John Streit on Quads and Thrusters

Trends and styles always seem to repeat themselves every 10- to 20-years or so.
The late 90s and early 00s saw the 80s make a strong comeback (all of
you who may -- still -- frequent 80s night at the Wave know what I
mean), and now we seem to have returned to the early 90s' flannels and
neon craziness.
But one of the latest -- and greatest -- revivals in the surfing world
harks back to the late 70s and early 80s, when shapers were still
ironing out the tri-fin thrusters set-up and experimenting with
twinzers and... quads.
Yep, one step into your local shop reveals that four-bangers have made
a triumphant return. But unlike disco, Flock of Seagulls haircuts and
8-tracks; this flashback is here to stay.

The quad set-up, which fell victim to archaic design flaws in it's
early years, is back with the full monty of surfing R&D making it the
first viable high-performance challenger to the trusty thruster set-up
we've come to love. With drastic advances in concave and fin foil
design, it seems many are bidding their middle fins adieu for good.
Legend Tom Carroll is at the forefront, as he's told industry sources
that he only rides quads and isn't looking back. Slater uses the
option in certain conditions as well. Even Gorkin was throwing out an
extra fin during the finals of last years' ECSC.
So what does four side fins do that three can't? It all boils down to
preference.
When I first experimented with quads about 3 years ago, I, like most,
was skeptical to it's ability to hold on heavy turns or in pumping
surf. Turns out, quads are reliable as any tri-finner from pit to lip,
holding steady in the pocket through barrells.
I also find they release off the top with much more ease than
thrusters, which fits my preference for board/tailslides through lip
hits and snaps. Sans the trailer fin, quads also eliminate a certain
amount of drag and tend to glide fast and effortlessly down wave
faces. Pumping a face for speed becomes less utilitarian and more
stylish and powerful as going rail-to-rail is smooth as butter.
Sounds like a surfing revolution, doesn't it? Well, it is... to a
certain degree.
You see, I'm not one to forget my roots. As sure as I still rock
Nirvana's "Nevermind," I've kept a thruster in my heavy rotation.
In my eyes, there's still an element of speed and drive that thrusters
deliver that quads seem to lack just a tad bit. I've yet to try the
quad on any other design other than fish or fat battail, so when it's
firing, I grab the 6'3 tri. The benefits: it's 100 percent through
on-dime cutbacks, tight top turns and full-rail gouges. I still use it
when it's time to onion-up.
Also, tris have less tail weight without the extra futures/fcs insets and fin.
I think there will always be those who feel comfy with three fins
underfoot, but quads are definitely here to stay. Heck, nearly every
board company has five-fin set ups to make the board interchangeable
between the two sets, allowing surfers to experiement in different
conditions or try new manuevers or styles.
That's what's beautiful about our sport: each rider makes it her or
his own according to their skill level, desire, style and local
conditions.
My next experiment will be a high-performance 6'4 thumbtail quad... Or
maybe I'll throw the trailer plugs in just in case.
-- John CSB