Badfish Blog

The use of fins on standup

Rivershreds come standard with a 4.5″ Soft Flex center fin and 4.5" click fin side bights. We do sell a 3" version of the center fin if you want to have a shorter option for shallower rivers as well as 2" Click-Fin side bights. Click-Fin side bights are a cool new way to change the fin configuration on your paddleboard. Click-Fins slide in and click in place and can be secured with stainless steel grub screws (See video below). Click fins on your Rivershred give you a lot of options. You could paddle with just the center fin if the river is shallow or you don't want to worry about hitting the side bights. Or you could add the side bights when you want additional tracking or if you know you are going to surf, but the important thing to remember is just because your board came with three fins doesn't mean you have to put three fins everytime you paddle. Make fin choices based on conditions and what type of paddling you are doing that day. The I-SK8 comes with three Click-Fin boxes and three 4.5" Click-Fins. With a surfboard you make decisions based on surfing performance. Putting all three fins in will make your feel "stiffer", in other words the board will not turn as quickly. This is a good thing when you are learning or when you are surfing a new wave as the board will not want to slip out on you and will feel more predictable under foot. When you want the board to feel "looser" or turn more quickly you can start by removing your center 4.5" Click-Fin and replacing it with a 2" Click-Fin in the center box. If you really want your board to be loose so you can surf like Miles Harvey you could pick up a couple sets of 2" Click-Fins and surf only 2" fins. The point with surfing is that fins radically change the way the board surfs so you can play around and find the set up you like for your weight, your style and your wave. https://vimeo.com/217423466 River Surfers and SK8's are set up with a tri-fin or thruster fin configuration because the boards are meant for park and surf paddling and a thruster gives your board more speed and agility while surfing. Riding your River Surfer tri-fin will give you more bight and make your board feel “tighter”. Taking out the center fin reduces drag and gives your board a more “loose” feel allowing for tricks like 360’s and Shuv-Its. Check out these two river surfing videos featuring Badfish Pro Mike T for basic and advanced river surfing technique tips as it relates to fins. We only recommend using soft flex fins with your River Surfer, but it should be noted that experienced river surfers do use glass flex or “hard” fins. Composite fins give you many more options for sizes and types of fins and are higher performance, but increase the risk of damaging your board when and if you hit a rock. Paddling Finless Many experienced river paddlers choose to paddle on the river finless. The benefits of paddling without fins are obvious…nothing to hit rocks. The downside is also pretty obvious….the board won’t paddle straight. Advanced paddle strokes allow you to compensate somewhat for this lack of steering and in more technical rivers you are never going straight anyway, so in some cases paddling finless is an excellent choice. I recommend practicing on river runs paddling finless by taking off your center fin (and side bights if you have them) at some point on a river run and try some basic river maneuvers finless. The more you practice, the more forgoing fins will be an option for you when the river dictates. Fins are evolving for stand up paddling in a river so share your ideas and tricks with us too. See you on the river. -Mike Harvey, Salida, CO

This summer we met a new friend, John Fair. John is a professor in the Epic Adventures program at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, WA. Professor John is a Badfish paddler and is using the MVP to teach river SUP and surfing to his students. He sent us this video of two of his students learning to surf for the first time on the MVP. I think this really demonstrates how quick the learning curve is when you are on a board designed for the environment. -Mike Harvey, Salida, CO

Badfish is excited to the title sponsor and organizer of the Colorado SUP Championships again for 2017. Taking place during FIBArk weekend, June 15-18 in Salida, CO the Colorado SUP Championships includes a surf contest, cross racing and a 10 mile downriver race. If you've never been to Salida during FIBArk weekend, its not to be missed. North America's oldest whitewater festival FIBArk also includes running races, bike races, free live music, a family style carnival, all in historic downtown Salida with the Arkansas River flowing right through the middle of it. Last year's first Colorado SUP Championships went off with Rebecca Giddens and Mike Tavares winning the overall titles with the best combined results between the surf contest, cross and 10 mile downriver race and taking home fat cash prizes. If you have always wanted to do a river event this is one. Check out our highlights from last year and get registered at on FIBArk.com -See you on the river! Mike Harvey, Salida, CO https://vimeo.com/173392283