Stiffness of the extra force fin

[Frogman82]

I've recently purchased a pair of extra force fins in black polyurethane material with whiskers. Have used it about ten times, and I really like the fin but I have one problem- I have a hard time trying to flutter kick it.... It just feels like the fin itself is so stiff that I in a way wonder if I have too weak legs to use it. I saw that meesier wrote something about this fin being to much for some people, but I really think I have strong enough legs. Bottom line - what am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

 

[meesier42]

If they are in the Standard Material, they should be a 86 Shore A material, which should be much softer than the TanDelta's

The optimum kick for these fins is more of a 3 beat, and the kick is a little wider and slower than the Originals. You should think of them as if they were long blade freediving fins. A longer slow kick seems to work best. And as I call it a 3 beat kick, the first kick is kind of a ramp up to a full stroke and then a full stroke with each fin, then glide.

 

[Katamuki]

That almost sounds like the directions to a frog kick...

 

[meesier42]

its still a flutter kick, just a modified flutter in that its not constant, its 3 beats and glide, 3 beats and glide. its difficult to really describe, you just have to see it done. The length of the glide is based on who you are diving with, as you'll be waiting for them all day in those fins.

 

[Frogman82]

Ok, so longer and slower kicks is the key here... If I use a frog kick I have no problems at all, but I like to be able to change the kicking style.
They are made of the original amterial, btw.

 

[meesier42]

yup. as you get into those fins you'll start to feel them bite into the water. It dawned on me that I may not have described the why this 3 beat kick works better than a straight flutter so here goes.

As you may already know, Force Fins like to be kicked to their full potential, this means completely activating the blade it full flex point. With the Original Force Fin, this isn't too hard and a normal cruising speed is easy, the Pro you have to work a little harder into the Fin to get it to full flex but this will tire you more, but you get more speed, so a 3-5 beat hard kick cycle and glide works great. Then there is the Extra Force, this fin was designed to move very heavy loads at fairly high speed, so its very stiff. But, you still want to fully activate the blade to its full flex point. So by doing the 3 beat flutter that you should put some grunt into will allow your legs to relax between efforts. It really takes practice to perform this kick, with practice however you'll find it takes less thought and effort than a frog kick, but of course its no good in high silt environments.

 

[Frogman82]

Just came back from a test in a nearby pool where I've spent an hour just testing and playing with this fin and different whiskers settings. This really is a powerful fin, I tried the long and slow kick cycle and it worked out nice. It's amazing how you just have to kick a couple of times and how you actually shoot through the water. This fin is like night and day compared to a set of SP twin jets I also tried out, with those it felt like the fins working against you while the force fins felt so natural I hardly noticed they were there! I guess the more I dive with the extra's the more they will grow on me and the technique will improve as well. I doubt I'm going to dive any other fins than force fins in the future, they just feel so natural with the foot pocket design.

 

[Frogman82]

Arrived back on Wednesday from 5 days of wreck diving in Norway, and my extra force fins performed very well under all the different conditions we were diving. I had no problem swimming against moderate currents where some of my buddies got a hard time keeping up with me. This fin is a delight to use, no issues with tired feet - I just love this fin!

 

[Blair Mott]

Frogman82,
5 days of wreck diving sounds like a slice of heaven! You have tuned your fins and yourself into a great match! Here is diving a smart fin!