Fold up fins, so you can easily walk into the water

[RJP]

Thanks Dave. Pretty clear pics and they look like the clip is holding fine.

So now we have the RJP one man smear campaign for the Flip Fins. We get the fact you don't like them EVEN though you have never tried them! In the immortal words of Sergeant Hulka: "Lighten up Francis". Damn, such a well thought out, nay, extremopinion on gear that you probably haven't held in your hands and have admittedly never dove with. Next you'll compare it to purge valves or those silly long hoses.

It's great to have an opinion. It's not good to have a closed mind. It's funny though to have a closed mind and be proud of it! Well... funny for us anyway!

In the immortal words of Shakespeare "Me thinks thou doth protest too much!"

How come you're not as quick to condemn anyone who "smears" AquaLung's marketing practices? I guess if Omega didn't buy into your whole "800lb gorilla" bit and genuflect at the altar of ScubaBoard you'd be OK with a "smear" campaign?

A smear campaign would be spreading false information about the product. I've done nothing but state my own opinion on the appeal of the product and quote from the manufacturers own marketing materials.

Don't go too crazy Pete! Remember that if sharing of opinions on ScubaBoard was limited only to products that posters had experience with - or only held positive opinions of - you'd have run out of content years ago.

 

[The Chairman]

In the immortal words of Shakespeare "Me thinks thou doth protest too much!"

How come you're not as quick to condemn anyone who "smears" AquaLung's marketing practices? I guess if Omega didn't buy into your whole "800lb gorilla" bit and genuflect at the altar of ScubaBoard you'd be OK with a "smear" campaign?

I guess you don't sell them so your position is just as flawed. Please... you're the one who is obsessing over this. I am merely pointing out your obsession!

We have cleaned up crap (mostly hearsay like this) aimed at most every manufacturer (including Aqualung) and even some LDSes, Charters and resorts. MOST of these don't advertise with us and probably never will. It's just good for our posters to realize a few things as they read your words:

1. You have NO TIME with the product.
2. You have NO DESIRE to fairly test the product.
3. You are obsessing over something you never want to dive with.

I don't aim to divine your motives for this. I only want to point out your apparent bias as you continue to try to smear them with vague insinuations and comparisons to fictional regs, failed sodas and whatever else you can imagine. You are a marketing man IN REVERSE. Fortunately, your uninformed opinions are far out weighed by those who have actually dove with them. On top of that, you are creating a certain amount of buzz which will only help them out in the long run. I am certain that the Flip Fin people appreciate that from you!

If I were to be as HEINOUS as you suggest, I would merely censor your words out of the record. As it is, controversy is good for the Forum and ultimately great for the consumer and the manufacturer. Good job!

Probably your best next step would be to come up with a catchy name like "Hinged Fins of Death".

 

[Iceguy4]

The "greatness" of any idea lies in its ultimate execution. To say "the only potential bad part would be poor design" is rather disingenuous. And to suggest that any company is "unlikely" to to come out with a poor design merely becaus they have been around for a while need only look around to see legions of examples of this.

I will qualify my statements on the topic with the clarification that I have no experience with these fins. Further, I'll point out that absent being given a pair for free or loaned a pair it is quite certain I will not ever have any experience with them. I understand that this makes me closed minded, but when it comes to spending my money I prefer to keep my mind closed at least enough to prevent my brain from falling out.

Wow...I got to say for the first time I've come across a bigger jerk then myself Mr RJP!!!"A hal fassed solution in search of a problem" was your first post on this subject. Being given a pair for free...who do you think you are John chatterton, rich Koler???Why would someone give you a pair for free? Also I can't grasp your paper mache regulator statement... You admit you have no experiance with them but every post on this subject you posted has a negitive spin on it. The only thing you said that has a ring of truth to it was"I prefer to keep my mind closed at least enough to prevent my brain from falling out." but thats a double edged sword. It seems to be so closed as to not let anything in!!!
My reason for my interest is I would use them only for shore dives while metal detecting. In the past I have struggled with a mask, fins, metal detector, pinpointer, recovery tools, trash bag, treasure bag, dive flag, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. This combined with waves from the Minni Ha Ha makes for a hard start of what I get a lot of enjoyment from.
I would never use these fins for a deep boat dive ao any deep dive for that matter.
As for the people who had something worth while I say thanks. Also if you go to scuba.com they are $229.95 and have a lifetime warrantee. (i hope i havent opened another can of worms by not buying from a LDS) INMHO these look like the DUI zip seals...well worth the money.
what do you think about that RJP???

 

[Teamcasa]

For those who have tried these fins, can you please provide any insight on the ability of this product to deliver on the following benefits, taken directly from the Omega website. I'd be particularly interested in numbers 11, 20, and 22.

No. 1 - Flipfins ARE the future of diving!
No. 2 - No more wasted time & energy!
No. 3 - Reduced stress, more fun!
No. 4 - NOT last to dive!
No. 5 - As intelligently designed as the rest of your pro dive gear!
No. 6 - Makes rescue and military operations safer and more efficient!
No. 7 - Slippery rocks...no problem!
No. 8 - Trainers love working in them!
No. 9 - Become more stable and less clumsy!
No. 10 - No more dropped gear when handling fins!
No. 11 - They make you look cool and confident!
No. 12 - No more drifting when removing your fins!
No. 13 - Walk from the car fully geared up right into the water!
No. 14 - No more tripping over your fins!
No. 15 - No more inhaling diesel fumes while waiting to climb the ladder!
No. 16 - More stability at the boat gate prior to jumping into the water!
No. 17 - No more struggling to squeeze in and out of fins in the water!
No. 18 - They put the fun back into diving!
No. 19 - Makes the start and finish of the dive a lot more relaxing!
No. 20 - Be first to the food table after the dive!
No. 21 - Packs well in your suitcase!
No. 22 - Gets you noticed on the beach!
No. 23 - No more slamming shins into the boat ladder!
No. 24 - Alternate blades and styles will be available!
No. 25 - Made in the USA!

Oh and I love the "idiot" in the video who doesn't know how to put their fins on, not to mention the fact that the water is lake-calm and about 2" deep as far as the eye can see such that neither of the divers in the video need to have their fins on at the entry point anyway.

Lastly, I have to image that in a pounding surf that presenting the significantly greater surface area created by wearing the fins flipped up would create a problem of its own.

One more aside from a "marketing guy" to the folks at Omega - when you endeavor to come up with more that ONE compelling reason that the customer should buy your product, you're in trouble.

I’ve gone over the advantages I’ve experienced when I use them. I’ve also highlighted the items above that were important to me. (Mostly 3 & 18)
I did not do their marketing plan and as a marketing guy you should realize marketing’s job is to build awareness and excitement for a particular product. Keep in mind, marketing did not make the fin, they only promote it and many products succeed despite a flawed marketing plan. It’s short sighted to attack a product because a marketing plan.

BTW, The fin does work VERY well in the surf, significantly easier than a traditional blade.

 

[RJP]

Being given a pair for free...who do you think you are John chatterton, rich Koler??? Why would someone give you a pair for free?

To be clear, I don't think I should be given a pair for free. I'm simply stating the fact that since the fins don't offer me any advantage I won't buy them. So even though everyone here seems to want me to try them, that's just not a possibility. Apparently my unwillingness to buy a product that provides me with no apparent benefit renders my opinion invalid. So be it.

 

[Iceguy4]

To be clear, I don't think I should be given a pair for free. I'm simply stating the fact that since the fins don't offer me any advantage I won't buy them. So even though everyone here seems to want me to try them, that's just not a possibility. Apparently my unwillingness to buy a product that provides me with no apparent benefit renders my opinion invalid. So be it.

I think even you would agree that you added nothing to this thread except needless negitivity. Why???

 

[Gombessa]

Well, this was certainly fun while it lasted...

 

[RJP]

It's just good for our posters to realize a few things as they read your words:

1. You have NO TIME with the product.
2. You have NO DESIRE to fairly test the product.
3. You are obsessing over something you never want to dive with.

Now who's smearing?

1.) I've stated repeatedly I have no experience with the product.
2.) I've never stated I have no desire to fairly test the product. I would happily do so, but I can't see how that can happen if that would require me to buy a pair. If there's a Demo Day here in NJ this year I'll gladly attend.

Fortunately, your uninformed opinions are far out weighed by those who have actually dove with them.

Well, without going back through this thread I can't seem to recall more than one or maybe two folks here who have actually dove with them. A quick peek into the Omega Aquatics sub-forum failed to turn up any evidence of legions of people with experience with them. So if "one other guy" is considered "far outweighs" I'll need to go to school with my 10-yr old tomorrow for some more math education.

So Pete, judging by the fact that your comments on these fins "as a concept" and the lack of any post of yours citing your own personal experience with them, am I correct in assuming that you have as much experience diving these fins as I do at this point? If not, what has your specific experience been with the product. Close-minded Luddites want to know!

 

[RJP]

I think even you would agree that you added nothing to this thread except needless negitivity. Why???

Are you kidding? This thread is now 10x longer than it was when I chimed in!

 

[Teamcasa]

Are you kidding? This thread is now 10x longer than it was when I chimed in!

I agree!

BTW, If you ever make it back out to Avalon, let me know and you can give the fins a try.