Hobie miragedrive fin guide

Author: josh

Category: Equipment, rigging & preparation

Published on Tuesday, 26 January 2010 14:03

Written by Josh

I get asked a lot of questions about the varying qualities of the fin types available for the Hobie miragedrive and when I very recently 'downgraded' from the 'Square Top' ST turbo fins back to the (what I call 'middle gear') ST fin, I figured it was a good time for me to share my thoughts on the subject. I've used all 3 fin types extensively - particularly the ST & ST turbo fins, both of which I've pedalled along for at least a couple of thousand km each. The reason I went back to the ST fin was because I have always preferred it to both other styles and I was reminded of this after spending 4 consecutive days on the water in the Clarence river recently, each time pedalling respectable distances into fairly strong currents. Whilst the ST turbos have certainly served me well, the ST fins are easier to pedal for hours on end and I don't think there's a hell of a lot of difference in performance.

You're probably asking yourself why I bothered to use the turbo style (for the past year) when I actually prefer the ST version. The reason for that was when the updated miragedrive units became available I wanted to see how well it would hold up to heavy use with the turbos over a considerable amount of time and use. 'Admirably' would be an appropriate description for how well the miragedrive stood up to the test. After a year of solid use I wasn't able to detect any damage to the drive whatsoever. The fins themselves held up very well also... in fact they're in perfect working condition and have been stored away in case I decide to go back to them. Confident that the updated drive is more than capable of handling the torque that the turbo fins can produce, I felt the experiment had run it's course succesfully and thus decided to go back to what I was most comfortable using.

Before going on to talk more about the ST and ST turbo fins, I should spare a few words for the fins that come as standard with Hobie kayaks. There's a reason they are a standard fit out accessory - not only are they very easy to use (and thus perfect for beginners) they are more than capable of propelling any of the Hobie kayaks with surprising speed (even a single standard fin drive can propel a tandem model easily). Most users new to pedal-powered kayak fishing are probably well advised to stick with the standard fins when starting out. This is especially true for those who aren't in it for the workout. The standard fins are (by most people's standards) very easy to pedal along, yet still well and truly capable of eating up nautical miles. This makes them perfect for those looking to improve their fitness without breaking into a geyser of sweat in the process.

If there is a common complaint about the standard fins, however, it's that they are too easy to pedal. This is often true of seasoned fitness freaks and well-conditioned users that are looking to build strength and cardio. Many eventually upgrade as they find that the act of pedalling Hobie kayaks improves their fitness to the point where more resistance and a slower cadence is preferred. This is where the mirage fin upgrades come in. Either way, the truth is that most first timers are better off starting out with standard fins and then upgrading when and if desired. To give you an idea of what the standard fins feel like to pedal, if you were to compare the experience to riding a 10-speed pushbike, using the standard fins would feel like about 3rd gear (on a flat road).

With well over 5000km of kayak pedalling under my belt it's fair to say that despite the punitive size of my stick-like legs, the standard fins are now a little too liesurely for my liking. Whilst I'm certainly fit enough to pedal with the turbo fins all day long (in most scenarios), for me the standard sized ST fins are pretty much perfect. They present the ideal rate of cadence for my liking, as well as acceleration and cruising speed. And because they are still fairly easy to keep kicking, in the event I have to 'limp' back to the landing zone they're not too strenuous to persist with. After a long day fishing, it's noticeably easier to pedal back into a surging current using ST fins than it is turbo's. That they are a couple of inches shorter is also a bit of a bonus when fishing shallow water. That they use a fin mast the same length of the standard fins means that an upgrade doesn't require new masts either, which of course makes them cheaper than turbos (which do require a longer mast). If relating a standard fin to 3rd gear on a 10-speed pushy is a fair comparison, ST fins would be 4th gear.

I've long thought that the title 'turbo fins' is somewhat inappropriate as 'turbo' implies extra speed, which is not necessarily the case ('cruising fins' is a name that I think is a better fit). Whilst I have noted a slight difference in cruising speed between the ST and ST turbo fins, but not enough to fuss over. What they do offer is a lower rate of cadence, especially noticeable between the standard and turbo models. That is to say that if it takes say, 100 pedal strokes to cover 300 metres of water with the standard fins, it might only take 70 strokes of the turbo fin to cover the same distance (ST fins would lie somewhere in the middle). That makes them an excellent choice for covering long distances in calm water as well as being more than capable of digging in deep in rough choppy waters. Comparing the feel of turbos to the use of a 10-speed pushy, turbos could fairly be classed as 5th gear.

Regardless of whichever fin might best suit your preference, those fishing predominantly in shallow waters should consider the implications of using the longer turbo fins. Whilst I've never really encountered troubling issues with the turbo's added length, it is true that standard and ST fins are less likely to inadvertently scrape against shallow seabeds. For this reason, shallow water fishoes are likely to get a longer life out of the shorter models.   

At the end of the day it's very much a matter of horses for courses. No one model is better than the other. Its simply a matter of matching the usage scenario, user preferences and or physical capabilities.

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