TN Traveler
Contributor
Force Fin Comparison Test
First a little background on how this came about. My wife has always used split fins she has a pair of Apollo Bio-fins and a pair of TUSA Expert Zoom full foot fins. Before our trip to the BVIs, I got her a pair of Foil Force Fins, thinking that she could use them with comfort insteps without boots and without the inserts with her boots. So after using them for the trip she decided she did not like them, even after making the kick modifications I suggested. She said they were fine with a flutter kick, in fact, she likes the effortlessness of them, but she could not frog kick with them and felt they did not have enough acceleration.
Well, we got home and since we live on the lake and I am on an exercise routine to lose weight, I prefer to swim in the afternoons to get my exercise. Well, I decided to try her Foils, just to see if I agreed with her assessment. Well, it became apparent that using them while using a foam noodle for support would not work, since they continually were breaking the surface. So, I decided to put on my soft backplate and 18# wing (with just a touch of air in it), with a mask and snorkel, so I could keep my kick fully submerged. At first I used her fins while barefoot. I found that they did take some getting used to, they take a different kick amplitude and rate for maximum performance. There is a definite sweet spot to these fins where you get maximum benefit of this design. They definitely will not frog kick and getting them started is slow and if you kick too hard or too fast there is a performance drop-off.
So now my engineering/scientific background was aroused. I have a measured course that I swim which is approximately 65 yards, so I can time my swims. I also have a pair of TUSA Expert Zooms (full foot - from when I did a lot of snorkeling), a pair of Apollo Bio-fins, a pair of the Foil FFs in XXL and a pair of Hockey FFs. I decided to eliminate any testing of the Apollos just because of time limitations (plus Im not using them and hope to sell them). Over a 8 week period, I tested the 4 pairs of fins several times each, just to be sure my observations were consistent. I always did one lap with my bare feet first and then did a lap with the fins. On weekends, I would do this two times a day, several hours apart, using different fins. As a point of reference, it takes me about 4 min 15 seconds to make a round trip on the course (130 yards).
My observations:
Size L Foil FFs:
These fins cut my time down to 3 min. There is a sweet spot to these fins kick harder or faster and there is no benefit. The times were consistent. The kick rate was about 1/4th of what I used for bare feet.
Size XXL Foil FFs:
These fins had a little more acceleration and the times were consistently about 10-15 seconds faster than with the size L. I attribute that to the fact that they are almost 2 longer and about ¾ wider. Kick rate was the same as for the size L and again there is a definite sweet spot.
 
Hockey FFs (XXL):
Instant acceleration!!! You can kick these HARD and they keep going however, you can kick too fast and performance drops off. I could get my times down to under 2 min, but could really feel it in my upper legs. If you slow them down a little, they gave a time of about 2 min 20 sec, without feeling them too much and if you slowed them down to where they were comfortable, time went up to just above 3 min. These do a great frog kick, back kick, or any other kick you want to do. I compared these to doing a barefoot frog kick and times decreased by 1/3, with a much slower stroke and no strain on the leg.
TUSA Expert Zooms:
There are definitely quicker than the Foil FFs. They will perform a reasonable frog kick. Time wise they were similar to the Hockey FFs (when kicked at a comfortable rate) about 2 min, 20 sec. Kick rate was higher than with the Foil FFs but there was definitely a point where I could over power these either by kicking too hard or too fast.
After this testing I decided to do one more set of tests, to see how they performed over a longer swim of about 400 yards. This one I did not try without fins (I did not want to be out there all day and deal with the cramps
). Foil FFs:
Using these fins was like being the Energizer Bunny you just keep going and going and going . Times with both the Ls and XXLs were about 10 min. You just found the proper rhythm and kept going no fuss, no strain, no pain.
Hockey FFs:
Over this distance they were slower than the Foil FFs by over a minute. They got to feeling heavy and I had to slow down because of the strain they put on my legs. No sign of cramping but definitely fatiguing.
TUSA Expert Zooms:
These felt fine for about the first 200 yards but then they started to cause foot and lower leg cramps. Had to slow down to the point that they were slower than the Hockey FFs and on a couple of occasions I had to stop and stretch or massage out a cramp.
My conclusions:
For normal diving Ill stick with the Hockey FFs mainly because of their maneuverability I take pictures and videos and they are superior for positioning plus if I need a short burst of speed to get to something, they are great. I think that Bob is now making these in a softer compound that should help with the longer swims with minimum effect on the acceleration, but you need to ask him about that.
If I had a long distance to swim, then I would go with the Foil FFs they are strictly for flutter kicking, but they are almost effortless to use.
