if one can choose between two fins where one give you more speed in frog kick than the other, I believe it is a easy pick.
Speed at what cost?
You pay for speed; physical exertion, muscular stamina, oxygen metabolism.
More speed equals more water resistance equals more exertion needed.
Force Fins are very efficient, even in frog kick. They cruise effectively with significantly less effort. They won't blow your legs if/when you need to apply power.
Too many divers delude themselves over speed and power. They might have the fins for it, but they don't have the legs for it....not over any sort of meaningful duration.
Once in my old history I had the opportunity to spend months doing pool fitness training alongside SEALs and Australian SAS. I was fit back then... and I had the legs to use brute power fins.
(They are units which, incidentally, order and use Force Fins... alongside many SF/Spec OP's outfits... for the reason of efficiently delivered speed over distance).
Nowadays I "
just" dive every day... and even with that 'limited' stamina regime, I appreciate efficiency/economy of motion over brute power.
I appreciate functional, real-world capability over theoretical, fantasy capabilities.
Fantasy... that is... for those who don't water stamina train at
elite levels of fitness...
When someone regurgitates the old "
my fins have power to deal with high-flow/strong current" claim - simply ask them how many hours of high intensity in-water training they do per week to enable
their legs to deal with those situations.
6000+ dives in Force Fins all over the globe... real-world diving... ripping atoll currents, icy lakes, North Atlantic waves, tight wrecks, 6+ cylinders, CCR, sidemount and backmount ... you name it. I've never found them wanting...and they've always made it easier for me.
In my experience, it's best to have a very efficient / economical fin that can also produce a significant power spike when called upon.
Brute power fins are wishful thinking....the preserve of real-world athletes and hypothetical internet divers.
Advanced, experienced, divers don't pick Jet Fins primarily for power. Assuming sufficient power... they pick them because they're simple to maneuver in.
The flat, stiff, blade is the
easiest to learn control techniques with. I
don't deny that curved blades like Force Fins have a longer learning curve... especially so as the nuanced technique isn't readily demonstrated on YouTube et al..
However, taking longer to learn a nuanced technique is NOT the same as something being "impossible".
Thats why I personally choose Force Fins, but still generally recommend my students to opt for a paddle-type fin.
I've seen better... quicker... training results from those stiff paddle fins.
For sidemount in warm water; using wetsuits and aluminium cylinders, the new models of near-neutral paddle fin are ideal for most divers. For drysuit and steel tanks, heavier paddle blades can be beneficial.
Because most divers don't have the opportunity to practice every day... efficient and timely progression is what they need.
What they lose... the trade-off... is the nuanced power efficiency that Force Fins provide....the benefits to sustainable, economical propulsion, at speed, over distance.... and, yes, that means frog kick.
What they DON'T lose is some magical 'superpower' to propel heavy, stiff fins at high intensity over sustained periods.... because that capability will always be first limited by their legs and lungs.
