tailapd for fish?

[bakers]

Been considering for quite some time now to put a tail pad on my 7foot fish! Just started to catch green waves so thinking a tailpad could give me an aid for digging into my turns etc. Some friends have said its a good idea others said its a waste of time/money! So im putting it out there onto the forum!

[Vince Noir]

its a waste of time and money

[Jim Birtwisle]

I don't like them on fish, they just look kinda wrong. As long as the tails all nicely waxed up you shouldn't have any problems. I have a quad without a pad and a thruster with a pad and I can't really tell that much difference

[the lush]

If it's a twinny with a wide tail, don't bother. If it's a thruster set up with a pulled in tail, it may help with back foot reference for turns and duckdiving. Either way, they aren't something that will dramatically alter or improve your learning process.

I've got an OE pad that I took off a longboard you can have if you pay the postage*. It's still sticky so should go on ok and will be a cheap way of trying one to see if it makes a difference or simply looks shit before paying full price. Let me know if you want it mate.

*Assuming you're UK based.

[bakers]

Never turn anything down for free! Howd we go about arranging the postage fees? Im from s.wales btw

[monkeystyle]

Tailpads are good - less waxing, less depressions, you can throw your board down on the carpark without dinging it, and your feet have a point of reference. Forget how it looks, just make sure you work out where your feet got first and don't put the pad too far back, the raised buit should be just behind you back foot... check out the dirty fax from your foot to see where.

Clean the board with meths or acetone before sticking down and use contact cement on the enges if it doesn't stick well

[the lush]

PM me your address and I'll get it in the post for you, hopefully today.

I can't imagine it will be expensive so I'll let you know when I'm next in South Wales and if you're around a pint will do.

[errantsurf]

A tailpad can help if you are looking to improve your turns, as you can "feel" that your back foot is over the fins. As long as you put the tail pad on correctly in the first place! There is no harm in putting one on (just the cash to buy one).

[Tubeasaurus]

It REALLY comes down to what type of board /and style you're going for. If you're riding a Twinny and have more of a flowing and smooth style it's probably not needed since that type of board has a much more drive and aren't as responsive when pushed in a more critical section of the wave. However, if you have more of a quad setup, where you can release the fins out the back of the wave it bit easier, the extra grip can only do you good. But at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference. Tail pad or not you should probably put your fish and all of your surfboards in a surf rackto prevent them from getting dings. Once you get some dings in them tail pad or not....your paddling is going to slow down and you get tired a lot faster, and it dampens your session.... never fun. Cheers!