Which single fin is right for you? Seven boards from my own rack
Updated 2026-09-19
A single fin slows a session down and puts the feel of the wave back in the rail, more than a twin or a thruster ever will. Which one suits you depends mostly on wave size: a narrow-railed speed shape for good points, a wide eggy single for everyday waves, and something in between for whatever your local break actually does most days. Here is how I sort the seven I ride.
The museum piece: a 6'10 stringerless replica for smooth, sit-up waves
This board is a numbered replica, signed by the shaper, stringerless, 6'10 by 20 inches and about 2 15/16 thick, at 42 litres. It has a beaky nose, a flat rocker and a small double concave, and it came with a 9-inch flex fin based on a dolphin fin trace. I prefer it with an 8-inch upright keel instead. The bigger flex fin is not needed in a board this size, and the smaller fin feels better balanced. I have bought other boards to surf instead of this one simply because it is too special to risk, but nothing else surfs quite like it. It works from ankle high through to about six feet, and I have logged a 107 metre wave on it at 25.2 km/h (15.7 mph). If you can find a well-cared-for retro single from this era, this is the shape that shows why people still talk about it.
The point break workhorse: 7'10 with a rolled entry and pinched rails
A 7'10 single, 21 1/2 by 2 7/8 and about 52 litres, is the board I reach for at any point break with a bit of push. It has a rolled entry into a double concave and pinched rails, so it accelerates and holds a line in hollow sections. I run an 8.5-inch upright in it and it has covered a 293 metre wave at 33.4 km/h (20.8 mph). I liked this shape enough to own three versions at different lengths, including a 7'4 for travel, but if I could only keep one, it would be this length.
The good-wave semi-gun: pulled in for bigger, cleaner faces
A different 7'10, this one with a more pulled-in nose and tail and a flatter front third, does not like small waves at all. It only comes out once conditions get to head high or better, where the extra rail line and a heavier glass job make it smooth and stable on bigger faces. I run a 9-inch upright forward in the box, because the box itself sits further back on this board than on the point-break single above. It has produced a 300 metre wave at 27.1 km/h (16.8 mph).
The good-wave specialist: 8'9 for six-foot-plus points only
At 8'9 by 22 by 2 7/8, this one only comes out of the rack when the points are running six foot or bigger. It has a rolled entry, a subtle vee, bladed rails and a large glassed-in fin around 9.5 inches. It is unforgiving of poor balance because the rails are so pinched, but once you dig one in and drive down the face it holds a line like nothing else I own. It has produced a 341 metre wave at 28.6 km/h (17.8 mph).
The all-rounder: an 8-foot single that covers one foot to well overhead
This 8-foot single, about 21 1/2 by 3 and 55 litres, replaced an earlier, flatter-rockered version that I sold because it was too rolled in the nose. This one has a proper rocker curve, a double concave into a vee, and a squash tail rather than a pin, which is what lets it work in everything from one-foot beach breaks to large waves. It has logged a 202 metre wave at 30 km/h (18.6 mph). Out of every single fin here, this is the one I would call the most versatile.
The travel single: 7'6 built to fit a standard board bag
A 7'6, double-stringer single at 22 wide, 3 thick and about 56 litres was custom ordered to fit a normal board bag while still carrying enough volume to paddle into small waves and enough nose to take off steep. It carries channels running through a single-into-double concave into a vee, and it is one of the fastest boards I own, sitting in my top five for measured speed at 31.7 km/h (19.7 mph) over a 228 metre wave.
The widowmaker: a single with side bites that beat every other single I have tried
This 7'6 by 21 3/4 by 2 7/8, about 52 litres, was built with a small trailer fin either side of the main fin, a setup sometimes called a widowmaker. It has a deep double concave running like a jet out the back and a rocker and outline that hold in everything from one foot to well overhead. It is also the fastest board in my whole current quiver: 38.9 km/h (24.2 mph) over a 375 metre wave. It replaced a flatter-rockered mid I found too limiting in hollower sections, and it is hand shaped with fins specifically paired to the board by the same shaper, which is a big part of why it works as well as it does.
Questions people ask
What is the most versatile single fin to own?
The 8-foot single with a double concave into a vee and a squash tail covers the widest range here, from one foot to well overhead.
Do I need special fins for a single fin board?
Yes. Fin choice changes how forgiving or twitchy a single feels more than almost any other setup change; an upright works on most of these boards, but position in the box and rake matter as much as size.
Is a widowmaker setup still a single fin?
Not technically, since it adds two small side fins, but it surfs with the drive and line of a single while adding hold in steeper sections.
Are single fins only for good waves?
No. Several of the boards above are everyday, small-wave boards; only the narrowest, most pinched-rail shapes here are kept for six-foot-plus days specifically.
What is the fastest single fin you have measured?
The widowmaker-setup 7'6 at 38.9 km/h (24.2 mph), ahead of every other single fin and most of the twin fins in my current quiver.
Single fins reward patience more than twin fins do; if you want the faster, looser end of the spectrum, see which type of twin fin is best for you and surfboard fins explained for how upright, keel and hybrid choices change any of these boards. For the shapes themselves, which longboard is best covers the other end of the length range, and the full list of what is currently in the rack sits on my current quiver, with boards like the two Acid Drops and the Flat Tracker logged on boards I have sold.