FCS Talk at USEDSURF | FCS Deep Dive: Fin Templates, Materials, Construction & More

[00:00:00]Welcome to you, sir.

[00:00:01]>> I'm Eddie, I'm with FCS. Also, John.

[00:00:03]>> Nice to meet you, guys.

[00:00:04]>> We have Yuji, who's our in marketing.

[00:00:06]Brent is our local sales rep.

[00:00:07]>> Um, a lot of people don't know this, the founders of FCS started their business with the Gorilla Grip. They started making grip back in the early '80s, right? The same time that Herbie Fletcher right here in San Clemente was creating Astrodeck. The Gorilla Grip was the Aussie brand, right? It was the only brand that if you go back and look at those wave warriors, wave warriors, man.

[00:00:24]All the Aussies had Gorilla Grip, all the Americans had Astrodeck.

[00:00:27]>> Fast forward a couple years, the owners >> hardcore surfers from Australia.

[00:00:31]>> They saw a guy walking around the beach with those plugs in his board.

[00:00:35]>> One of the owners went up to him and was like, "What is this?" Got the explanation.

[00:00:38]>> All the money that they were making on Gorilla Grip, they dumped into this. And they're like, "We need to do this. We need to make a removable fin system."

[00:00:43]>> And that's where it started. So, some of you older guys might remember the G, like G3, G5, G7. That was the gorilla.

[00:00:50]So, that's where that that G came from.

[00:00:51]>> been a few iterations. So, those original owners sold the business.

[00:00:54]Currently, about nine years ago, a company called Gowings bought Surf or Surf Hardware.

[00:00:58]>> They own a bunch of different companies.

[00:01:00]>> Australia's actually one of the oldest companies in all of Australia. It's like the 25th oldest company. It goes back to 1865.

[00:01:06]>> Still family run, five generations. So, the owner now, guy named John Gowings, is just a crazy outdoorsman, loved the brand. And, uh, yeah, put it into their portfolio.

[00:01:15]>> So, this is kind of a little iteration of of where the plugs started and then where they went to. That's our X2 plug.

[00:01:21]So, that was the original. It was a two-tab system. That actually those board those plugs went in the board after it was glassed. So, the boards got glassed and then drilled holes in the in the board and then sunk resin, sunk the plugs. That's how that started.

[00:01:34]>> Next version was Fusion. So, still the two-tab fin. That was a pre-glass.

[00:01:38]Boards routed out, the fin boxes, and then the plugs were dropped before the whole glassing. Then FCS II came out.

[00:01:44]FCS II has been around for 12 years now.

[00:01:47]And then this FCS II Essential, this is being launched right now. So, Jonathan will go through some of the details around the plug.

[00:01:53]>> Uh, shapers spend a lot of time dialing their board. We listen to the shapers and we try to like make sure that their board is going to perform the way they want to. We created different angles on all our plugs because when you route in the the plug into the board, there's different contours on the bottom of the board, concaves, right? V bottoms. So, when you put a plate on there to route out your cavity, you you can't really put it flush. You can't have it flat because the board the bottom of the board is not flat. With the concaves, typically which every board has nowadays, we're going to use a 9° plug.

[00:02:23]That fin is walking around, you can see that it's angled. So, when we put plug inside the board in the cavity, we're going to have the degrees already set into the plug. What that tells us is that every time you change fin from fin, the degree of the fin is going to be the same designated by the shaper. So, if you have a board that wants a 7° angle because that's what the shaper feels how his board should ride, it's going to be true every time. We can swap out every fin of FCS, it's going to be the same.

[00:02:48]That's a very good thing because, again, we want to achieve the speed of the desired by the shaper, and we don't change the angles of fin by the bottom of the board. We have a 5° for a V bottom. So, when you have a V bottom, your plates are going this way if to route out, so you're going to tilt it this way. So, a lot of common degrees in surfboards, a thruster is going to be a 6° to 6 and 1/2 to 7. Also, the 5° we use for quad rears. The setup of a quad board is going to be like a 6 and 1/2 to a 3 and 1/2 or 4. So, you're going to use a 5° in the back. Then, we have the center fin, which is at 0°. So, it's always going to be zero cuz we have a center fin. It took us a lot of engineering to think about this to make sure that what the shaper is producing and giving to his surfer that it is true to what he designed. He doesn't want to have a board go out with the wrong fin angle so that the board doesn't perform, so then you guys think that the shaper doesn't make a board that's good enough for you. Also, in designing this the FCS, all our plugs actually from the original all the way through, because this is plastic and plastic and resin don't really bond very well. They do, but they can they they peel off. So, all we all have grooves within all our plugs except these two, they had a high-density foam. Foam and foam with um resin bonds really well. However, on this one in essential, we removed the foam but we still kept all these ridges so that it has a bite. It has a really strong bite inside the cavity of the the surfboard so the plugs doesn't rip out as easy. Go ahead.

[00:04:09]>> Same routing system for the new >> Yes, correct. So, no different, same plate, same bit, everything.

[00:04:16]>> Do you make like 6.25?

[00:04:18]>> We only make four different degrees. We make a nine, a five, a three, and a zero. The when I'm saying six and a half, it's on the fin. So, when your fin installer is going in here, like for example, this is a a keel fin. This is probably going to be set up for like five degrees, kind of more up and right.

[00:04:31]It's not going to be set too far tilted.

[00:04:33]So, that's where those degrees come from. They can vary, it's up to the shaper. The fins are always at zero.

[00:04:38]Yeah, so yeah.

[00:04:40]Always flat. Yes, all of our fins are at zero.

[00:04:44]>> Exactly. When they glass the board, they have a dummy fin, they have a jig with the degrees. And so, when they're setting the fin, they kind of have the jig and they go six and a half and then they know and that stays there and it gets glassed and then every fin, like you were saying, will now be at six and a half.

[00:05:00]>> Six and a half. Because they're always at zero. So, that's inside. Exactly. So, for example, what's important for the degrees for you? If a board is going to be too stiff. So, let's say you're you're riding your board, you got a lot of drive but it's really stiff to turn.

[00:05:11]Sometimes it could be not the fin, it could be the degree the angles on the fin. It could be set at five. So, at five, imagine it's like kind of straight up. So, when the water hits, it's going to push a lot harder. You're going to get a lot of drive but it's going to be harder for you to turn. When you have a lot more tilt, like this, the water hits it and just kind of bounces off. So, you don't get as much drive. You can get a shape that's you like a lot but you can be like, "Hey, I'm having a hard time turning."

[00:05:34]>> And does that drive make it like more looser?

[00:05:35]>> If you decrease the degrees on the fin, you're going to get more drive, it's going to make it stiffer. If you widen it, if you go from a six and a half to a seven and a half, you're going to go slower but you're going to be able to turn your your board a lot easier. So, let's say you you your board that's really dialed and you go to your shaper and you're like, "Man, I I can go down the line really well, but even after changing my fins, it's still really stiff." Can we play around with the degrees of my fin? You know, let's say he set it at 5 and 1/2, you can go six.

[00:05:59]Colohay went through that for a while, too. He was almost going from seven to five for a long period because he just wanted a lot of drive to boost airs like in beach breaks. So, that's something you can do.

[00:06:08]>> Yeah, just on the can't thing, the main difference is our fins are always straight up. So, because their can't built into the plug, right? So, we leave that variable to the shaper. The shaper understands the curves in the board, so he knows how that fin should sit. The alternative plug, they have their can't built into the fin. So, with that, you know, you go get a driver or whatever.

[00:06:33]We'll say sub driver cuz Colohay was just here. You have the FCS system. The design of the board has been trusted to Matt, right? And how that fin should be placed cuz he knows best based off the curves in his board. You get to play with the template of the fin, but once you play with the single tab system, you're dealing with the can't of the fin as well as a template. So, you're changing two variables at [clears throat] a time every time you swap fins. So, it's just becomes a bit more complicated, right? You could say, "Well, it's just more options." It's like, "Yes, but also I believe and I believe the FCS system believes that that variable should be left to the designer of the board, the shaper."

[00:07:13]>> So, our fins are different because our hook is in the front. So, what happens is that your your leading edge of your fin is always going to be set right here and then we have the the whole tail of it. So, we don't have to sacrifice anything behind the plug, meaning we have continuous drive, meaning we don't have to alter the fin to fit inside a box like this one. So, imagine this.

[00:07:36]This is the size of your keel and suddenly I had to chop it off to make it fit inside the box into the system. No knock on them, it's just the way it was designed. Their hook is in the back and it has to go in front and then they screw it. You got this awesome fish that you want all this drive, but you got a fin that you lost a little bit of drive.

[00:07:52]That's okay for certain people, maybe not for me, maybe for you. [laughter] >> So, one of the things that we hear and I see when I'm on the road >> Yep.

[00:07:59]>> and I'm sure a lot of it's operator error, but it's when people go and clip that fin in the back of edge of the fin digs through the fiberglass. Like >> Yes.

[00:08:08]>> We get a ton of boards in here where that was already >> Little spider crack, yep.

[00:08:11]>> Yeah, so I'm just just curious.

[00:08:13]>> So, again, when we built this system, we over-engineered it, bottom line.

[00:08:16]Unfortunately, in the surf industry, no knock on us, the guys that work on the in making a board, bless their hearts, there's not much money to make. They get paid piece work. They want to make as as many installs as they can in short amount of time to maximize their profit.

[00:08:29]So, sometimes they get complacent, they get a little bit lazy, or they get tired. With that, this install, they could route it the whole little the cavity a little bit deeper so that it sits further deep in the front and in the back. And especially because a lot of boards have tail rockers, so it's hard to follow that contour again that I was talking about with the plate. So, when that plug sits a little further back, when we snap in our fin, yes, it can dig and create a spider crack. That is something, you know, that I go to the factories and I, you know, I watch the guys and I ask them, "Hey guys, can we be a little more calm here and just install it correctly because, you know, we do get spider cracks, we do get complaints. And once you get that spider crack, water gets in, softens the foam, and then the plug you will have a blowout." When we first designed this one over here, we wanted our guys actually to install it and have the fiberglass cover it all and then come back with a router and clean it out. Not allow the sander to come down and dig through the fiberglass, lose all the fiberglass so that they could open the cavity to have your fin insert. I didn't want a fin guy to come back and try to use a router on plastic on a finished board to clean it out just in case it was going to, you know, be problems because if they're not doing a proper install, just dropping it, I couldn't imagine them handling a router afterwards just to clean out the fiberglass. Look, all fin systems, most of the time the failure is going to be because it was a poor install. Meaning there could have been not enough resin or the sander came in, he had because it was so set so deep, he had to go in and sand really hard to actually have this open up.

[00:09:58]>> I've seen them people shape boards before and put there's a little bit of tape on the top of it.

[00:10:02]>> So yeah, so usually what they have to do in all fin systems, they have to close these because this is a pre-install cuz it's you're you're putting it before you glass the surfboard where this one was after. So you didn't have to worry about that. So now when you have a pre-install, you have to put these stickers over here so that the fiberglass and resin have to go over it.

[00:10:19]In the videos you guys probably saw a little bit about our we call them families of fins. So we start off from a super upright to a super raked out fin.

[00:10:27]So this is an upright fin over here.

[00:10:29]It's got more base and the tip doesn't draw out as much. Where this one is kind of a carver, it's really rakey. So you have a decent size base but the fin the tip keeps coming all the way through.

[00:10:41]And then we'll tell you where those fins follow to suit the type of surfing that you want to do. So over here we have the beach break which is the reactor. It's kind of more upright. Once you identify where you surf and what type of fin you want, you can start here or here and then you can go down and follow in the same family. Let's say if you like the reactor, you can go with a CI upright which is kind of the same. Which see?

[00:11:03]Guys here in the shop probably suggest for you to start on a performer which is an all around fin. So basically you use this one this fin the performer just to get the feel. And then you can come back to the guy like, "Oh, I was a little bit sluggish on of my beach break." Okay, maybe you try the reactor because it's got a little bit more base so it's going to give you a little bit more push down the line on a softer wave. Or if he's on a performer and he's like at a point break, he's like, "Well, it didn't have too much hold. I was coming out to the bottom onto my top turns, it wasn't holding as much." We have sorry, carver and accelerator where this guy over here when I was telling you when you're trying to perform it and it's sliding out or your top turns you just lose it, you want to use a more depth in the rake. And then you then we have also the accelerator, which is for kind of a reef break or also point break. Kolohe likes his fin actually falls into the accelerator, but he use it in all round conditions for him.

[00:11:50]>> The good news on this is that all of these fins lend themselves to these conditions that were that are pointed out here, the reef break, point break, kind of all around. But it doesn't mean that you can't use an accelerator on a beach break or a point break fin on an on a beach break or a beach break fin on a point break, right?

[00:12:08]>> They're just the subtle tweaks that will allow that it's got the ways that it performs best in, but it'll all it still will work in in all those other conditions. It's really well rounded. Um so it's really hard to make a bad decision. Um you really want to start with your size. Performer is a great place to start because it's the most balanced, really well rounded. And then after that you can kind of start tweaking it from there. And on the packaging it's all that information is listed, color coded, so it's really easy to find what you're looking for.

[00:12:34]>> Okay, so now within our families we do have different type of materials. We have what we call this a neo glass. It's a plastic version, but it's really high end because we use a resin from Germany.

[00:12:44]It's a resin nine where most surfboards over here it's a resin seven, like a Sol Mar. It's good quality, but we went for the best quality because we have to in a plastic material we have to avoid the flex. We don't want it too flexy like the glass flex. They're very kind of twangy. And also we have a longer strand of fiberglass to give that strength and not as flexy.

[00:13:04]>> Then after that we go for the most popular, which is our performance core.

[00:13:08]About 40 layers of cloth in here with an mat inside. It's doesn't have any properties in it. It's just a filler.

[00:13:15]It's just so we can give it a little bit of look. And then we're going to go with a good air core one. So like Filipe Toledo's. This one is an air core where the air core isn't actually a foam that we designed. It's about two to 3 mil and we put it in a in a mold with heat and it's actually the template of the fin.

[00:13:33]So, it follows the fin because because we want it to be stiffer cuz this one is like for those guys that, you know, on tour, they push a lot. They don't want their fins to flex as much. Oh, yeah, and it's lighter.

[00:13:42]>> More foam inside.

[00:13:43]>> Actually, this foam is like it's waterproof. So, it doesn't absorb that much resin in there. So, it doesn't make it any heavier. And then we go performance glass. Which this one is the most interesting. Fiberglass fins flex different than any other fin. People say it's too stiff. Typically, why it's too stiff because a fiberglass fin doesn't flex like a performance core because the performance core mostly flex right here in the tip or a performance carbon only flexes in the tip cuz the base is so rigid. The fiberglass fin, performance glass, it flexes as a unit because the way the fiberglass is laid, all the the strands are going up, it flexes this way versus just the tip. So, that's why it feels a little bit stiffer for a lot of us. But for the pros, it gives them the most amount of twang. It pushes back on them a lot. When they're doing their bottom turn, it spring loads a lot. So, they like these PG fins in serious surf like Cloudbreak.

[00:14:36]>> Back to John's point, probably what I see out of all competitive surfers that I deal with, PC and air core are kind of the standard. The PG, it's either they're going to heavy waters like what John just said or they push really hard cuz you need the power in order to drive those fins. I can't push PG fins. I don't bottom turn hard enough. I don't come off the top hard enough. It feel too sticky, too tracky. But if I were going back to Nicaragua, went to the boom, I had PG Christiansens in my board cuz I knew I wanted fast and it's heavy water and I'm just coming off the bottom. So, that's when I put a PG fin in, but I grew up in Newport, surf river jetties every day. I'm not ready PG fins. And I know Jonathan touched on the Neo glass and he used the word plastic and high quality in the same sentence and it seems kind of contradictory, but to actually emphasize Jonathan's point, if you guys watched the Raglan contest and Felipe was on the twin fin, those were actually Neo glass MRs. That just kind of furthers a point. Like it does sound like, oh yeah, high quality plastic. It really is. It performs at clearly at the highest level.

[00:15:49]>> Yeah.

[00:15:49]>> He didn't want to stiffen it. He didn't want a fiberglass MR just because it's too stiff. So when with this fin, it has that little that flex, that little twang. And because he was using a wider board, he needed a bigger fin and then he was like, okay, this feels really good. Well, we also make a Neo carbon.

[00:16:05]Instead of all fiberglass, this one has carbon fibers milled into the injection molding. So it makes it that much stiffer. And then the last one we have is the glass fiber which we have a Mick Fanning fiber fusion and then we have the H4. Both have the same factory Swiss made.

[00:16:20]>> We use the same resin 9 out of Germany.

[00:16:22]Long strand fiberglass with some milled carbon in it. However, this process at the end it's where all the technology goes into it. This is also molded fin, but it's at the end where the robot comes and lays down this layer of carbon to actually create the properties of the flex that we want. On the fiber fusion, same thing. We actually use an actual fiberglass cloth that we have it laid down infused into the fin after the fact after it comes out of the mold and this one actually has the most amount of rebound >> of all our fins. Basically what it's saying is like when you do your bottom turn, it's going to spring back the most amount. It's going to come back the quickest at its neutral point. So it starts like this, it flexes and then it swings back. And it's the fastest fin that we have that swings back naturally to its form.

[00:17:04]>> And those will little sneak peek into 2027, the whole essential series performer accelerator carver reactor are going to come in that fiber fusion. So yeah, Yago used that was using that Mick at Spells and Mick's been using it a ton. So, yeah, getting really good response on that.

[00:17:20]>> We rode both Mick's in a video or server favorite knot.

[00:17:24]>> Yeah, the new Fiber Fusion.

[00:17:25]>> Yeah, you said that's like game changer.

[00:17:27]>> Yeah. Yeah, no, it's it's super precise.

[00:17:30]Out of all these fins that you see, every single one, these are the only ones that come out 99.9% the same every time. There is no qualms about it. This one could be a little bit different, you know, it's >> Everything on that wall is handmade.

[00:17:42]But, our competitors are competitors, there's all some type of >> hand touch. This one does not.

[00:17:47]>> Um you guys talked a lot about how you have specific types of fins for point breaks, reef breaks, beach breaks, etc. For these kids living here in San Clemente and adults, you know, when you have a smaller day versus like a pumping day, do you suggest switching the fins for those types of days?

[00:18:02]>> If you're going to talk about the same surfboard, that you only has one surfboard, yes, you can cheat. The other rule of thumb is, just because of the surf is double overhead, doesn't mean you need double extra large fins.

[00:18:13]Typically, when you have big surf, you're going to use smaller fins. When you have smaller surf, you're going to use bigger fins, cuz you have to generate speed. When the surf is really big, you don't have to generate speed.

[00:18:22]The board basically becomes part of your fin. You have all that rail, you're going to surf a bigger board, you're going to have all that rail inside the water acting as a fin, too. So, to your question, like what I like to do, let's say if it's a grovelly day, waist high, I have my shortboard like kind of let's say a solution or dumpster diver or something that has a wide tail, and I typically ride on it as a thruster on a shoulder height high day, what I like to do, and I suggest a lot of people, is I'll ride the performer twin fin, which is a small twin fin, but it's got a bigger center fin. So, it kind of acts like a thruster, but I'm getting a lot of drive out of it just because it's kind of like a twin fin, but the center fin, because it's a little bigger, it doesn't let me slip out as much. So, it's almost acting like a bit of a thruster. And the kids have a grom, let's say your husband has a large, put them the two large fins, and put a smaller center fin like the MR in there, you know, from this thruster set over here that you have, this 2 + 1. So, you can play around a lot. If you do have a a board for bigger waves, typically that tail gets a little bit narrower, right?

[00:19:18]A little pintail or a like rounded pin.

[00:19:20]So, the fins get closer together because the the board's not as wide, right? So, then you Yeah, so to his point, you can ride smaller fins in bigger waves.

[00:19:27]>> So, let's say you have a grom with the same board. Yeah, like a smaller day and a bigger day. Is there a fin that you recommend for the smaller day or >> But, what fin are you riding right now?

[00:19:35]>> The Al Merrick smalls.

[00:19:37]>> Okay, Al Merrick smalls. On a small day, grom day, he could grab a medium, put the medium sides only, and keep that small as a twin.

[00:19:43]>> That's exactly what I have.

[00:19:44]>> So, you're almost playing like a you're almost cheating a little bit, you're kind of creating like a a medium kind of twin setup. So, it could you could play around.

[00:19:51]>> Try or try a reactor. A reactor would be a good thruster set in in that sport if you're if you have one board you're going to surf the pier versus kind of pumping lowers. Like, yeah, try that reactor fin.

[00:20:01]>> The reactor has a smaller center, doesn't it?

[00:20:03]>> It's more raked out center.

[00:20:05]>> Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:20:06]So, here's another one too, like for example, on the twin fins, a lot of twin fins are set up for this position over here. So, on our system, remember I was telling you we have the front edge, the leading edge, and then the trail edge, which kind of keeps going. It can keep going as far back as you want. So, here's two examples. Most twin fin boards that I see that are kind of a little bit more high performance-ish twin fin, they're set for an MR. So, what that tells me is when I put both of these fins in together, this point over here is going to sit where it's designated by the shaper.

[00:20:35]>> Let's say you're going on a smaller day, but you want more drive, but you have an MR. >> MR, you can grab a power twin, which would just add a little bit more to the back, increase more drive because the fin's going to sit a little further back than the shaper's dot right there. So, it's going to create more drive. It's going to stiffen it up too a little bit.

[00:20:52]So, let's say even if it's a little bit looser, you have a twin fin that you're you're always just blowing out tails, just grab a bigger twin fin, and it'll create more drive, and it'll stiffen her up. So, little sneak peek. So, Yago just launched this year, two PC fins and a PG, and that one is in the carver family. Then, Gabriel Medina redesigned new colorway just launched. That thing just landed. That's in the Performer's family. It's a really well-balanced.

[00:21:12]This is just the fin he uses in every event, regardless of conditions. He doesn't change his fins a lot. This is the one he's using. So, this particular template at the Marg event, in the semifinals, three out of the four semifinalists were all using this template. So, something to be said about that. Gabriel was obviously one of them.

[00:21:27]>> Gabe was a really picky guy because he liked all three performers in all different three constructions from Performance Core to Performance Carbon, and then even Neo Glass. He says, "He's like, how do we get the flex kind of combined all three so I can use it all the time?" And this is where we came out with the Air Core. Where we the actual foam core in here, we can manipulate it, we can make it thicker or thinner. So, over here it's a little bit thicker, and over here it's a little bit thinner. So, different flex properties to get closer to what he was looking for. And also at the same time, we added a different foil to the leading edge over here. So, we added just a little bit of a bump over here, so it creates a little inside foil, a little concave over here to generate more speed. So, when you're doing your turns, it carries speed throughout your whole turn. And the center fin is also a little bit smaller, too.

[00:22:11]>> Uh this older template had more of a an exaggerated foil?

[00:22:14]>> Yeah, that has an inside foil. That's why So, it really Yeah, that's just been pretty much colored up. So, it's really similar to his original, which was proven. This is way better aesthetically.

[00:22:24]>> So, exciting. We have another local hometown hero, Crosby Colapinto's got a fin coming out. So, sneak peek, don't tell anybody, coming in just a few days.

[00:22:33]Um this one is in the Accelerator series. And he's got a new traction pad coming out as well. So, he'll have a signature pad.

[00:22:38]>> That template isn't only coming in medium and large?

[00:22:40]>> Three sizes, medium and large.

[00:22:43]This one also has the inside foil, just like the Gabby and the McFanin.

[00:22:47]>> Foil and the base is derived off the Mick. The top half is derived off the Pyzel and the Kolohe, and he still has that flex in the tail.

[00:22:57]>> Uh next we have our Shaper series. So, working with all the best shapers in the world, uh starting with the legendary Al Merrick template, the AM1 and AM2, Matt Biolos, Jon Pyzel, Chris Christensen, JS, Sharp Eye, DHD, Hayden. So, really exciting. Also coming out, you guys are getting a little sneak peek, is a new Mayhem template. This one did get tweaked a little bit, so we have two coming out for the Matt. Reintroducing that uh if you probably remember that kind of has that Tron graphic, and it just doesn't really call out that Mayhem logo. It's one of the most iconic logos in surf. Brought that back in a much bigger way. So, two templates, we're calling this a driver template and the pivot. The driver template is part of the Carver family. Pivot template is part of the Reactor family. Two sets of fins, this is really like kind of what we're talking about, right? Like you have your your one raked fin, your one straight up and down fin. So, these are also coming in quad rears as well in small, medium, and large.

[00:23:48]>> Is the Reactor the same as the Mayhem 2.0?

[00:23:50]>> Yes, so the this is the same template, new graphic. This one has been tweaked.

[00:23:54]So, the the pivot yeah, tip was was uh kind of rounded out and elongated a little bit. There was a little bit more of like a hook on it before, which Matt wanted to change. But, if you look at the leading edge of the pivot, it's actually pretty blunt, and that is done intentionally. Allows a bit of forgiveness. We do have a longboard series as well as twin fin, the MR, which we've talked about, the most iconic twin fin in all of surfing. We have a full range in different materials and different sizes. Can never go wrong with your your 2+1 MR. The one thing about the longboard, no need for a screw and plate. Basically the same concept of our FCS II, but it's actually in the fin. So, this thing can go right into any longboard box. Your little nubs here goes right in, pops right down, and it'll stay down just like your FCS II.

[00:24:38]No need for screw and plate, and you can actually move this thing in in the water. Again, going back to installation, your longboard box sometimes they'll set it a little bit hot, meaning the resin they wanted to hit get quick, so it tightens up the box. Just put some wax on it, and it'll go in nice and smooth. Some new colorways coming in our performer twins.

[00:24:56]So, we have performer keel and a performer twin in our Balush colorways.

[00:24:59]So you'll see these these are coming in August. Our big wave series not a ton of people in the world can use this fin.

[00:25:05]Yeah, Nate Florence trusts FCS in all of his guns whether we're talking Waimea or Jaws he's using FCS. These fins it's a G10 material it's super expensive super super stiff. That's the only fin that we make in that material.

[00:25:18]>> I got to be a part of bringing him on board. He just said I almost wanted to disprove the system. He went into it kind of like we'll see and then pushed it pushed it pushed it continues to push it to this day. He does not screw in his fins and he's still with us and still trust the system.

[00:25:36]>> And Nathan does have a human type fin that's coming out. This will be out in shortly. So this is his kind of everyday fin in the Carver family. And then using our protect leashes and our protect max.

[00:25:47]The max comes with a with a pull a pull cord and we'll kind of jump into leashes as well.

[00:25:52]>> Uh any questions before we move on to the other accessories and >> Any safer? I'd I'd like to be blind right now cuz I took an FCS II fin with base and it popped out instead of it like sliding into my eyeball.

[00:26:03]>> Yeah, yeah better to lose just a fin than lose your eye. Yes, the fin can fall out if it's popped in the right way. It's really hard to do it and a lot of times you want it to fall out when it gets hit that way. It's usually hitting you or it's hitting the the a rock or break your plug out.

[00:26:17]>> This is how the fin sits in the board while it's driving through the water. If you run into something like this it's only pushing the fin into the board.

[00:26:25]It's only when it comes back at you that it's going to disengage. To further that point it is a safety measure cuz if it runs into a rock yeah you might push your plug into the board if it's really hard. If they're in a competitive setting Yago talks about it we shot a cool piece with him. He hit a rock then popped out and he was so stoked that he could get to the beach pop fins in and stay on his number one board not grab a backup board. So either a lost fin or a blown board.

[00:26:54]>> Let's remember, when you're riding your bike, if your fin hits it by accident, the tire, and you don't even think of anything, like you're like, "I'm not even going to check for a ding." Check your fins because it could have slightly just popped out, but it's not falling out. So, when you go in the water and you're like paddling and suddenly you drop in, the fin will pop out. It can happen.

[00:27:10]>> If you want a screw in, there's a screw hole here. You only need one screw per fin.

[00:27:15]>> A lot of the strength comes in the shape. There's no right angles. It's all circular, right? So, when you have right angles, it becomes easier to roll that over. With the peanut shape, there's there's no weak points.

[00:27:24]>> There's also the theory of the box being smaller than the fin. So, when you have five boxes, you're still getting flex between between the boxes where the Futures can overlap because they're bigger than the fin itself.

[00:27:37]>> Really great conversation that should come out anytime now between Yago and Matt, kind of talking about that.

[00:27:42]>> I'm just going to touch on leashes real quick. We have our essential series, which is kind of just your standard polyurethane cord, all the sizes, 5-ft all the way up to 10-ft.

[00:27:50]>> This is our Freedom Helix leash. It's kind of our premium. This one has a lot of cool features. It's made from a natural bio resin, the cord, so it's a little more eco-friendly than your standard polyurethane. The cord is actually textured, which creates less drag through the water, less surface touching the water, so you get a more hydrodynamic feel. Super sleek cuff and rail saver, so you kind of built for speed there. Flexi mold, just kind of all the bells and whistles. This thing's closest thing to wearing no leash. Also, it's got a nice >> silicone print on the inside, so no slip around the ankle. This one also has that feature. Nice little pull tab on the cuff, easy release there. Really strong Velcro. The Helix core, hence the name Helix, kind of hard to see on this color, gives it a bit of strength and >> bends, but doesn't break.

[00:28:36]>> Exactly. Yeah, it is truly worth it. So, that's the new Yago pad.

[00:28:39]>> With our traction, we only use the best EVA, really high quality, only the best glues, all 3M. We got rid of all our plastics in our packaging. Key three is an eco blend, no petroleum based products. We have signature traction from Yago, Belo Hay obviously. Nate Florence is coming. This is Crosby's new ones. Nice wide range of of traction.

[00:28:57]>> And we've got a whole new luggage and bag range. All new materials, really durable ripstop coated with a weatherproof, not going to absorb water, kind of designed more around travel. Got your kind of day bag there.

[00:29:10]>> Heavy duty zippers.

[00:29:11]>> Contoured shoulder straps, so super comfortable, nice padding on the back.

[00:29:15]You can wear that thing all day. We've got our new board bags. This is our new day runner. Same material. What's really cool about this bag is it's got a 7 mm foam rather than a 5 mm foam padding, which is standard on pretty much all day bags.

[00:29:29]>> Travel bags usually are 10 mil, day bags are 5 mil. This has got a seven, so you're kind of sitting right in the middle there, which you almost probably throw this on a plane if you if you wanted to. Like >> you're going to Cabo, you're going to San Clemente, >> one board >> That thing will Yeah, you could absolutely put that on a >> And with that, you got your structured nose padding, too, which is unique to this new bag.

[00:29:49]>> This material, it's super heavy duty. We wanted to go with a more durable fabric.

[00:29:54]Some people might go with a little bit of a lighter fabric. We went with durability, right? You're putting a thousand dollars worth of product in there. We want that thing to be super protected. This goes all the way up to a wheely four. Your classic to day runner to day ax to travel.

[00:30:06]>> What's a day ax?

[00:30:07]>> So it's a single travel. It's kind of it's a unique bag. Yeah, it's a 10 mil padding, but it's still light enough to use day to day. It's the bag that I use cuz my board >> They're so wide.

[00:30:15]>> The day ax, it opens all the way as opposed to just the tail. That one is truly a single travel bag.

[00:30:20]>> But also sleek enough to use for a day bag.

[00:30:23]>> And all the luggage stuff has like a hook system that >> Modular linking system.

[00:30:28]>> If you're traveling with this thing, you can really easily hook on your wheely bag. These are the two.

[00:30:32]>> It's like that DB system where everything links on no matter how many components.

[00:30:36]>> Totally.

[00:30:36]>> And you can do it like on the on the roof of a car as well.

[00:30:39]>> Yep, so right. So you're linking the bags together.

[00:30:41]>> That's right. So we do have a full range of auto accessories. Canoe lock is a locking tie-down strap, so you can leave your surfboards on the roof of your car.

[00:30:48]Full range of auto racks, a key lock, even do bike racks. Believe it or not, we make surf wax. It's actually really awesome. Not quite as tacky as Fu wax, but definitely tackier than some of the others that are out there. We make a full run of wet hat apparel, and we have some simple patch and repair kits, which we have for everybody. So, everybody's going to get some little simple patches.

[00:31:10]epoxy patch, and then this is for a PU board. It's basically a Band-Aid for your surfboards. You literally just peel it, stick it on there, and it'll cure.

[00:31:18]So, just you know, just for little dings. Great to throw on surf trips, even comes with a little sandpaper.

[00:31:22]Another brand that is part of the Surf Hardware umbrella is Softech. So, we do bodyboards, swim fins, and soft surfboards from anywhere from learning boards on up to like performance softboards. And that's it. Thank you guys so much. That was awesome. Thank you.

[00:31:43]>> [music]