Just Say No to Force Fins.

[fuggler]

Those are Extra Force Fins with Speed Pods. Sort of like adding a turbocharger to a 12 cylinder 5.0 Liter McLaren.

So how much are these fins going to be?

 

[danvolker]

So how much are these fins going to be?

If you were a runner, would you want to be one legged to save money on the cost of running shoes?

The real question is which Force Fin is best suited to your fitness level and style of diving. If you can be THE BEST, THAT YOU CAN BE, then you need to be. As a diver, propulsion is enormously important. It is not so much about how fast you normally swim....it is how easy it is for you to get around, how well you can deal with any and all currents and conditions, how well you can handle emergencies, and how well you can relax, and glide, and get around with a resting heart rate.
Bob has figured out how to make fins that get these jobs done better than any other fin maker.....When you get to demo some models of Force fins, you will suddenly see how pathetic the brands like Mares or Scubapro or the other major brands really are.....As to price, getting the BEST fins is a choice which is much more important than which BC, or which regulator, or which computer. If you would consider paying $600 or more on a BC or a computer, then the cost of Force Fins is not even a concern for you. The differences between these other types of gear are not nearly as significant.

 

[fuggler]

The real question is which Force Fin is best suited to your fitness level and style of diving. If you can be THE BEST, THAT YOU CAN BE, then you need to be. As a diver, propulsion is enormously important.

I agree. Just wondering. I spent $180 on my force fin pros 6 years ago when I first got certified. They're kinda like a high school sweetheart; been with them since day 1 but now I'm looking to see what else is out there lol. I've been able to do specialty kicks in them with enough precision, but they were too soft in currents. In places like Komodo and Galapagos where the currents can get pretty strong and dive guides force you to swim against them, I had no chance and always fell behind the group. I recently bought a drysuit (for local diving in northern CA) and my boots are going to be too big for my force fin pros, so I've been shopping for new fins.

I tried on jet fins yesterday in the pool with my new drysuit and as soon as I put them on, I thought - holy crap these are heavy. It made me value the comfort that my force fins give me. I don't know if I can deal with the traditional foot pocket type fins.

 

[danvolker]

I agree. Just wondering. I spent $180 on my force fin pros 6 years ago when I first got certified. They're kinda like a high school sweetheart; been with them since day 1 but now I'm looking to see what else is out there lol. I've been able to do specialty kicks in them with enough precision, but they were too soft in currents. In places like Komodo and Galapagos where the currents can get pretty strong and dive guides force you to swim against them, I had no chance and always fell behind the group. I recently bought a drysuit (for local diving in northern CA) and my boots are going to be too big for my force fin pros, so I've been shopping for new fins.

I tried on jet fins yesterday in the pool with my new drysuit and as soon as I put them on, I thought - holy crap these are heavy. It made me value the comfort that my force fins give me. I don't know if I can deal with the traditional foot pocket type fins.

I did GUE fundamentals with Jets and with my DiveR freedive fins.....I ended up needing to use the Jets rather than the freediving fins, for hour after hour of reverse kick and hovering type practice....freedive fins get to be a pain for that...
Bottom line, Jets get picked by some tech divers, and many cave divers, because when you frog kick with them, they are a big solid blade that actually pushes you well for each frog kick cycle....and they have a large and accurate control surface for technical skills like what you want for hovering motionless for long periods of time, or for ease in reverse kicking.

However, Extra Force Fins, or excellerating force fins with whiskers, will blow away the relatively low tech Jet fins for advanced skills....and for a high current and fast paced flutter kick, or modified flutter kick for a narrow but silty area, or dolphin kick, or reverse kick, the Extra Force or Excellerating Force are far superior to the Jets....not even a contest....For pure frog kick, like along a cave bottom with lots of silt...or along a place like the muck bottom of the Blue Heron Bridge Marine Park...if you are going to Frog kick and RACE as fast as you can possibly Frog kick...the Jets are a bigger blade, and the slightly larger push per cycle can allow a racing frog kicker to go faster in jets--by a little bit..but a race is a race ..... However, modified flutter using the FF's would be faster in the 2 models of FF's I am discussing, than the jets, and equally non-silting....and full speed flutter in these Force fins would leave your evil twin wearing Jets so far behind you that after 3 or four minutes, you would probably be far out of sight. And, unlike with the jets, with the Force Fin models we are discussing, your quads don't get full of lactic acid....these fins allow maximum thrust your body is capable of sustaining, and they allow you to cycle power more like with gearing on a race bicycle....you can sustain very high speeds for a very long time. I can pretty much guarantee that with Extra Force Fins I could leave the DM's in Komodo or Galopogos so far behind in their currents, that they could not consider me in the same group dive with them....Part of this is the amazing technology of these fins, part of this is that I can do a sub hour 25 mile time trial on a race bicycle, or sprint to 35 mph.....Cycling power translates extremely well to Force Fins and to Freediving fin propulsion. ( also, unlike most racing cyclists, I concentrate on what we call "ankling" ....full range of motion in the pedal stroke, to better mimic the needs in diving--near the top of the pedal stoke my toes are pointing up, at the bottom of the pedal stroke toes are maximally pointed down).
Your above ground training really can become a large component of your favorite u/w sport

 

[justadyver]

so when will you have demo days in the local quarries and lakes in PA and Ohio to try the fins??

 

[danvolker]

Here in Palm Beach, its easy..We have a nice population of force fin wearing divers, so it is easy to visit the BHB Marine Park and try a pair, even without a shop involved--FF divers tend to like sharing the intel

I can only assume it will quickly become like this at the dive spots in range of Force Fins in the North East.....

If Bob can find a local quarry or Lake that could work like our BHB, that would be great for the exposure he can be involved with as well.

 

[tridacna]

Greetings from Bonaire!

 

[cnherrick]

Should have moved to Texas ... along with everyone else.

---------- Post added March 10th, 2015 at 04:23 PM ----------

Here you go:
Force Fin Prices

So how much are these fins going to be?

 

[danvolker]

The Extra Force or Excellerating Force appear pricey....until you look at how many people have spent $800 for a bp/wing or BC, or a Computer, or $1000 for a reg that really does little a $300 dollar reg wont do....
Fins can compensate for a poor BC...buy a poor set of floppy fins and no matter how good the BC is, you cant get around well.
You don't even really need a computer--just a watch and depth gauge.

Dive Shops have been telling divers to spend the big money on gear that has questionable benefits, while they push $100 and $200 fins as ideal--when these are bottom of the barrel, and have a huge impact on how everything else will work underwater.

Sorry, I have been ranting about fins for over 2 DECADES now....I love to show people this first hand, with demos.....
In snow skiing, you don't find such a gullible mass market--most good snow skiers DEMAND to demo new skis before they would consider purchase...we need this even more with scuba fins.....with fins, your life could depend on them--this is unlikely in skiing

 

[Bob Evans]

Dan, another fin testing group called us yesterday /...so this message goes to my friend in the U.K./////> Mr. Mark Evans, of Sport Diver Magazine. Please do not use our Trade Mark Name " Force Fin " or any other trade Marks of Bob Evans Designs Inc. WE have no interest in being part of any testing, and our products are not for sale at this time. This is a Legal Notice, Posted onto Scuba Board 3/13/2015.