frog kicking with fins

[Bob Evans]

The list goes on,

 

[sibermike7]

but is it actually more efficient?

Wow Bob, you must be drooling! That was like throwing raw meat to a hungry wolf!

I loved your drawing of the typical flutter kick and the question about efficiency. You are getting there.
UNDOUBTEDLY, with a typical plastic board attached to your toes, a flutter kick is horribly inefficient. That is why Bob Evans invested 5 minutes (maybe slightly more time) RESEARCHING how to make a more efficient fin that would work with the human anatomy. He didn't try to make the human alter what he does BY NATURE, but rather he worked WITH nature to develop a fin that would be efficient with the most natural of leg movements.

Check it out yourself. Stand on one leg and with the other simply kick, bending at the knee in the process. Do you kick better starting with the knee cocked back and kicking forward, or do you kick better with a straight leg kicking backwards? With plastic board fins using a flutter kick the generated BACKWARDS.

Look at the typical plastic board and notice that the BEND or ANGLE of the fin is DOWN:

This fin is DESIGNED to PUSH water DOWN. Of course when you wear them underwater, they will be inverted and push water UP. Meaning the resistance to the water is being overcome by moving your leg backwards (anatomically speaking, i.e. towards your gluteus maximus!). TOTALLY against the NATURAL strength of your leg which generates more power FROM rear to FRONT.

Now look at a Force Fin. Here I am letting a visiting instructor try out one of my sets. He was blown away. This was the after the third dive, I believe. On the first he observed my fins. On the second, I had him try ONE while he used his plastic board on the other foot. Oh THAT was funny.

Notice how the Force Fins angle upwards? Where is the power going to come from. Man I have FUN using these things! Sometimes I act like I am pedaling a bicycle - they still work. Sometimes I use a straight let kick to work different muscles - they still work. Here's the thing. I have BAD knees. I mean, so bad that I had to STOP diving all together because the plastic boards that I was DRAGGING through the water pulled on my knees.

If you don't think that you drag your fins around, then why do you need and vendors sell these?

Them springs are big enough to choke a camel! WHY?? Because those plastic boards are HEAVY and it requires a lot of force to DRAG them around on your dive.

I dive ALL the time WITH NO STRAPS AT ALL!! Try that with your plastic boards!
I am an out of shape, fat, old man and if you have plastic boards, I am going to have to use about 1/3 to 1/4 the fin cycles that you do or I'll lose you on a dive.

So, in answer to your question. You want efficiency. You know where to find it! Force Fins.

 

[sibermike7]

so why are force fins so expensive?

Good question.

Here is a propeller that you can get from AliExpress, straight from China for UNDER $18, including shipping!

Yet, I know this idiot that paid over $10,000 for his propeller. He must been an idiot! Why would ANYONE, including those on the WASCAR circuit (see what I did there? I just made that up) pay more than $18 for a prop! Morons! Buffoons!

So just to check, I went to Leisure Pro to see the going rate for Jet Fins. $165 - $207. Force Fin Pros have been at the same price for, wow, a long time. $289. The difference is between $82-$124. OK, let's use the larger, $124. What do you get for $124? Practically an heirloom! These suckers are DURABLE!

Since I have been guiding here in Estonia (15 years), we have cycled through 3 sets of rental fins. Time to replace them again as they are breaking, etc. And our season here is pretty short! I still have, and let clients use, my first set of Force Fins that I bought USED off of eBay back in 2003! Still like new. They were from SoCalifornia where the sun EATS plastic boards for breakfast.

Why so expensive? They last!

Secondly, they are more efficient. I have a son that is 17 and is in really good shape. He is a DM trainee and actually works for a dive center. He boxes and plays basketball 3-4 times a week. In other words, he is in pretty decent shape. About 3 months ago we took a dive charter boat out of San Diego to dive the Yukon. I messed up and ended up leaving his Force Fins behind in Estonia. No big deal. He is a strong lad and he can get by using the rental fins. Hah!

The current was running pretty strong at 90'. He could hardly stay on the wreck. He got so exhausted that he literally got sick and had to stay on board for the next two dives of the 3 dive package ($189). Do the math. 2/3 of $189 is $126. We lost $126 IN JUST ONE INCIDENT because of lousy fins!

Additionally, ask yourself, what would you give for 10 extra minutes of air PER DIVE? That is what efficiency does. Any experienced diver knows that the more you dive, the more efficient you become, the less air you use, the longer you can dive.

Because my son couldn't dive, they broke up a three-some and gave me an insta-buddy. He was ready to surface on the next 2 dives a good 20 minutes BEFORE I WAS!!! Frustrating. So I too lost money because I didn't get what I paid for!

There is a reason that boat owners are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a propeller. The $18 Chinese ones don't cut it. Your fins are your propeller. Imagine a propeller that is so inefficient that the boat has to pull the propeller through the water!

There are 2 pieces of dive gear that demand quality: mask and fins. You have to be able to see, duh. But you also need to be able to move, and move efficiently. People pay stupid amounts of money for fancy BCDs. A cheap one is just fine, really. Any regulator off the shelf will work for the VAST majority of dives, yet you find morons paying through the nose to look cool. These same people balk at investing a few more dollars in one of only two indispensable pieces of dive gear. Makes no sense.

I don't know how Bob can sell them for so little!

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

OK. I'm game. I'll drink the kool aid and see what happens.

 

[sibermike7]

OK. I'm game. I'll drink the kool aid and see what happens.

Ah. Come on over, you can try mine for free and no, mine are NOT for sale!

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Ah. Come on over, you can try mine for free and no, mine are NOT for sale!

Googling Estonia now.

 

[sibermike7]

Googling Estonia now.

Google "Rummu Quarry"

 

[Bob Evans]

Thanks mike, at least everyone is having fun. Like the Gorilla in the room.

 

[sibermike7]

Thanks mike, at least everyone is having fun. Like the Gorilla in the room.

One of my favorite videos!! I can't tell you HOW many times I have heard, "Oh, having cramps?? Eat a banana!" Bananas have never been the same after I watched that video!
Thanks Bob!