Duck Feet and UDT reissue fins?

[Fossil_Diver]

Has anyone tried the reissued Duck Foot fins yet? I see them listed on the Target store website along with reissue UDT fins.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I see them also at Amazon, and Walmart. The brown and green, along with the black and the blue and green, Duck Feet fins appear to be the original AMF Voit Duck Feet. The red and yellow Duck Feet from Amazon appears to be a different fin, from a different mold. Maybe David Rickie Wilson has an idea of where it comes from.

SeaRat

 

[Fossil_Diver]

I would like to see them up close and in person to see if they are like the old type rubber compound or a stiff junky plastic before I order a pair. Would also like to try them on for fit too. I think I also saw the Skin Diver fins for sale somewhere. I had those when I was a kid and they were great fins for kids.
I think it's cool the retro stuff is making a comeback. We can probably thank the bodyboarders for bringing back the Duck Foot.

 

[David Wilson]

I totally agree with you about "junky plastic": I wouldn't wear a pair of fins with any "tupperware" in them. When I started in the early 1960s, plastic fins were considered to be children's toys, more for "let's pretend" than reality.

As for the history of Voit Duck Feet fins, you might find this SB thread of interest:
Duck feet
Living in the UK, I don't have personal experience of these fins, but I do note from the blade tips that they are made in Malaysia. When Voit was part of AMF, the company did outsource its fins to Malaysia, but I've found it hard to keep track of what they are doing now that they've upped and gone to Mexico. They probably sell more soccer balls these days than fins.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I would like to see them up close and in person to see if they are like the old type rubber compound or a stiff junky plastic before I order a pair. Would also like to try them on for fit too. I think I also saw the Skin Diver fins for sale somewhere. I had those when I was a kid and they were great fins for kids.
I think it's cool the retro stuff is making a comeback. We can probably thank the bodyboarders for bringing back the Duck Foot.

I'm pretty sure, looking at the ones I highlighted above, that they are rubber. But if you are worried, pick up these, which look to be from a Navy diver.
Mens UDT Duck Feet Navy Seal Diving Extreme Propulsion Fins Extra Large

SeaRat

 

[David Wilson]

I agree with John that the fins are most likely to be made of natural rubber, especially considering their Malaysian provenance.

You mentioned Voit's "Skin Diver" fins, which come up on eBay quite frequently:

 

[Mikeguyver]

I bought a pair of these VOIT UDT Duck Feet Fins for use in the Sea Hunt Forever dive back in March. They look great but were very stiff at first.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I bought a pair of these VOIT UDT Duck Feet Fins for use in the Sea Hunt Forever dive back in March. They look great but were very stiff at first.

The Duck Feet fins from Swimaster (before AMF Voit bought them out) had a straight-across top, whereas the Voit Duck Feet (different mold, as Swimaster destroyed the original molds, I've been told), had a contoured high foot pocket on top. Neither had any insole support, and would lead to cramps for extended swims. I wore them on all the swims we did in the U.S. Navy Underwater Swimmers School, including an underwater compass course swim of 1500 yards. The original Swimaster Duck Feet, which were my first fins in the early 1960s, could be worn upside-down for better insole support. I used them throughout my initial training in the USAF Pararescue. I never did like the AMF Voit version, because of the lack of that ability to wear them upside-down.






Here's the difference between the two models of the full-foot Duck Feet fins. Can you see the difference?

By the way, these fins were advertised initially as being made of "pure gum rubber."

SeaRat

 

[USdiver1]

I have both originals and the Malaysian reproductions. IMO, the originals are much softer and more pliable. They have more spring/snap when kicking than the new fins which are very stiff, (almost like strapping boards to your feet).

@SeaRat - I have full foot duck feet, the ones with the full length rib over the foot pocket. Used them at SeaHunt Forever with nylon socks on my feet. Best duck feet ever.

 

[Nemrod]

Has anyone tried the reissued Duck Foot fins yet? I see them listed on the Target store website along with reissue UDT fins.

I have some of the first reissue UDT Duck Feet and I love them. They are stiff, yeah, are you surprised? I used to dive with the gum rubber (amber collared) UDTs and those were softer. Duck Feet are not the same as the UDT Duck Feet. Not at all. The black UDTs to my knowledge have always been stiff as a two by four and longer.

MY reissue are most decidedly back gum rubber and smell like smoke, they are real, they are just like I remember. Even at that they are now older than most of the people on this board have been on.

I wish somebody, maybe, would make a new version using translucent polyurethane or opaque Monoprene but with a more modern pocket and posts for spring straps.

N