Why Smaller Fins Might Make You Surf Better

How to Completely Transform the Way Your Board Feels

When talking with pro surfer Kei Kobayashi on the podcast, he said something that surprised me. One of the biggest breakthroughs he’s had with his equipment lately didn’t come from a new board, a new tail shape, or some secret construction, but from changing his fins.

And not even in the direction most people expect. Kei actually went smaller with his fins, not bigger.

This was surprising because it goes against what a lot of surfers hear and say. 

• “Ride bigger fins for more drive.” 

• “Go large even if you normally ride mediums.” 

You hear this all the time in lineups and surf shops, and while there’s some truth in those statements, they also ignore one huge detail: Your skill level is more significant than your body weight when it comes to fin size.

Why Bigger Fins Aren’t Always Better

If you’re still developing your turns, bigger fins can actually slow down and hinder your progress. Large fins generally make your board:

• Stickier

• Stiffer

• Harder to release

• Less forgiving

• Slower to transition from rail to rail

If you’re in that intermediate stage of surfing, or you’re still learning the proper mechanics, or you’re just starting to push your turns and trying to feel the flow, you need a board that helps you move, not one that locks you to the face.

Beginners and intermediates often feel like they need more stability, so they size up their fins. But as they improve, what they actually need is looseness, feedback, and the ability to freely shift their weight and learn how the board responds to that; big fins take that factor away.

Kobayashi’s Fin Switch

Kei isn’t a big guy, but if you’ve ever watched him surf, you’ve seen how powerful he is. For years he rode large fins as that was the standard advice, “if you’re strong, ride large fins.”

But eventually he started feeling like something was off. His board felt too stiff, too locked in, and didn’t have enough flow. That’s when he tried something simple: He switched to medium fins. He found that this difference was huge. Suddenly, his board felt lighter, faster, and more responsive. With this fin set up he could draw cleaner lines and link sections without feeling stuck in one gear.

Kei goes even further in smaller surf by riding small fins. The looseness lets him generate speed easier, and keep his surfing lively when the waves don’t give him much to work with.

What This Means for You

If you’re working on your turns, rail engagement, and speed generation, going smaller with your fins has the potential to transform your experience. A looser board can:

• Help you understand how to shift weight correctly

• Let you feel the rail with less resistance

• Make your turns smoother, and not forced

• Help you link maneuvers instead of doing them one at a time

• Give you more flow with less effort

If you’ve been frustrated with your surfing, feeling stiff, or are unable to turn the way you want, don’t assume you need a new board. Maybe you just need to try changing your fins first because, when you think about it, 90% of what is connected with the water when you're surfing is your fins, which is why they deserve more consideration. Despite that, most people skip this step, even though it’s also the cheaper and faster way to transform how your board rides.

Experiment and See for Yourself

There’s no magic fin that works for everyone, but there is a simple process that works:

• If you usually ride large, try medium.

• If you usually ride medium, try small.

• If the waves are tiny, try going even smaller.

• Pay attention to how your board moves and flows, not only how it looks on paper.

A fin swap takes just a few minutes and can change your surfing overnight, and that’s exactly what happened for Kei Kobayashi. Try it, experiment for a few sessions, and see how much more flow you can unlock.

Enter the Basis Paddle Trainer

I've gone months without surfing and rolled up to pumping swell and surfed 3 hr sessions, multiple times a day, day after day after day, by using the Basis Paddle Trainer.

Train anytime, anywhere, so you can catch more waves and have more fun.

Unlike elastic resistance bands, swimming in the pool, or funky gym workouts these things actually work.

Shipping globally now! www.surfbasis.com

For a deep dive on how to 2-4x your wavecount, see this video: