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Forums > Windsurfing Gear Reviews

K4 Flex - You little beauty!!

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Created by Relapse > 9 months ago, 5 Sep 2012
Relapse
VIC, 601 posts
5 Sep 2012 8:57PM
Thumbs Up

Aching arms, sore knees but I sailed in 40+ knots and lived to tell!!



At 70 kg I have been really struggling with sailing in anything above 30 knots, not that I can't do it but I have never really enjoyed it.

I am on a '11 76L twin fin Starboard Evo and run 16.5 Maui Ultras which are smokingly fast and point really well when up to speed. Which is great in smooth, consistent conditions but in gusty choppy conditions with a shonky knee, the last thing I need is too much speed.

The original fins have never suited my sailing style, to me they feel like I am dragging something however they do limit your top end and are not too bad in the stronger winds if you don't mind the drag in your turns.

Heard good things about the K4's and demoed a set of 14 cm yesterday in gusty 20-25 knots with my 4.7m S1, apart from being too way small they felt really smooth and were great in the turns.

Went back to shop this morning and handed over the $$ for a set of 16 cm to use in the nuclear conditions we go today, couple of gusts around the 50 knot mark and not much below 35knots, it was pretty freaky.

Slapped them in rigged my 3.7 S1, crossed my fingers, toes and anything else I had handy and hit the high seas!


Image courtesy of Sean at TribeCraew.com, see more here www.tribecarew.com/cms/index.php/jmgall/windsurfing/big-wed-5-9-2012.html

Couldn't believe the difference two bits of yellow plastic could make, would never have generally contemplated going out in conditions like these but actually enjoyed it for the short time I was out there before my lack of fitness kicked in.

Board was controllable even in the gusts, fins stuck like glue, rarely spinning out and then only in the most severe gusts. You just stomp on them and they do the rest!! Turns are greasy smooth and they don't feel all draggy like the originals do.

At $95 for the pair they are a bargain and have certainly added to my sailing wind range. Good on you Al for bringing them into OZ and winding back a couple of years on my sailing clock.

Here are a couple of profile comparison shots of the three fin types.








Al McLeod
VIC, 633 posts
6 Sep 2012 11:33AM
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Glad you liked them. People are often a bit skeptical but once they try the fins, especially in the waves most don't go back to G10!

swoosh
QLD, 1927 posts
6 Sep 2012 11:47AM
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Any of you had much of a go on the freestyle fins?

I bought an 18cm one to use in my '10 skate, and found that it was a bit agricultural to be honest, foil is pretty fat, finish was pretty meh, and it seemed a bit slow and didn't make much lift. OK when well powered but bleh if you aren't. To be fair to the fin, I didn't get to use it much, so maybe I'm doing it wrong....

I can see how the flex etc would be nice on a wave board, but mebe for the freestyle fin it's a bit pointless cause they have to make it so fat/inefficient to make it stiffer.

Got a '12 flare now, and the stock G10 choco fin with that is pretty damn nice! Wondering if it's worth hacking up the k4 to fit the slotbox?



robbo1111
NSW, 638 posts
6 Sep 2012 12:44PM
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Where do you buy these suckers? I'm after 2 us box side fins for my thruster, I currently run the main fins from my quatro quad as side fins in the thruster, they work well but it's a pain continually swapping fins between boards.

Al McLeod
VIC, 633 posts
6 Sep 2012 1:10PM
Thumbs Up

swoosh said...

Any of you had much of a go on the freestyle fins?




I have used the same fin but I rarely do freestyle, thought it was fine. I think the only real advantage of the plastic in a single fin is that it is heaps lighter than G10, otherwise not sure it is worth it. In wave multi fin wave boards though the flex definitely makes a huge difference.


Where do you buy these suckers?


SHQ Boardsports in Melbourne stocks them.



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"K4 Flex - You little beauty!!" started by Relapse