My first pool dive with the Omega Flip Fins

[Ber Rabbit]

The background:
I did not need these fins, I had seen them once at Catalina Island and heard of them but I was not fin shopping, I don't even read posts about them...I was completely clueless. Then along comes Dive Right In Scuba announcing a sale on the Omega Flip Fins. This bunny has issues resisting a deal even when it's on something she doesn't want or need. Our furry hero hits the internet and finds similar pricing at LeisurePro and higher prices elswhere--much higher--which sets the bunny credit card finger to twitching. Next is the rationalization, you can almost SEE it happening in the sale thread. Dive Right In Scuba promises dinner and the hook is set, bunny pulls the credit card trigger and the fins are on their way.

The receipt of goods:
The fins arrive in a timely manner but the bunny wonders if the seller knows the new Postal Priority Mail price structure is designed to be less expensive than FedEx and UPS. Our furry hero is pre-disposed to random thoughts...

Unpacking the box the first thing bunny notices is the gigantic fin bag, "Wow that's huge! How big are these flipping fins?" :11: The fins turn out to be just a tad shorter than the ones they were purchased to replace, that's a good thing. It takes a minute to locate the spring straps but they are included as promised and bunny installs them. Bunny isn't strong enough to "flip" the fins by hand, besides that has "pinched finger" written all over it, but smacking them with a heel while wearing them works well. They feel a little weird because they kind of rest against your knees and they look like a giant pair of soccer shin guards in the up position which appeals to the true dorks of the world. Bunny gets a snicker from the "Fins pointing up, ears pointing down" visual

Pool Day:
Dork bunny heads off to teach her OW class and brings along her clunkiest pair of wetsuit booties to take up as much room as possible in the XL foot pockets. The fins are still loose but the drysuit boots may take up some of the additional room, they are HUGE. The spring straps are loose as well, they barely touch the wetsuit booties but again the drysuit trial will be the final fitting test for these.

Walking was a little awkward at first, it's a bit like walking in ski boots but without that "downhill lean". Stepping carefully to avoid tripping and falling on her face our furry hero wanders into the pool area where the students are assembling their gear. Everybody stops to stare "Clomp, clomp, clomp" goes the bunny toward the students who want to see how the fins work. A step on the tip of the fin locks them in place and a whack of the mechanism with a heel releases them. Pretty easy on land...lets test them in the water without gear.

The bunny giant strides into the pool with the fins in the "up" position. Supposedly, according to the instructions (which bunnies always read) you should be able to give a powerful kick and click the fins into place. Bunny kicks...and kicks and kicks and the fins don't lock into place. Determination sets in and the wallowing and thrashing starts. The students ask if the bunny is ok because the fight is on and the fins appear to be winning and bunny isn't wearing so much as a mask in the deep end of the pool. Our hero is wishing for scuba gear right about now because the fins ARE winning and she's afraid she'll drown herself before she gets the fins into a locked position. Finally she gives one last thrust and one fin locks into place, bunny decides to give up the fight for now and get the students into the water. Climbing the ladder with the fins in the "up" position wasn't too bad but the fins smacked against the side of the pool on each step.

STAY TUNED FOR "ROUND 2"

 

[Rhone Man]

We like!

 

[Mudbug_CSD]

wow - they sound totally awesome... in a craptacular kind of way.

Please keep going - I've seen the ads and been curious why these existed. I think someone called them a solution looking for a problem once - are they even a solution?

 

[trucker girl]

edit: here are the pics

The fins...




Ber: Rabbit, Scuba Guru, or Goalie? You decide.

 

[ApexLongimanus]

entertaining post. itching for "round 2".

 

[diverdwn71]

Sounds like all you needed was a theam song with the words "here they come to wreck the day"

 

[Ber Rabbit]

DING!

It's time to get in the water with the students and our fearless bunny is going to try another "fin up" entry. It feels weird getting in with fins in that position but there's no interference with a giant stride. No catching your fin tips on the water either, an error students occasionally make--at least in the pool--that tends to send them face-planting into the water.

Another round of attempting the "kick to lock" maneuver ensues and even the advantage of being able to submerge without drowning doesn't help the hapless rabbit...maybe an instructional video would help our favorite dork bunny engage those locks with a kick. What feels like a locking fin is actually a lost fin as the thrashing frees one teeny bunny booty from the giant fin pocket and spring strap. "CRAP!" Rabbit sinks to the bottom, stands up and uses her free foot to press the remaining fin into the locked position then dolphin kick cruises to the other fin. One DM who had been asking how the fins felt was on the bottom so bunny cruises over to him and hands off the fins then surfaces finless to round up the students while the DM cruises with the new purchase.

The DM returns the fins saying they are wobbly on his boot. Bunny explains they are an XL and were purchased for use with the drysuit boots so they are going to be big on the wetsuit booties. That may be the reason they don't want to lock, too much slop in the fit with the wetsuit booties.

Fast Forward An Hour Or So:
It's playtime for the students and one wants to trade fins with his buddy who is wearing Twin Jets to see how they swim. Bunny forces student to try the flip fins first, she got a "virgin diver fin evaluation" idea hopping in her head. Student has only used one set of fins, a stiff bladed fin he bought from the rental stock of the local shop and he has only been using them for 8 class sessions. He's PERFECT for a Flip Fin/Twin Jet comparison and the evil bunny laughs wickedly and rubs her hands together in excitement The buddy pair spends a few minutes swapping the three pairs of fins (blades, flips and twins) then returns the flips to the bunny. More on what they had to say later...

The students complete one more set of exercises then return to playtime. Bunny decides to attempt the kick/lock once more, if nothing else our hero is determined to make it work. The fins are easy to release with a heel kick midwater but for some reason bunnies feel the need to do this move on their backs instead of face down...bunnies are a bit peculiar after all. The rollover to face down was easy enough and the kicking...err thrashing begins. A student stops the bunny points to the "problem" and starts to grab the fin to fix it not realizing the fins were in that position on purpose. Our hero gently shoos the student away and resumes kicking. The right fin clicks into place but the bunny's left leg lacks the coordination to do whatever move the right one had done to get that fin to lock...the left leg had been slow to learn to frog kick as well so this difficulty comes as no surprise...besides bunny has no clue how she moved the right leg to get the thing to lock. Playtime is almost up so the furry one resorts to stepping on the toe of the fin mid-water (toe meaning right in front of the foot pocket toe) and manages to lock the fin without too much squirming. It's a move that will require some practice before our clumsy bunny can do it smoothly so she decides the fins will be in the locked position for entries and swimming for a while.

The Exit:
According to the instructions the fins should flip up when you start walking or climbing a ladder...the bunny doesn't remember exactly how that part went. Sticking her fins into the pool ladder with it's small steps isn't doing the trick to unlock them so she calls it a night and slides them off to hang on her wrists for a traditional exit.

Here's The Wrap-Up:
The dork factor with these is major, I can fall in love with them just for the "Good grief it's got ears and what are those things on its feet" reaction. I can't wait to get these into the water with the drysuit to see how much of a difference the giant booties on the suit make. I might have to swap for smaller spring straps but I think the foot pockets will work.

Flutter kicking was easy, they have quite a bit of flex to them but aren't nearly as "mushy" as Twin Jets feel to me. I would say firmness is probably halfway between my size medium Jet fins and a set of Twin Jets. I like a firmer fin but can probably get used to these.

Frog kicking. They felt weird on a frog kick, there's fin feedback that feels like the fin is twisting some bizarre way. It's hard to tell if it's actually something the blade is doing or just the fact the fin pocket was too big for my wetsuit booties. I could get some serious glide with each kick even with the funny torque feeling, I enjoyed that.

Ease of operation. Well I'm clearly not the most coordinated person on the planet and a video demonstrating exactly what kind of kick you use to lock these would be really helpful. I know, I know "Who needs an instructional video for FIN operation?"...Me LOL! I'm sure this is going to get better but the whole pool session was hilarious so I had to share. Most of my new gear experiences turn out like this...eventually someone will get a clue and start taking video of me the first time I use anything. You could probably win some cash on America's Funniest Videos...after all I AM the person who got stuck in a sweatshirt once trying to take it off.

They definitely merit some more time in the water for a better feel of what they can and can't do. The "flip" feature will actually be handy for me for exiting, if you've ever seen me try to remove a pair of fins from my drysuit you would understand why. It's a wrestling match, I even tried a friend's pair of Jets with spring straps once and darn near NEVER got those things off my drysuit booties. I have to unclip the fins I use now and that's usually a chore with the dry gloves because the fingers seem bigger than the button I have to press in on and my fingers don't go all the way to the end of the glove.

What the test students said:
Blade fin student: Likes the blades because he can feel them pushing against the water, the twins left him feeling like he wasn't going anywhere when he kicked. The flips were somewhere in the middle as far as stiffness went but still didn't feel like they were generating a lot of power because you couldn't feel a lot of pressure from the water.
Twin Jet student: Likes the twins, hates the blades because they are too stiff and feel like you're pushing the entire pool just to move. The flips weren't as easy to use as the twins but weren't as bad as the blades as far as kicking effort.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Great Review!! I think with the proper boot(drysuit) and another pool session, you will be good to go. As for getting out of the pool, you can stand on the bottom and step forward, which will unlock the fins(maybe a little more difficult with a loose boot in foot pocket), or with practice and floating, you can take a strong step down and it will unlock. Kicking one heel on your other will also force the unlock.

I really think the issue of them not snapping into place is due to the ill fitting boot, so I cant wait to hear how the drysuit reacts

Videos to help:
Omega Aquatics


Still waiting for dinner
UPS gives better rates than post office for those that send alot of packages ...except on International USPS dominates on price

 

[Steve_Dives]

A bystander perspective:

I got to see Ber in the fins before class. It's interesting seeing someone in business dress wearing dive booties and enormous yellow and black fins waddling around. The thought "I don't know what it is, but it has bigger ears on it's feet than it has on it's head" ran through my mind. I wonder if Ber's famed ear hood will develop a case of ear envy when used with the flip fins and seek ear augmentation. But then I'd be diving with Jar-Jar Binks (or Ja-Ja Binx?)...

I received an equal amount of enjoyment observing the soggy bunny in the pool. I did have to wonder if the convulsing spasm near the bottom of the pool was (1) really the skilled diver I know, and (2) in need of rescue.

I am looking forward to seeing the fins in action in open water. Will they result in a near drowning incident? Just be amusing seeing "ears at both ends"? Or will the trusty bunny try to unlock her fins by kicking my face or a more delicate area of my anatomy???

 

[D_B]

... "Bunny Bunny .. are you OK?"


Thank you Ber, you've got a knack for writing and amusement ;-)