I got my new 26cm Mano weed fin from Makani the other day and got to take it for a quick spin before the wind died, even with only half a dozen runs I was impressed at what this fin offers.
Today I got out at Callala bay for a fully powered bump and jump session on a 6.7 and 112FSW.....Nothing short of AWESOME!
I didn't need to use the weed fin as the spot doesn't have a weed problem but being a new toy I wanted to give it a run and see what it could do.
This fin doesn't feel like a weed fin at all, you don't know its there as it feels like a normal fin. There is no feeling of sideways drift that you get with some weed fins and at 26cm enables me to launch from the shallows and sail back right up to the beach without a problem. The fin plains early but I found I had to head a little further off the wind to get it going but it pops up so quick its not a problem. The upwind performance is where this fin shines, It's like nothing I've use on a FSW board before. Normally unless I'm fully powered I struggle to make a heap of gain upwind, Not so with the Mano. I can now make massive down wind runs and have complete confidence in the Mano to get me back upwind. The Mano felt nice with my 6.7 fully powered, No spinout at any point even when landing some big jumps and I can't wait to try it with smaller sails to check it's range. The fin generates enough lift to keep the board alive but not to the point where the board feels like it's not in complete control at all times, It tracks well in the gybe while maintaining speed and pops out of the water nicely for chop hops and jumps. I did notice I was able to keep planning through some big lulls today, being a heavy weight I find I drop of the plain quickly but there was a noticeable difference today. All it took was for me to take my back foot out of the strap and move my weight a little forward and the board just kept gliding along.
Overall a great fin that I'm going to use all the time instead of the stock JP fin, The Mano is simply better and unless something comes to light as far as a performance drop there will be no need to switch back to the standard fin.
Do yourself a favor, If your after a weed fin for your FSW give one of these a go and I think you'll like it, And the price is right as well. If you see me around and want to try it out just sing out and I'll let you have a ride on the best weed fin I've ever used.
Check out their website...
www.makanifins.com/
The Mano overlayed on the Stock JP fin:
The Mano attached to my JP FSW 112L
Very positive review which is good. Do you have any negative points to raise? Good to see some decent fins being produced for powerbox fin boxes.
I'd be curious to see how the profile compares to a big wave fin. Looking at in the photos the sweep of the fin doesn't look too different to a wave fin I have.
The Maui Ultrafin I've not had a chance to test properly at this stage, I've used it for a short period in 25-30 knot winds with a 5.0 and 112L FSW board and it was all wrong. I just rigged it to give it a go, it think it will be more suited to a 4 strap freeride board with a 6.5-7.5 sail. On the day I tested it in lake illawarra I could feel the 28cm ultrafin hitting the bottom on a regular basis so I was't that keen to keep sailing it as I was way overpowered and on too bigger board for the conditions. The Mano at 26cm and a more wave orientated feel suits my FSW boards much better then the Freerace design of the Maui Ultrafin, I'm sure the Maui Ultrafin will be good in the right conditions with the right board. As soon as we get the right conditions I'll run them side by side with appropriate boards and sails and let you know the outcome.
With a Tabou Rocket 105 it sounds like the Maui Ultra fin would be more the go. They are of comparable price are they not?
The manaki worked out a bit cheaper due to the strong Aussie dollar, and with a flat shipping rate of $25 for 1 or 10 fins it could work out heaps cheap if you order a few. The shipping from the UK was a bit steeper from memory. The Ultrafin is machined out of a single piece of G10 and looks to be very stiff and strong. The manaki is made out of G10 but looks to be glued into a box which could be a weak point for it, but until that shows the manaki as a freeride wave is my choice.
Thanks for the great review ! We placed on our facebook and will add it to our blog as well !!!
The Box is the same then any other other G-10 fins (some exceptions) its the same layers of G-10 then the fin itself and they add extra G-10 over it to make the boxes with the specs for each box types. Our fins are made in the same Factory the Curtis or other top brands so you can expect the same quality. We decided to go with Black G-10 to distinguish ourselves with other brands and we have our own specific designs and profiles.
Hello
I brought a black fin (Kohola 34cm) last month. Today was the first time I used it. Conditions were gusty: light to strong winds at North Haven, South Australia. I was using my 100L freeride board and 6.5m race sail. The black fin was pretty good. I couldn't spin it out. Drove hard up wind on one run pushing as hard as I could on the rear strap when fully powered up. Very impressive. It gybes very well too.
J
P/S: It was this thread that caused me to buy this fin.
^^^^^^^ +1
Ive used mine (Kohola 34cm) on my Fanatic Freewave in open ocean blasting from 15-30knts
on different sail sizes and this fin rock's, Without a doubt best fin ive used........
One sick fin and dam sexy too..IMO 
