Which twin pin is best? Seven rounded pins compared
Updated 2026-09-19
A rounded twin pin, somewhere between 6'6 and 6'8, has become my favorite combination of the boards I currently own. At 102 kilograms and 6'2, and best described as an intermediate surfer, my boards run bigger than a lighter or more advanced rider's would. Here are seven of them, most of them custom rather than off the shelf, and what each one taught me about going to a local shaper instead of a standard shop rack.
The value pick: a future-form bottom that turns like a ball bearing
This 6'6 Jim Banks build, made in Australia and glassed at Tweed Heads, cost around $1,050 AUD (as at November 2025) as one of a limited run with a pin stripe. It carries a future-form bottom contour, a genuinely aggressive vee double concave with the chine sitting below the rails the whole way along the board, a flip in the tail for turning response, and heavy nose rocker so it never noses in over whitewash. The combination makes it turn on the spot, smoothly enough that it feels like standing on a ball bearing. Small fins let the aggressive contour slip, so I only run Jim Banks fins in it, a keel or a hybrid keel. It has handled big waves at my local point without issue, and it has produced a 192 metre wave at 27.2 km/h (16.9 mph). Value for money, this is one of the best picks in the group and I would buy it again without hesitation.
The keeper: a triple-stringer classic built to last forever
A triple-stringer 6'8, built by the same shaper behind the well-known Morning of the Earth boards under their current name, is a genuine classic with channels and a fairly pulled-in tail. It is thick in the nose and tail, which suits a heavier rider, and surprisingly light for a triple stringer. The bottom runs a flat, gradual entry into a mild single concave, then a vee double concave into the channels and out the tail. It only wants upright fins, and any upright works well because it never slides. It is the third or fourth fastest board I have ever ridden, logging a 160 metre wave at 35.4 km/h (22.0 mph). If I could only keep one rounded twin pin, this would be the one.
The coffee shop find: a wide, eggy board that suits anyone
Spotted on a rack in a local cafe, this 6'6 by a Gold Coast shaper is a wide, eggy, single-stringer PU board with a very round, wide tail. Rails come away slightly at the edge, the nose has a hint of that flatter, Album-style shaping, and the underside runs a slightly rolled entry into a single concave and then a lot of vee out the tail, with channels starting further forward than most. The best fins I have found for it are BMT, run in a fin box position set well back for a big, easy turning arc. It has produced a 374 metre wave at 29.6 km/h (18.4 mph). It has traveled well, held its color better than most of my other boards, and remains one of the easiest boards in the group to ride.
The step-up that ended up under-volume: a Gold Coast custom at 6'8
A hand-shaped 6'8 by 20 1/2 by 2 5/8 from a different Gold Coast shaper was ordered as a step-up but turned out to be too thin and too far under my volume, so I sit lower in the water on it than I would like. That is not a criticism of the build, which is light and very well constructed, with a double concave running most of the board's length and channels starting toward the back. The fin boxes sit fairly far forward, which suits upright fins and a lighter, more advanced rider around 85 kilograms rather than someone my size. It produced a 145 metre wave at 21 km/h (13.0 mph) before the board moved on; it now sits on the sold list rather than the current rack.
The heaviest board I own: a double-stringer built to survive anything
Ordered extra wide and extra thick from a different local shaper, this double-stringer twin pin is the strongest board I own, essentially unbreakable, with a flat entry, mild single concave and subtle vee that make it smooth and fast rather than tricky. Rails stay fairly medium the whole way through, which a bigger rider wants. It works best with BMT fins, though the shaper's own house fin also performs well. This board has produced some of my most memorable waves in good conditions and clocked 39.4 km/h (24.5 mph), with a longest wave of 287 metres. I am keeping this one indefinitely.
The space-age one: EPS, carbon flex, no stringer at all
A Campbell Designed twin at 6'6 by 20 7/8 by 2 13/16, around 43.6 litres, trades the heavy PU classic style for Exo Flex construction, a carbon strip on deck and bottom instead of a wooden stringer. It is lighter than a PU board without feeling as hollow as a cheap EPS build, and it has been strong enough to travel and handle big waves. A single gusset channel adds a touch of speed, and it works well with a medium hybrid keel. It is slightly harder to paddle onto a wave than the others here, and I wish it carried a touch more volume, but once up and riding it is one of the smoothest, most controlled boards in the group. It has produced a 200 metre wave at 27 km/h (16.8 mph). The same shaper has since released an improved swallowtail version that I now prefer over this one.
The undersized icon: a McTavish that is too small but too good to sell
A 6'7 McTavish stock mid-length, PU, single stringer and well priced, is genuinely too small for a rider my size, more of a struggle to catch a wave on than any other board here, but I have kept it anyway because it is a McTavish, a beautifully designed board from an iconic shaper. It has a bump flyer tail, pulled in wide then narrow, and works best with the shaper's own house fins. It has logged a 98 metre wave at 21.8 km/h (13.5 mph). I would call it a very good board undersized for me rather than a bad board.
Questions people ask
Is a custom twin pin worth ordering over a shop stock board?
For a rounded twin pin specifically, yes: several of the best boards here are custom builds from local shapers rather than off-the-shelf shapes, and the fin box position and bottom contour tend to be more considered on a custom order.
Which twin pin here is the fastest?
The triple-stringer classic at 35.4 km/h over a 160 metre wave, ahead of the other six, though the heaviest double-stringer board is close behind at 39.4 km/h on a different session.
Do all twin pins need upright fins?
No. Two of the seven boards here, the future-form Jim Banks and the Campbell Designed EPS build, work better with a keel or hybrid keel because of how aggressive their bottom contour is.
What size twin pin suits a bigger, intermediate surfer?
Somewhere between 6'6 and 6'8 at around 102 kilograms, with anything narrower or thinner than that starting to feel under-volume, as the 6'8 step-up above did for me.
Fin choice does as much work on a twin pin as the outline does; twin fin fins explained and keels or upright twin fins go deeper on why. For the wider decision between shapes, mid-length or longboard and twin, quad or thruster cover the surrounding ground, and which type of twin fin is best for you sorts eight more twin shapes beyond the rounded pin. The current lineup, including several boards above, sits on my current quiver, with the Gold Coast step-up logged on boards I have sold.