Are Force Fins really that bad?

[MikeR]

Damn I'm getting old when I was in you had a choice between rockets and rockets. :01zz:

 

[truva]

I have a pair of FF’s that I have been diving for about 10 years. While I will say that they were hard to get the proper technique with them, I really like them.

I seem to spend more time in a relaxing swim that is common to recreational diving as opposed to swimming into combat somewhere and these fins are good at that. A one of things I have not seen on the board about them is the fact that they hold up better than most of the thermo-plastic types. This along with the maneuverability they provide makes them nice for wreck penetrations, that and the smaller size. It did take some work to figure out the various techniques as they are really different but you can change the angle of your feet and kick and go backward, it really comes in handy.

Having said that, if I am fishing and I think I may need to cover a short distance very quickly I have a pair of gorilla fins I use, they are much faster until I get tired. The FF is not for everyone, it really depends on your style of diving but for what I do these are certainly fine fins.

Truva

 

[doole]

My only question here which should qualify the value of the FF is do any of the armed forces use these fins for combat ops, where reliabity and performance really counts?

Chris

Now in all fairness, what on earth do combat ops have to do with recreational diving?

 

[DFC5343]

This board is rec diving only? The military gave you the technology.

 

[doole]

This board is rec diving only? The military gave you the technology.

Hunh? Cousteau gave us the basic technology. For the most part the military gets everything from the lowest bidder, as I understand it.

As for the board, I suppose it's about whatever we make it about.

 

[cloud9]

Are they really that Bad?

I've had a pair of FF Excellerators w\whiskers for a year. No, they are NOT that bad. They are great for wreck diving ... great mobility with little effort. And when I want to get up some speed, they also do the job well. I had no problem adapting my kick to the flutter style as the company recommends. It's pretty much the same kick you do in freestyle swimming which I am very good at. Now, I can't compare to every other type of fin out there because I haven't used a large variety. I'm not saying they are better than any other fin, but I think they are up there in the top 20%. Certainly they do not deserve the bad rap they've gotten on divers forums. I've been skin diving since I was 12, started scuba diving at age 20 and now I'm 47 ... probably only on my 9th or 10th pair of fins. I read all the negative posts on force fins before I bought mine, and still ended up buying them because, the physics/science behind the design of this fin made good sense to me .... I am an engineer and analize everything to death. After using them for a year, I can tell you, they work exactly as advertised if you use the recommended flutter kick, which by the way, is a much more comfortable and less energy draining kick than the traditional scuba style kick which so many divers have been brainwashed to think is the only proper way to kick. This is also my very first post on "THIS" board, so I'll probably get slammed for not agreeing with the masses, but I don't care, if that's what keeps them entertained. My post is a non-biased opinion based on personal experience. The cost of the fins was not an issue for me and if I didn't like them, I would simply buy another pair, until I found a pair that I really liked. Fortunately, I hit bingo with the force fins.

 

[Boogie711]

Now, I can't compare to every other type of fin out there because I haven't used a large variety. .
.
...probably only on my 9th or 10th pair of fins...
.
...My post is a non-biased opinion based on personal experience.

So enlighten us - what experience would that be? Would it be the experience you admit you don't have?

Well, thank you very much for weighing in with your well thought out and rationale 'non biased opinion.'

 

[cloud9]

So enlighten us - what experience would that be? :

Well, Living in Florida, I dive approx 20 days per year. So I've got approx 20x2=40 dives with my force fins, which I think is way more than enough to develop a credible opinion on the pros/cons of my fins for the type of diving I do, wreck diving. Other diving experience was previously stated, so I don't know where you're coming from. From your previous posts, it sounds like you barely even clocked an hour on them, and probably weren't using the "proper technique" in your kick, as recommended by the force fin company ... that's if you really even tried them at all.

Well, thank you very much for weighing in with your well thought out and rationale 'non biased opinion.'

Your welcome 711. After reading the narrow minded opinions you have posted on this subject, I felt more compelled to post my opinion from real experience with the force fins.

 

[nyresq]

Hunh? Cousteau gave us the basic technology. For the most part the military gets everything from the lowest bidder, as I understand it.

well, you don't understand it.... spec ops teams like the SEALs and SF aren't held to the same restrictions and don't have to go with the lowest bidder, and very seldom do.
Speaking from first hand knowledge, the special operation community is where most of the high tech diving gear has come from.
As for the more standard types of gear, the military writes a specification that the manufacturer must meet. Some times this can be done with an existing piece of equipment, but most times it requires an engineer to redesign an item to meet a more stringent standard than what the public requires. This in turn, eventually filters down to the public domain.
Do you think anyone in the public sector would be using a self-contained rebreather system today if the military wasn't using them 30 years ago? I doubt it very much.
And if the military were to always use the lowest bidder for everything our national defense budjet would be half the size.

$160 for a toilet seat? $270 for a hammer? yea lowest bidder... right

 

[Boogie711]

Well, Living in Florida, I dive approx 20 days per year. So I've got approx 20x2=40 dives with my force fins, which I think is way more than enough to develop a credible opinion on the pros/cons of my fins for the type of diving I do, wreck diving. Other diving experience was previously stated, so I don't know where you're coming from. From your previous posts, it sounds like you barely even clocked an hour on them, and probably weren't using the "proper technique" in your kick, as recommended by the force fin company ... that's if you really even tried them at all.

Your welcome 711. After reading the narrow minded opinions you have posted on this subject, I felt more compelled to post my opinion from real experience with the force fins.

LOL - Dude - go read your post. You basically said "I don't really know what I'm talking about because I don't dive a lot, and I haven't owned a lot of fins, but I like Force Fins so I'm going to say they're the cat's pyjamas."

But hey - if you want to take your 40 dives a year(!) and consider yourself a Force Fins expert, you go right on ahead and knock yourself out. Just don't expect any of us to swallow the hook you're trying to feed us.