NICARAGUA: EP.003 | NICATIME

Work Trip or Surf Trip

Hot sand massaging the soles of feet, warm wind blowing on sunburnt backs, eyes gazing at perfect waves, is this work or a surf trip?

About a month ago, some of the in-house crew at Futures took a field trip down to Nicaragua to prototype products and score some waves along the way. Before anything leaves our doors, we prototype and test all of our products through various channels. Our top athletes, ambassadors, and our in-house crew all help in the process… “The pad works great, but is it going to chaff my knees when trunking it?” “These fins work insane in smaller waves. Will they hold when the surf gets bigger?” Nicaragua was the perfect place to answer some of these questions, meet some amazing people, capture some incredible memories, and have a couple Toñas along the way.

Fins Tested

• VaporCore – Beta 2.0
• Legacy Series
• Legacy Series templates with inside foils

Accessories Tested

• Traction (F2P-Wildcat | F3P-Brewster | F3P-Voodoo) – Coming Soon!
• Leashes

Carry

• The Passport Pack
• The Border Wet/Dry Bag

Check the end of the post for more detailed descriptions of the products we brought down.

Vapor Core – Beta Fins

Last summer (2018) we released a limited quantity of our new VaporCore fins out into the public as our first ever Beta prototype program. They’re the lightest fins on the market (yes, they float), and although light weight is important in surf, it often leads to a sacrifice in durability, hence all the additional product testing. We found that there was some room for improvement, so we went back to the drawing board to make some tweaks. This second version was what we brought down with us. Not only were they much stronger, but the way we re-oriented the carbon fibers also gave the fins a whole new spark.You can expect to see the next limited release of Beta 2.0 later this year.

The Passport Pack Another exciting release of 2018 was our first ever backpack, the US made Passport Travel Pack. We launched a limited quantity and asked for user feedback for improvements and we listened. We’ve been working closely with the developers at our US factory to make some improvements and sent the pre-productions samples down with the Futures team for a final test.The Passport 2.0 will be re-released towards the end of summer.

Legacy Series (Honeycomb) Brand new, this spring, is the launch of our Legacy Series fins. Legacy Series is more than just a new line of fins. It’s a new way of categorizing template shape and rake number to suit your surfing style. The series makes your fin decision as simple as deciding how you want to surf… Do you like your turns drawn out, tight in the pocket, or somewhere in between? The specs, dims, and rake numbers are still available if you like making your own comparisons, but in a sea of decisions and choices, we’re working on making your life easier. After a three-step process, you’ll be setup and ready to go.

1. Choose your size

Small, Medium, Large

2. Choose your surf style / template category

Rake-Drawn-out,Control,Drive | Neutral- All-around,Balanced | Pivot- Tight turns,Quick,Loose

3. Go Surf

Legacy Series is live now! Check the landing page or your local surf shop for more information.

Legacy Series Templates with V2 Vector Foil Where the Legacy Series organizes fin template categories based off your surf style, Ride Number organizes your decision process based off the wave conditions.

Are you pumping?

Speed Generating = Ride Number 7-10

Are the waves pumping?

Speed Control = Ride Number 1-4

The flat foiled Legacy Series Honeycomb fins are a great all-around balanced Ride Number…. And they worked as Speed Generating templates as well. Be on the lookout for these coming down the pipeline. Blackstix is about due for an update. Hint, hint…