FCS2 twin keels in a DHD Sweet Spot 2: do they work?

Updated 2026-09-19

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Modern FCS2 keel fins can get a current twin fin surprisingly close to the feel of a classic rounded pintail, without giving up the ease of a modern board. I tested them starting with a step-up twin fin to see if the comparison held.

Chasing a rounded pintail feel on a modern board

The idea started with a Morning of the Earth twin fin, one of the boards I rate highly for its rounded-pintail glide. Rather than only riding that board, I wanted to see whether a modern keel fin could get a current, easier-to-handle twin fin closer to the same feel. FCS2's modern keel fins, the same shape a lot of surfers will have seen ridden by Mick Fanning, seemed like the obvious fin to try.

How they handled the Sweet Spot 2 step-up

This DHD Sweet Spot 2, my step-up at 6'8, took the FCS2 keels well. It is a bulkier board than I would ideally want for a step-up, and I generally prefer a more hydrodynamic shape for that role, but the keels gave it a settled, controlled feel rather than the skatier, looser ride a standard fin gives a board this size. Before selling it on, this board logged a top speed of 21 km/h (13.0 mph) over a 100 metre wave, across a wave range noted in the log as five to eight feet.

The DHD Sweet Spot 2 line has worked well enough for me as an all-rounder that I owned a second one, a 6'6, across a wider three to eight foot range before it also moved on. My own notes on that board name FCS2 fins specifically as one of the setups worth running in it, alongside a standard thruster fin, which lines up with how well the keels suited its bigger sibling here. Both boards carry the same five-slot fin setup that makes trying a fin like this straightforward, and both came with the same verdict attached: a genuinely capable all-rounder, but not my first choice for a dedicated step-up once a more hydrodynamic shape is available.

How the same fins went in two other boards

I also tried these FCS2 keels in a Pyzel Phantom, and the result was too loose, not the controlled feel the Sweet Spot 2 gave. In a Channel Islands Twin, on the other hand, the keels were excellent: stable and comfortable, without the extra looseness of a standard twin setup that lacks a stabilizing fin shape.

Who this fin suits

If you already own a board along the lines of a classic Morning of the Earth-style twin fin and want that same settled, holding feel in a more modern shape, a set of FCS2 modern keels is worth trying rather than assuming a current board can only be ridden with current fins. It worked on a bulkier step-up and an all-rounder twin, and it did not work on a looser, quad-oriented board, which is the more useful data point: the fin rewards a board with some rail and hold already built in, rather than one designed to be loose.

This is also a cheap way to test a theory before committing to a new board. Rather than buying a whole new twin fin to chase a rounded-pintail feel, a single set of keel fins moved between boards answered the question directly: which of my current boards already has the rail and bottom shape to support that feel, and which does not.

Questions people ask

Do FCS2 modern keels suit every twin fin?

No. They worked well on a DHD Sweet Spot 2 and a Channel Islands Twin, both boards with some hold built into the outline, but felt too loose in a Pyzel Phantom.

What are FCS2 modern keels trying to replicate?

The glide and hold of a classic rounded pintail single fin shape, transferred into a modern, easier-to-ride twin fin.

Is a DHD Sweet Spot 2 a good step-up board?

It works as an all-rounder step-up, though I generally prefer a more hydrodynamic shape for that specific role over this one's bulkier build.

Fin swaps like this one are covered in more depth in keels or upright twin fins and do fins make a difference. For a wider comparison of twin fin shapes, see which type of twin fin is best for you, and for fin sizing generally, fin size and rider weight. This board has since sold and is logged, alongside its sibling 6'6, on boards I have sold.