Have a habit of busting out and losing FCS fins. I know futures box's are stronger but my boards have FCS so Im stuck with them.
I now only buy the cheapest FCS I can find (for kitesurfing) at about $65 a thruster set. Anyone know if can get them cheaper?
I see there are some chinese copy versions on ebay which are considerably cheaper. Dont know how they go...has anyone bought a set?
yeh I bought a $20 set off Seabreeze advert a month ago for $20 and have broken 3 so far. One of them just placing my board on the beach. Better to break the fin than the box I guess. They are cheap plastic copies with hardly any strength, you only get what you pay for...
I lashed out and bought a $100 set of 'Shapers' carbon fins hoping they may be a bit stronger but snapped one second use.
yeah what he said.. After popping 4 sets of fin boxes I finaly came to the conclusion that I had to stop riding in so close... And as far as futures goes, same problemo... To much going on here for the size of the fin box to make any difference..
Dion chemicals in Brookvale NSW sell Glass FCS for 30 bucks, in several sizes. Give them a call and see if they will post out.
These seem to be the same as 90$+ jobs from FCS.
Colin Earle sells surfing equip, grip, fins etc below retail from his factory in Ozi Park...I got a full set there for around 35bux. His boards are sik too.
Colin Earle Surf Supplies
Unit 3/ 68-70 Collingwood St, Osborne Park, WA 6017
Perth Northern Suburbs
p: (08) 9445 8855
futures...
fcs are junk for kiting
Colin Earle Surf Supplies - check him out if your over the west side
Apparently the 'FCS fin system' patent expired a few months ago and so there are a heap of cheaper 'FCS' style fins out there now. Not sure about the fins, but judging by the quality of plastic they use for the plugs, I would stick with the tried and trusted 'real' FCS. There are a few pros going over to the other brands though so who knows.
I used to ride Futures but after seeing the variance in 'fit' of their boxes off the shelf, I wouldn't waste my money on them. Plus they're a hell of a lot more expensive to replace if you break the cross-bar - and you'll most likely have to take it to a repairer rather than do it yourself.
Colin Earle is a champ - everything is cheap in there and if there's something he doesn't have, he can order it in.
I find the new peanut style fin plugs on the fcs good because the fin snaps out clean and doesnt push the plug into the board...but futures are a slik fin.
there is no rocket science here...you hit sand...you pay...cheapest plug to replace is the standard fcs plug...everything else makes a hell of a mess, and is a lot of work to replace...don't hit the sand!!
I'm with Arkgee. I've tried em all and the the standard FCS plug is by far the easiest to repair.
If you hit reef with a FCS fusion plug (the peanut shape) or a Future fins box you're going to rip out a nasty chunk of board along with the plugs, delaminate a lot of glass, and face a messy repair. The old FCS plugs come out relatively cleanly, can be pushed back in and usually no or little delamination to repair because the glass does not go over the plug.
I have snapped 6 or 7 fins with the fusion box no rupture in the board...Future boxes push in the board ... the fusion plug with fcs is the best for getting back out on the water..Fcs have a little cut on em so they snap before the box ruptures.
