to best learn how to use the Force Fins, the best thing is to take the fins off and kick without them. No kick board nothing, just hop in the pool and kick end to end midwater (or as far as you can go). Do that for 200 or so meters, then slip the fins on and repeat, the only thing you should feel is an increase in speed.
Although this is the strong flutter method, as we never really want to go that fast. you can save a lot of air , with a 3-5 beat flutter/scissor kick that has lots of kick and glide feel to it.
the strange feeling of the fin bending away from your foot is just the way the fins work, yes it "feels" odd , but that's just because it is odd. There are only 2 fins on the market that flex under your foot (Slingshots being the other with the pivot under your instep). All other fins have the pivot point of the blade 2-6 inches in front of your toes. Even with the Slingshots there is a hard footpocket that completely encloses your toes so you don't feel the flex point. Give the fins a couple of dives and you'll stop noticing the flex away from your foot and it will feel normal.
As far as thrust goes, you mention they are slightly better than normal fins when you are on your back, in fact they are doing the same thing when you are submerged, you just don't feel the tactical feedback of the load on your shins/knees so you don't think they are providing propulsion. When you are on your back (surfaced) your eyes see the motion and fill in the gap of tactical feedback and your brain thinks everything is normal.
Frog Kick- the design of the Force Fin incorporates and energy saving and drag reducing function that allows the fin to basically collapse on the recovery stroke, this means that a frog kick which utilizes the underside of the blade (in recovery mode) to move forward. Bascially, the design of the blade reduces the effectiveness of a frog kick. The Excellerating Force Fin was designed to allow a strong frog kick, but still maintain all the other advantages of the ForceFin line.
Although this is the strong flutter method, as we never really want to go that fast. you can save a lot of air , with a 3-5 beat flutter/scissor kick that has lots of kick and glide feel to it.
the strange feeling of the fin bending away from your foot is just the way the fins work, yes it "feels" odd , but that's just because it is odd. There are only 2 fins on the market that flex under your foot (Slingshots being the other with the pivot under your instep). All other fins have the pivot point of the blade 2-6 inches in front of your toes. Even with the Slingshots there is a hard footpocket that completely encloses your toes so you don't feel the flex point. Give the fins a couple of dives and you'll stop noticing the flex away from your foot and it will feel normal.
As far as thrust goes, you mention they are slightly better than normal fins when you are on your back, in fact they are doing the same thing when you are submerged, you just don't feel the tactical feedback of the load on your shins/knees so you don't think they are providing propulsion. When you are on your back (surfaced) your eyes see the motion and fill in the gap of tactical feedback and your brain thinks everything is normal.
Frog Kick- the design of the Force Fin incorporates and energy saving and drag reducing function that allows the fin to basically collapse on the recovery stroke, this means that a frog kick which utilizes the underside of the blade (in recovery mode) to move forward. Bascially, the design of the blade reduces the effectiveness of a frog kick. The Excellerating Force Fin was designed to allow a strong frog kick, but still maintain all the other advantages of the ForceFin line.
