Unload your ol' Force Fins on me!

[Bob3]

They look like duck feet..

Nah, a link to some pics of REAL Duck Feet is posted below.
http://www.scubadiving.com/members/memberimages/5855_1586_2.jpg
There are also some Churchills, one of the few fins that come in right & left foot models.

Force Fins come with foot pocket sizes that'll easily handle any drysuit boot made. (They accommodate combat boots, too.)
That being said, Force Fins aren't for everybody, they require a different kicking style that not everyone cares for. They also feel a tad "noodely" on the feet, and some kick styles aren't able to be done with much success.
They do come in split versions.
They're also very expensive, so be sure to try 'em out before plunking down your hard earned $$.

I use my govt issued Duck Feet for warm water, I like having the ability to tow boats & small barges around, and there are no straps to break or foul when you're sliding through the weeds. :tease:

 

[etype]

\Windwalker: i used only jetfins for years...tried other fins but these were just variations of the same. I always felt, from the first day i strapped on a set of diving fins and felt the concrete block like drag on my feet...that something was wrong with the design. There had to be a better way. I was a national level competition swimmer and triathalon athlete as a teen, i had some strong ideas and desire to swim underwater fast and far.

Then to make a long story short, the guy who runs the police dive team, and is an ex Canadian 1st Airborne Combat Diver...lent me a pair. A little while late he asked me how i liked them...i said i felt like i had nothing on my feet and i would have to try them more. Before i got to try them again however, i went on some dives with this guy and a few of his partners...i’ve always been the fastest underwater swimmers i’ve known, it’s something i practice......but swimming with these guys i could barely keep up! (which has never happened before) And i sucked air like banshee trying. They shot along in front of me with these girly kicks.....and i could not keep up nor could i catch them if they tried to leave me behind.
Anyway, so i borrowed his pair again and gave them a good try. I realized i had to ditch everything i knew about finning, and instead just swim. It was a revelation, these fins are what i’ve been waiting for right from the beginning. You can swim at what is the top speed for other fins, but not only with little effort, but the type of kick you do with forcefins is not only easy, it is so natural it’s fun. Once you learn how to use them, there is just no comparison. I disagree with people (without disrespect) who say that these fins are not for everyone.

Based on what i see as emphirical evidence...not taste or personal proclivities...force fins are not just better than other fins, but they make other fin types obsolete for underwater distance. There is no comparison in effectiveness. Distances that before it would make sense to ascend and get in the boat or walk to the spot...can now be covered underwater with comfort and no more practical effort than walking. I havn’t tried the new split fin types...but i see them as a reaction from other manufacterers to try and find a design that can match what you can get from force fins. But i think the they are missing the point...the whole elongated leaf of the regular fin is nothing but drag....the small ducklike profile of the force fin is all you need for thrust...the rest just drags water and adds nothing.
My favorite dive is just a block from my home...it is a series of stepped walls that go from 10 meters down to 54 meters and run over a kilometer and a half (a mile) parallel to the shore. I can swim that kilometer & 1/2 underwater as easy as i can walk it on the beach...and then back if i want, i always have the air. People with conventinal fins can’t...and if they did, they wouldn’t do it again voluntarily, regular fins don’t serve that purpose.
Listen to what people say...they will tell you they can cover distance with a speed and a ease they never could before. Others call them liars and exaggeraters..... It blows my mind! Why do these people think people would lie for the sake of these stupid looking fins? This wouldn’t happen if force fins looked macho and killer wicked...but anyway.....its not about fashion....it’s about what works, and works so well it blows your mind. You owe to yourself to try a pair...but you have to go on more than one dive, especially if you’ve adapted well to conventional fins. You have to give up all that muscle endurance you used, the conditioning of the quadricep femoris and calf bicep to maintain any distance. You don’t need that, the force fin kick is a girly kick...it’s a easy flutter with no drag...it takes no effort and is actually kind of fun. But you cruise distance underwater like no other fin...If you can get over the difference and adapt to the fin...you will have something you can’t get with any other fin....easy distance swimming...it’ll change the what you do on a recreational dive.

 

[Windwalker]

I guess, the next problem is finding somebody who has them. None of the Dive shops in the area are dealers, and I have never seen any divers with them on.

Thanks for the info.

 

[etype]

go to leisure pro or to the force fin site and buy them online. Expect people to laugh at your pathetic looking fins....haha...i always got that till they had to follow me around. Get the yellow type if you don't mind people saying you look like a duck. People can see you to follow as you put distance between you and them...my usual pair are pro's and they are blue...thus i just fade into the distance...

Expect a few dives to get used to them. It feels like you have nothing on your feet. But once you get the kick, man what a joy! It's really how diving should be...swimming around with ease and speed...the more you flutter kick the faster you go....if you've used regular fins you will love the movement they give you...it's like taking off the crutches. And if you do a lot of diving without booties, get the insole. It's expensive but they make barefeet finning very comfortable. As for the bungie backs, people tell me they love them. But i have never tried or used them...and frankly i don't miss them. The way these fins fit on your feet you don't even need a strap to hold them on, they just naturally hold to your feet. Thats why the bungies would probably be good. Because when i'm diving if the strap comes off i don't bother with it cuz they hold on good. But then that's why i have a spare pair....somebody lost theirs and i was lucky to find two xl..one black and one yellow.

 

[blacknet]

Hello,

Most places that sell force fins only carries the regulars, NOT the pro model. I find that the pro model is better suited for me. I have had my pair for an easy 10 years and just recently noticed a crack in one and it's time to replace them. 10 years is a very long time for fins.

Ed

 

[Scubatooth]

well its about time someone else comes on this board to say that force fins do work, because for the longest time i got slammed by many people who said they didnt work. if you do a searh on my username and force fins you find this out (matter of fact it was a senior member of the board who was making fun of me)

like you mentioned all i have to do is have them follow me or try them and they are surprised how well they work. i know they are expensive but they are built like a tank (and made in the usa) and my instructor and her dad force fins have out lasted several pairs of various varietys of tusa, mares,and cresi fins.

i personally love the pros for just about anything, but will change to extra forces with whiskers in a current, and if i really need some power i borrow a set of accelorators.


FWIW

 

[freediver]

I have a pair of large Force Fin Pros that do propel me through the water but is speed necessarily what you want in this recreational sport of scuba? Personally, I think the Mares Quattros are more powerful and the Volos are more efficient but the Pros were impressive.

 

[Scubatooth]

ok let me clarify something, power dosent equal speed, by power i mean that if im diving in a current were my extras are ok but could use some more i borrow the accelerators so that i can make it through the water efficiently (so im not sucking down a tank to quickly).

FWIW

 

[blacknet]

Scubatooth,

I have been using force fins for at least 10 years now. As for that crowd who bashes me I just tell them if you don't like them then don't buy them, go buy what you want and leave me alone.


Ed

 

[etype]

freediver: Speed is not the purpose of forcefins, although the world record for speed/time/distance is held by force fins pro:

<http://www.forcefin.com/FF_PAGES/FF_wisewords/testimonials/jens_hilbert.htm>

the purpose of force fins is economy of effort, or more propulsion/less air...more diver comfort...these translate into speed.

The strain on your leg muscles is practically non existant.

The reason why i love my forcefins is because they are so comfortable to use. i’m a swimmer as well as a diver. I want submersed time without doubles or drag.

I think the whole idea behind conventional fins was wrong from the begining. Force fins are up there with the very best fins available in terms of speed. But in my opinion, and i do respect your opinion (i may not represent a average or wide spectrum of divers in physiology) force fins are several times greater in comfort (they feel like your wearing nothing..which if you think about it...is a great improvement) and are the best at energy/propulsion rates.

I think this is one direction where diving is going. One direction is deeper, with more safety, but more gear and procedure. The other direction is wider, with less effort, less gear and less procedure. Force fins conribute to both, but especially important for the later. I’m looking at getting a rebreather.

In the not too distant future you’ll dive in at sunup....and climb out around supper (if your hungry).