Force Fins, are they worth that much?

[holdingmybreath]

I am Currently going through Dive Master Class through PADI, & part of the qualification to pass is you have to do a 800 Yard swim in roughly 17min to pass & roughly 12min to get a 5 which is like an A. Wearing mask, fins, & snorkel, only using your legs & head in the face down. Right now I can do it in 13min wearing my force fins, & am working towards the 12min 30 second mark. With my Oceanic V-Drive fins out of the gate my time looks really good but as I go on, my pace slows so that I end up at about the same time, & my muscles are killing me especially my ankles & calves. So at the end where my force fins I felt like I got a good workout, with my V-Drives I feel like I pushed myself to the limit.

You need to get yourself some good freediving fins.. that'll cut your time right down, and they are sooooooo efficient.

 

[divetahoe]

I've had great results with the original FF in warm water. Though with a drysuit, they have a hard time providing me enough propulsion. Cramps are a result of a deficiency of potassium and calcium. Eat bananas and drink milk!

 

[mempilot]

Cheap solution to cramping:

water, potasium and stretching

 

[DiveMaster176493]

scubapro twin jet is the best and worth all the money.

i am 47 years and in good shape. my first pair of fins were dacor dont remember brand large translucent green finns cost 110. dacors were light and strong and provided a good thrust. however no matter how i kicked i was always 30 - 50 feet behind my instructor by the end of the dive.

i got tired of being left in the dust by a women of 65 years who barely made a visable effort to kick.

twinn jet is like wearing nothing at all, no resistance means no cramping.
scubapro means they will last forever.

got mine off ebay for 115

 

[Jim Ernst]

I have been looking at purchasing the Force Fin Excellerating ( the ones with wings) they look great and the reviews are fantastic, all except for the price. I regulary get calf cramps during dives ( the pain usually lasts for 2-3 days afterwards) and am this year going divemastering in turkey so was looking at these to prevent the pain! Does anyone know about these and if they are recommended, where to buy them from.
Cheers

i dont know about the fins, but my question is this, for your calf pains have you ever considered quinine sulfate as this is a must for me as i was severly crused in a car accident and have nerve damage to my right leg that causes pain and cramps consistantly in that leg while diving and the quinine stops all of that from happening, easy to get from your DR, with out this i would have sever cramps in that calf that truley turn my leg black and blue, just food for thought!!!

 

[dive2deep]

I've been diving a pair of the Pro Force Fins for about 6 years, and they are awesome. You can actually move on the boat deck walking forward in them, and also get up a dive ladder without taking em off. It takes a little getting used to them, it took me about 5 dives, but after that I loved them.

On the other hand they are horrible for surface swimming especially if you wanna snorkel while on a surface interval.

 

[kidspot]

In my OW course one of the DM's wore FF's - the instructor wore SP Jets. They both teased each other back and forth about their fins, but they also commented on how good the other was as a diver frequently (mutual respect as well as "ribbing") - so what works works... for what it's worth - it took about 2-4 weeks for my legs to get adusted to using Jets instead of the soft/flexible fins I had been using - it's what works for me ... I hope you get the chance to try out some FF's and see how they work for you (hopefully before buying since they are quite costly)

 

[stoiclown]

If it helps when you watch recent documentries about Navy Divers, & Seals you will see a lot of them using Force Fins.

 

[Whitelightnin]

I have 2 pair of Force Fins. Both are the original models. Both of my kids also use Force Fins. Concerning the fins, you either LOVE them or you HATE them. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground. I find that they are VERY easy kicking & a lot of people who try them don't "feel" like they are getting anywhere with them. Problem is that they don't have anything to compare them to except "feel". I have to be sure to SLOW DOWN when I am diving with someone who is not using them.

You can do fairly well doing a frog kick although they are not made for it.

James