Question Truefins

[MrChen]

I arrived at the boat and the dive crew immediately was interested in the fins and one of them was immediately trying to pull the spines out before asking questions. He said he had heard of them before but had never seen them.

We did 3 drops. On drops 1 and 3, my forward foot, the fin came off my foot, but was still wrapped around my ankle. Took me 2 seconds to fix. I started thinking about the spring sizes at that point. When I do long 2-3 hour shore dives, my foot would start hurting with the medium springs. This went away using the large springs. It seems I need to try the medium springs on a boat which is a shorter dive due to depth.

Other than giant stride issues, everything went well. The fins are shorter than my DiveRites, making it a little easier to put on and walk in the boat for the drop. With longer fins, I'm constantly bumping into things more and a couple of spots on the boat, the DR fins are just too long because of a cooler.

We had a slight trickle of a current and performance wise, zero issues getting to where I wanted to be.

 

[Truefin]

I arrived at the boat and the dive crew immediately was interested in the fins and one of them was immediately trying to pull the spines out before asking questions. He said he had heard of them before but had never seen them.

We did 3 drops. On drops 1 and 3, my forward foot, the fin came off my foot, but was still wrapped around my ankle. Took me 2 seconds to fix. I started thinking about the spring sizes at that point. When I do long 2-3 hour shore dives, my foot would start hurting with the medium springs. This went away using the large springs. It seems I need to try the medium springs on a boat which is a shorter dive due to depth.

Other than giant stride issues, everything went well. The fins are shorter than my DiveRites, making it a little easier to put on and walk in the boat for the drop. With longer fins, I'm constantly bumping into things more and a couple of spots on the boat, the DR fins are just too long because of a cooler.

We had a slight trickle of a current and performance wise, zero issues getting to where I wanted to be.

We did some giant stride entries and there were occasions, particularly with somewhat loose spring straps, and a relatively small foot for the foot pocket, and with Green spines (which don't flex toe up),, that the spring heel strap can extend while the top of the fin deforms, and the forward foot can come out. As you indicated, the fin stays with your leg. For high jumping, a tighter spring would help, or a ratchet style strap that won't extend may eliminate that issue. Also, you might try extending your forward leg further and strike the water heel first. In the clip below the diver was jumping from a stack of pallets 4-5 feet high from the edge of a diving pool. The diver in this clip was using spring straps.

 

[MrChen]

It makes sense, that the lack of bend would increase the possibility of this happening.

On dive 1, I did my normal stride - Fin came off
On dive 2, I did a shorter stride - Fin stayed on
On dive 3, I did a longer stride - Fin came off

I'll try the medium straps next time and see if I get different results.

 

[Truefin]

It makes sense, that the lack of bend would increase the possibility of this happening.

On dive 1, I did my normal stride - Fin came off
On dive 2, I did a shorter stride - Fin stayed on
On dive 3, I did a longer stride - Fin came off

I'll try the medium straps next time and see if I get different results.

Thanks for your observations. I was talking to a diver about this and I wonder if parachuting is a factor. If your foot is level when you strike the water there would be less parachuting (water being forced into the back of the foot pocket and forcing the fin off the foot).

 

[MrChen]

I dove them the other day with the medium springs. The fit is slightly too tight, but I managed fine on shorter dives vs the 2-3 hour macro photo dives. I had zero issues with the fins coming off using medium springs.

Again, the fins attract some attention. There seems to be doubt with long time divers regarding anything new. I dove my Dive Rites the next day and was asked what the difference was. I honestly said the TrueFins had more thrust, that they work.

 

[astr0b0y]

Tried out some large spring straps supplied by @Truefin (thanks Joe!) which have steel buckles and are a bit heavier than the plastic buckled ones I was using.
I’m into using the blue splines now that my ankle injury has healed and finding them excellent for frog kicking and back kicking. Still having trouble finding a buddy with a camera that knows how to use it!
Lots of interest on the boat too and my LDS owner wants to give them a try too.
One change I need to make in my ladder climbing behaviour is to lift my knees higher on the final step back into the boat so I clear the ledge. Because the Truefin locks the flex angle, I can no longer rely on over-bending the fin and dragging it over the ledge. Got stuck on my first climb in last weekend and the skipper had to help lift my leg.

 

[Truefin]

I dove them the other day with the medium springs. The fit is slightly too tight, but I managed fine on shorter dives vs the 2-3 hour macro photo dives. I had zero issues with the fins coming off using medium springs.

Again, the fins attract some attention. There seems to be doubt with long time divers regarding anything new. I dove my Dive Rites the next day and was asked what the difference was. I honestly said the TrueFins had more thrust, that they work.

It is only natural for people to be uncertain of new products, and I think in the case for fins there is a particularly high level of loyalty with fins which users have had good experiences with. I would be no different in that regard. ..Truefin has a 60 day no questions asked return policy, and lifetime guarantee. If you don't feel the fin performs better than whatever fin you are using, ship it back for a refund. ..Truefin is not going anywhere, but the roll out of all sizes is a slow process for us. .

 

[Truefin]

Tried out some large spring straps supplied by @Truefin (thanks Joe!) which have steel buckles and are a bit heavier than the plastic buckled ones I was using.
I’m into using the blue splines now that my ankle injury has healed and finding them excellent for frog kicking and back kicking. Still having trouble finding a buddy with a camera that knows how to use it!
Lots of interest on the boat too and my LDS owner wants to give them a try too.
One change I need to make in my ladder climbing behaviour is to lift my knees higher on the final step back into the boat so I clear the ledge. Because the Truefin locks the flex angle, I can no longer rely on over-bending the fin and dragging it over the ledge. Got stuck on my first climb in last weekend and the skipper had to help lift my leg.

Thanks for the comment. I don't know how many divers climb a ladder with fins on, but the rigid chassis of Truefin makes that easy on the arch of the foot. Regarding the flex as you drag the fin over that ledge,,, the fins equipped with Blue or Green spines allow the blade to flex 60 degrees toe down while dragging over that ledge, and the Yellow spines allow the blade to flex 75 degrees toe down.

 

[astr0b0y]

I don't know how many divers climb a ladder with fins on

Yes, that's a good point! Maybe I could work on removing the fins first. It's pretty common on boats I dive with for most divers to keep their fins on while climbing the ladder. The hard chassis is definitely a plus and help with protecting arches from some skinny ladder steps digging in. Really like my Truefins, can't see myself changing back to my Supernovas unless I'm in very warm water and using the full foot pocket option.

 

[Truefin]

Truefin at Wreck Alley. Wreck Alley is an area a few miles off the coast of Mission Beach, San Diego, California with several ships intentionally sunk as artificial reefs and as Scuba diving attractions for wreck divers.