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Hobie MirageDrive Turbo Fins

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Tuesday, 12 June 2007

Better to have a set of turbo fins and not need them than to need a set of turbo fins and not have them

Hobie Mirage Turbo fins

When I first found out about the Turbo fin upgrade for Hobie's MirageDrive units I didn't hesitate in picking snapping them up immediately. It wasn't that I was dissatisfied with the standard vanilla fins that came with the kayak, but more so that I was curious to see how much better they might be. The name 'turbo' elucidates higher speed and as far as I'm concerned, more speed can only be good. It's not always ness Cary but it is always good to know it's there if you need it. From all the researching and reading around I did on them, I figured that I could expect to see an increase in top speed of around 10 - 15%. I also figured that cruising along would require less effort over the long haul, with slower cadence for a marginally higher speed. I surmised that this would be an advantage in both rough conditions (when fighting wind and or current) as well as for endurance levels over longer trips. From memory, the purchase price at the time was somewhere between AU$120 and $140, which I was prepared to sacrifice for the above-mentioned qualities. Besides, I figured that upgrading would leave me with a spare set of fins and masts.

Installed turbo fins

After having used the turbo fins for almost a year now I can say that my research turned out to be pretty accurate. The speed increase offered by turbo fins is noticeable immediately, with acceleration, cruising and top speeds. At a guess I'd say that the turbo fins have added about 10% to my speed overall. More importantly, they have made it easier for me to travel longer distances, which is clearly a result of the slower cadence speed. Although the turbo fins offer more resistance and thus require more strength to pedal (much like a pushbike at top speed compared with say, 5th gear), the users legs don't need to push the pedals anywhere near as often to achieve the same speeds.

It's pretty clear to see why more physical strength is required to push the turbo fins - the increased size of the fins dictates more resistance. It's that increased size is precisely what reduces the added speed as well. Recently Hobie added a new fin to their line up, the hybridised ST fins. These are clearly a middle-ground solution, ideally suited for those who want a little extra kick than the standard fins provide, but don't want the added resistance caused by the larger size of the turbos. It wouldn't surprise me if in time the ST fins replace the current models as standard. I haven't yet had a chance to try out the ST fins, but I'd certainly be interested to see how they travel. That said, I'm really very happy with the turbo fins and would definitely recommend them to most users as a worthy addition to consider.