What A Vektor Fin Can Do On A Surfboard?   There has always been a performance gap between twin fins/quads and thrusters. Twins and quads are fast and loose because the fins on either side of the board create drive and there’s no middle fin dragging through the water and slowing the board down. But the lack of a center fin comes with a sacrifice, because twins and quads are not able to be surfed as aggressively top-to-bottom as thrusters. Because they don’t have the stability of a center fin, they tend to spin out or bog when they are surfed hard off the bottom. This is why you will often see guys on quads, and especially on twins, surfing more laterally down the line and staying higher on the face of the wave.   Thrusters, on the other hand, have a lot of hold off the bottom and are great for vertical, top-to-bottom surfing, but they are a bit slower than quads and twins because of the aforementioned drag caused by the center fin. This can result in not making sections during long, fast barrels, and also not having as much drive and speed on smaller, less-powerful days when...

  Like many of Hawaii’s progressive surf designs, the Vektor Fin system found its start in the Waialua Sugar Mill. Ryan was foiling and cutting fins for other shapers, and started playing around with his own templates—just to do something different, with a focus on drive. Once the fins were developed, he started testing them on the North Shore, refining the templates and foils after each surf. The fins started out pretty big, but after a lot of hands-on R&D, the were shrunk down a bit to their current size. When you first look at Vektor Fins, you immediately notice that they are different than your standard fin—or even the Nubster, which Ryan also developed. The design is focused on creating bite and drive—with a longer base length—but also the ability for release, which comes from the tapered rake. This creates a smoother, faster, more powerful ride without compromising performance. Lately the Vektor team has been experimenting with a five-fin setup in heavier, hollower surf, adding Vektor’s a trailing side-bites in the rear quad boxes to supplement the standard thruster setup. This gives barrel riders the best of both worlds—the stability off the bottom provided by a thruster, but also...