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

[Coalcracker]

As a marketing professional I'll defer to the marketplace to determine whether the product is a good idea.

If you want to walk up a steep beach or steps, just take off your fins. Hinges work for doors not fins.

A nice gimmick and some seem to like them. These fins have been on the scuba market for a few years. It does look as if the market has already spoken.

 

[Teamcasa]

Here are some close-up shots of the locking mechanism.
This set of fins has some 40+ dives on them.

If you only see the RED X, refresh or right click the X and select Show Picture.

 

[Iceguy4]

thaanks

 

[Teamcasa]

You blame other people from critising an item without testing it... and now you do the same by stating that for everybody who does alot of shore entries this is a must.

I'll give you my solution to your problem. Springstraps.

I do about 80 shore dives a year... this means crawling down slippery walls to the water. I need foot flexibility to do this. I don't believe your fins will provide this.

Next to that if you use springstraps putting on fins takes not even 5 secs a fin in water.

You are quite right. These fins are not for everybody and are not perfect for every dive location.

Springs do make don and doffing fins much easier but here in SoCal, entries and exits are sometimes very difficult. Beach/surf entries can sometimes make crybabies out of even the best of divers. Being tossed around in the washing machine that is our surf more than once, I can tell you that springs do help but having the ability to release the fin without having to lean over is a huge advantage.

Also, the exits at the dive park I frequent the most, at low tide, some strong surge plus trying not to smash up your video gear all the while avoiding other divers, is difficult at best, however, these fins make the exit a cinch.

These are just my opinions.

 

[treasurehunter]

Dave, thanks for the pics

i see now from the pics that down stroking the fin does not pose a problem for the snap to come loose because the boot has wings on the side upon where the fin rests while down stroking or frog kicking and the up stroke is not where i put the power anyway. So the design is well enough thought out imho. I will probably consider them if price is decently affordable.

 

[RJP]

Phrases like "a solution in search of a problem" lose all credibility when you have not even tried them.

Think you always need to try a product in order to actually determine that it is a bad idea?

If I do not have the problem that the product proposes to solve, by definition I will be dissatisfied with it*. I would be an idiot to lay out money for a product that solves a problem I don't have. The assumption that enough people would behave that irrationally is the basis for the vast majority of marketing failures in history.

"Absence of a feature" from the marketplace should not be confused with "an unmet need."

*According to Harvard's Theodore Levitt, the godfather of marketing and positioning.

 

[Teamcasa]

.. I would be an idiot to lay out money for a product that solves a problem I don't have.

It was a problem and the fins were a perfect solution to it. If I only dove while on vacation in places like Hawaii, the Caribbean or where boat dives or live aboards were the predominate option, I may not need them either. But for me, using them where I dive the fins have proven to be a great advantage.

 

[RJP]

It was a problem and the fins were a perfect solution to it.

I was probably a bit short-sighted in my assertion that the problem does not exist at all.

I will admit that there is a limited niche for this product, though having dived Casino Point myself and having just completed a week of 30+ shore dives I'm still not convinced that the benefit is tremendous. For folks that dive in conditions that do, I'm glad to hear there's finally a product that allows you to address this problem.

 

[RJP]

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.

 

[The Chairman]

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, extreme opinion 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!