Mick Fanning isn’t generally thought of as a twin-fin kind of guy. He’s White Lightning, the three-time world champ, a high-performance legend. He’s the guy who hit the gym to train for surfing while most others were still drinking beer in the carpark. But despite the fact that Mick Fanning’s world titles came on top of three fins, he’s always been into different setups. That became clear when he retired from the grind of the CT. Thrusters became less important. Trips to far-flung places for a surf trip instead of a contest became more important. It was good to see.
“I’ve been riding twins since I was a grom, really,” he says. “Twin fins, single fins… but it wasn’t until sort of just recently that I got right into twin fins. Pretty much the start of the year. Without that middle fin, you’ve got more speed. It feels faster. It feels livelier under your feet, but you still have that drive with the two larger side fins.”
Which is why FCS called him up to collaborate on a twin fin project they’re calling the H4 Twin. It doesn’t look like an average fin, though. “You look at it, and it’s a pretty funny-looking fin,” he says. “But with the big base, you’ve got a lot of drive and projection. Then with this ‘golf club’ tip, you’re going to get a lot of speed, a lot of drive, and it’s going to hold on that last 10 percent of your turn, so you don’t just spin out.”
It is a sure bet, however, that the H4 Twin won’t make you surf as well as Mick Fanning — but if you’re into twinnies, it might help you have a little more fun. Which is the whole point of this surfing, thing, isn’t it?
