We see a lot of twins, and a ton of quads, but not many “Twads.”
Maybe it’s because a twin and a quad are inherently similar. Without a middle fin, both board designs lean into speed over control. And while we are seeing more surfboards with 5 fin boxes so they can be ridden as a thruster or a quad, the Twad option is less popular. At least for now.
Recently, Harry Bryant brought a 5’7″ Maws Code Twad (which shaper Sean Mawson calls “twinny training wheels”) down to South America to put it through the paces in a series of rippable left points. While it’s tough to tell when Bryant elected for two versus four fins just from watching this edit, one thing is obvious: The board goes fast no matter how many fins are in it.
In the edit above, Bryant ducks under the lip, weaves around rocks, and flies over the backwash. We’re not sure if we should call this an alternative surfboard, but it’s definitely not alternative surfing. Bryant is straight up ripping, training wheels or not.