I aim to review boards for the average knockabout surfer (or ‘kook’ like me) without all the technical terms and manoeuvres.
Have you ever picked up a surfboard, put it under your arm and gone? This is the one for me! I immediately got that feeling when I unboxed my ‘ProLine Four Fin soft board’ from Softboards AU.
It's weird; I could instantly picture this board's perfect type of wave when I put it under my arm. I was thinking a summer's day, 1-3ft clean perfect waves with me Kooking around having a blast just stoked to be mixing it up and ridding something different to my generic shortboard.
The first thing I noticed when I unboxed the Proline Four Fin was its weight. This is due to it having Triple Stringers. This feature is an advantage over other models and brands because of its strength, durability, and extra drive when paddling for a wave. You can tell that the Proline Four Fin is the real deal and isn't here to muck around.
Running at a fun size of 5’8” at 48L, this board is slammed pack full of foam. I was initially stressing about the size of it, as I haven't ridden many boards that small, but I quickly came to love the length of it. It took a couple of surfs to find where I needed to set my stance, but once I had it locked in, it was an absolute machine.
The tail of the Proline Four Fin is pretty wide, considering the length is 5’8. I was pretty shocked at how much forgiveness this gave my back foot. There were a couple of waves that I was a bit late on the takeoff and scrambled to my feet only to find that I could manoeuvre my foot into its correct place effortlessly—a great design feature for a Kook like me.
One thing that intrigued me about the Proline Four Fin was that, as the name states, it is a quad. I haven't ridden many quads and honestly didn't know what to expect. It comes stock standard with these fabulous plastic split keel fins, and I was super excited to give them ago.
The Proline Four Fin has four FCS-compatible fin boxes. This is handy if you have some extra fins but honestly not necessary, as the plastic split keel fins bend and flex with the board, which adds to the fun for those faster and skatey turns.
Setting it as a Quad was perfect for getting the extra speed down the line and gave my back foot a more stable area to work with. After a super fun surf one day, I was thinking about turning some of my other boards into quads.
After my first surf on the Proline Four Fin, I found it hard to get off it because of how much fun I had. When I eventually did leave it in the garage because of some bigger swell, I couldn't believe how much my surfing had improved. It helped me work on my turns and practice generating speed.
So overall, The Proline Four Fin is one of the better performing soft boards I have ever ridden; this is definitely because of the combination of the triple stringers and the quad setup. I love how much extra speed you can generate because of this.
The only downside of this board is that it is not for everyone. If you are new to surfing, I suggest finding something different in the catalogue. Still, if you are comfortable in the water or are a young Grom getting your first shortboard, you need to add one of these to your quiver because of its versatility.
The Proline Four Fin retails at $475 and is value for money for a fun high, performing softboard. I am super stoked with mine and always gravitate towards its bright orange colour when deciding what board I should throw into the car.
After completing this review, I reached out to the legends at Softboards Au, and they agreed to give 10% OFF their website by using the PROMO code SOUTHCOASTKOOK10 at checkout.
Reach out to me if you have any questions you might have on this board or any other boards I have reviewed.