everyday boards, made for the surf we actually get most days, from ankle-high to overhead. Mark Richards built the whole range around the average two-to-four-foot day, not the standout swell. The Twin makes speed in weak waves but still holds a line when the wave has some push, and the Mid adds paddle power and glide for those same conditions.

He is just as clear about where they are not meant to go: a twin fin is not the board for Sunset, Pipeline, or Waimea. On the South Shore that lines up perfectly. Relaxed Waikiki and Ala Moana days, summer souths with a bit of size, and all the fun, imperfect surf in between. For the waves you ride most, these are hard to beat.

Watch the Mark Richards Interview

David Kelly sat down with Mark Richards for the full breakdown of the California Twin and Mid. MR walks through the Matt Biolos collaboration, the SuperTwin the range is built on, the wing swallow tail, the concave bottom, the mid-length, and exactly how the 2+1 setup works. The design detail in this guide comes straight from that conversation.

Watch the full Mark Richards interview →

Frequently Asked Questions