Everything is cyclical.
In the 70s, before Simon Anderson developed the thruster, twin fins were the high performance norm on the North Shore. Including at big Pipeline and unruly Sunset.
But, from the invention of the thruster in 1980 until just recently, the thruster — and occasionally the quad — have dominated the lineups on Oahu. The three fin setup is considered the gold standard for performance surfing, so why would anyone go backwards?
Well, because everything old becomes new again, and with modern surfers and surfboard shapers rethinking the twin fin, it’s coming back en vogue. Big time. See Josh Kerr and Jack Freestone for proof. Since leaving the CT, the pair have been riding almost exclusively Album surfboard twin fins, and by all accounts, ripping harder than ever.
So, while it’s not surprising to see California’s Kale Cadam ride a twinnie at Pipe, it is surprising to learn that he just spent the winter on Oahu with only twin fins shaped by AH Vessels. Not a single thruster in his quiver.
We’re fairly confident Cadam is the first surfer from CA to fly to Hawaii with a quiver comprised exclusively of twin fins since the early ‘80s. With the way things are going, he won’t be the last.
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