Minksystems maakt ze voor Kai Lenny; de mini vinnetjes onder al zijn boards. Kai kan inmiddels niet zonder ze als de ultieme "performance enhancers". Onder je board gaat heel wat lucht en water langs; zeker in de whitewash van golven.
De kleine vinnetjes pakken al die turbulentie onder je board aan en zorgen ervoor dat je sneller kan varen. Je vaart je board ook minder hangend op je tail omdat hij meer grip heeft zonder erop te hoeven leunen.
Kom er maar in Lenny:
When did you first try them?
I rode it the first time at Haleiwa. It was choppy, there was a lot of current through the Toilet Bowl, and I was cutting through chop and going so fast, I literally could not even believe it. You know, I knew they were working on something, and they wouldn’t tell me until they’d gotten their patents or whatever. They didn’t want other people to see that it was on my board until then. So there was all this build-up, and when I finally got to try it, it wasn’t underwhelming at all. It totally delivered. Ever since I’ve been using them, whether it’s in giant waves or in small waves, I swear, it’s helped me with pretty much everything. Not just on the mental level—on an actual performance level. Every single one of my boards has them now.
My first thought was that it looked a little gimmicky. What was your first reaction?
When I first saw it, I thought it was freaking sick. I watch Formula 1, and if you look at the cars, they have these little winglets that are so tiny. But when they break off from hitting a curb or another car, it completely changes the car’s performance. I’ve always known those little things affect a lot. In big wave riding, I’ve been working on my fins a lot. Like with quads: I’ve been putting my bigger fins in the back and the smaller fins in the front. I know how very minute changes in water can have significant outcomes. Also being involved with the hydrofoil — you know, you change something one millimeter and it completely changes the whole thing. I’ve been told that if you’re going 100 miles an hour out of the water, that atmosphere is equivalent to going ten miles an hour in the water, so there are giant effects that come into play. I notice that the faster you go with these things, the smoother and better they get. You forget that something so subtle can make such a big difference. Now I notice when I don’t have it on my boards. I bog a little more; I don’t have seamless speed. So I knew there was going to be something to it, but I didn’t realize it was going to be that profound.
Do you think they’ll be commonplace in the future?
I think it’ll be someone’s disadvantage not to have them, no matter the conditions. As soon as they’re available, all the tour surfers are going to want to have them. Surfing hasn’t had a major development in so many years. If you look at moto racing or a lot of other sports, any advantage you can get can have a huge outcome. In Formula 1, if you’re not on the cutting edge, you’re going to be left behind.
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