Excellerating Force Fins vs. Extra Force Fin

[hongrace]

A quick check on Bob's Force Fin website shows the Excellerating Force Fin is now available but without the whiskers. How useful will it be without the whiskers? I thought the whiskers are essential to the functionality of these fins.

 

[danvolker]

A quick check on Bob's Force Fin website shows the Excellerating Force Fin is now available but without the whiskers. How useful will it be without the whiskers? I thought the whiskers are essential to the functionality of these fins.

For me, the whiskers were a big deal....I liked the fin fairly well without....but when I got the whiskers added, on situations where you need to go fast, the whiskers "channel" the water flow along the blade--an effect like adding another foot of length to the blade....so for me a big deal
At slow speeds you don't know they are there.

 

[KevWind]

Ok found this after having my posts and replies deleted in a thread about wet suite vs dry suit which is fine because it was OT

So here goes and lets see If I have this straight.. If I understand the physics
In general for the flutter or modified flutter kick the V profile shape type force fins are the most efficient. providing less resistance ( albeit somewhat less propulsion ) on the upkick... but maximizing propulsion on the down kick Yes ? And also maximizing over all economy of energy vs motion.
However the V shape would logically not be the best for frog kick which is the same movement (except horizontal) as the upkick in flutter yes? But would be good in back kick which again is the same movement as down kick in flutter

The Excellerating Force fin is flatter in profile so more efficient at frog kick (if a bit less so in flutter) and perhaps a bit better (because of more stiffness) in precise slow maneuvering and as good or almost as good for back kick?

So for recreational diving warm water (tropics) fly in destinations. with the length being something that can be put in a 22 inch carry on, Primary interest being photography, with with fine maneuvering, some motionless and back up kick very important for close and macro work and the ability to accelerate fairly well when shooting larger fish but also efficiency of energy for typical dive logistics. Also personally I am just as happy doing the modified flutter or the frog kick.
It seem as if the Excellerating Force is likely the best choice Yes?

 

[danvolker]

Ok found this after having my posts and replies deleted in a thread about wet suite vs dry suit which is fine because it was OT

So here goes and lets see If I have this straight.. If I understand the physics
In general for the flutter or modified flutter kick the V profile shape type force fins are the most efficient. providing less resistance ( albeit somewhat less propulsion ) on the upkick... but maximizing propulsion on the down kick Yes ? And also maximizing over all economy of energy vs motion.
However the V shape would logically not be the best for frog kick which is the same movement (except horizontal) as the upkick in flutter yes? But would be good in back kick which again is the same movement as down kick in flutter

The Excellerating Force fin is flatter in profile so more efficient at frog kick (if a bit less so in flutter) and perhaps a bit better (because of more stiffness) in precise slow maneuvering and as good or almost as good for back kick?

So for recreational diving warm water (tropics) fly in destinations. with the length being something that can be put in a 22 inch carry on, Primary interest being photography, with with fine maneuvering, some motionless and back up kick very important for close and macro work and the ability to accelerate fairly well when shooting larger fish but also efficiency of energy for typical dive logistics. Also personally I am just as happy doing the modified flutter or the frog kick.
It seem as if the Excellerating Force is likely the best choice Yes?

The Excellerating Force Fin, or the Extra Force, are excellent for Frog kick because they have such precision control charicteristics....if the diver would NEVER flutter kick, then the design of these fins would likely be somewhat altered, to maximize the push phase of the frog kick even more....but the amount lost to the current design is negligible, and as I am very big on how fast I can go with any fin, this would be an issue of contention for me if it was "slow" for frog kick--which it is not. The Helicopter and reverse kicks are far superior to what you can do with jets.

When you want to flutter kick with the excellerating Force Fins, they are very precise at any speed, and very efficient going slow, or going extremely fast. The whiskers on the Excelerating Force Fin ( or Extra Force), do little at slow cruising speeds beyond looking silly....however, when/if you need to go fast, the larger kick stroke with faster kick, drives a much large amount of water--channels it through the whiskers, and effectively makes the fin push you more like one much longer like a freedive fin....

So while I initially scoffed at the whiskers, after using them I was shocked at how effective they were.

 

[KevWind]

The Excellerating Force Fin, or the Extra Force, are excellent for Frog kick because they have such precision control charicteristics....if the diver would NEVER flutter kick, then the design of these fins would likely be somewhat altered, to maximize the push phase of the frog kick even more....but the amount lost to the current design is negligible, and as I am very bit on how fast I can go with any fin, this would be an issue of contention for me if it was "slow" for frog kick--which it is not. The Helicopter and reverse kicks are far superior to what you can do with jets.

When you want to flutter kick with the excellerating Force Fins, they are very precise at any speed, and very efficient going slow, or going extremely fast. The whiskers on the Excelerating Force Fin ( or Extra Force), do little at slow cruising speeds beyond looking silly....however, when/if you need to go fast, the larger kick stroke with faster kick, drives a much large amount of water--channels it through the whiskers, and effectively makes the fin push you more like one much longer like a freedive fin....

So while I initially scoffed at the whiskers, after using them I was shocked at how effective they were.

Hey thanks. I expect the Excellarators will be my choice, if I decide to go this route. 2 questions, If you know or perhaps Bob Evens can answer this . But if I am reading the web sight correctly the Excellerating model is just ove 18 inches in length yes? and it looks like they are currently available but with out the whiskers can these be user installed at a later date. Sorry for the repeated questions but it is a fair amount money to end up not being quite right for my purposes Thanks again Kev

 

[danvolker]

The length is easy to pack....the whiskers can be easily added later, and adding them requires no skills whatsoever