This story totally cracks me up, as it is so close to how my hubby was introduced to FFs. He was in a rescue diver class and his fin strap broke, so the instructor let him borrow some yellow pro fins (can’t help but think of them as duck fins
) He was paired with two other people on an exercise, and they got angry with him for not staying with them. He felt like he was not going anywhere and was left behind, and was really surprised to find out that he had swum so far ahead of them. He didn’t have a chance to buy a pair until years later because he couldn’t find them. We went to a place called Divers Outlet in Orlando to get a wetsuit for me and happened to see them in a bin.
The thing about FFs is that they progressively spoil your feet because they are so user- friendly (No blisters on your ankles, no cramps, long swims out to offshore sides are a breeze), but it feels extremely different if you have been using other fins.
started out with a pair of the duck fins and was extremely grateful just to not have torn up ankles smarting in the salt water ( I have long narrow feet). After grad school for me ( dirt poor, scratch and dent can store buying poor), when we full time jobs, we started watching Bob’s sale page. I bought and fell in love with the excellerators. I tried
I suspect the Tan Deltas are ideally made for people with extremely strong leg muscles, like the Marines. After we had been using the Excellerators for a few years, I was trying to kick with just booties on. It made me very anxious. My advice to anyone who is curious about FFs is to set up some kind of clear route with your dive buddy and just try them out. They will feel odd, like you are not wearing anything on your feet, as they will actually move you forward quite a bit. You are transitioning from a different foot pressure point, and it will feel very odd. I think you will be very surprised with what you find when you grow accustomed to them.
I keep posting on this site when I receive an email saying that there is a new FF related post because I am extremely grateful to be able to have this product. I already posted it here but to reiterate: pre- covid
when we went to grouper spawning on the east coast of Fl., the current was so strong that people were banging around like pool balls. Everybody was complaining
at the end of the dive except me and my husband, who had huge ecstatic grins on our faces. I’m sorry, but it was just plain out freaking fun diving in that crazy current with FFs on! We kicked wit
The boat captain asked how we were doing because we were sitting there crazy happy while everybody was grumbling and bitching. I said that may very well be the most fun I’ve ever had, and it was the truth. It was insanely fun to kick with the current, I suspect it is very much like what flying feels like, but when we wanted to hang out and look at the grouper near the wreck and kick against it we could. It wasn’t easy; we had to kick hard against the current, but the point is that nobody else could do it, and it was due to our fins.
My hubby and I are frugal people who are not impressed by marketing but recognize quality. ( . . . hubby is crazy technically smart. See my other posts.) There are some things that are worth saving for. We dive off the beach on the weekends. It is our entertainment, so it’s worth investing the money and having our own tanks, BCs, fins, and computers. We like our FFs so much that we are hesitant to visit Bonaire, which we LOVED. I don’t think I need to explain why. Just so you know I am not a FF marketing plant ( FF lovers will laugh at that, and we can all all use a laugh . . . Love you Bob), I will say this:
I hope to never have to dive with a different bc other than my Scubapro Classic. I could literally float out at sea in the middle of a hurricane with it on, fall into a coma, and float like a buoy to safety. If you have to dive to a far out reef and don’t want your head dipping in the water when you’re diving back in, this is the bc for you. One of my dive instructors said that he would like to see them on every student diver, and I wholeheartedly agree.
The third equipment item I would be most loathe to do without is my Perdix 2 computer, because of my vision. Again, see my other post. The point is that my husband and I are not interested in marketing or branding or showing off our posh equipment. It might seem that way because the things that we buy happen to be expensive, but that’s because they’re expected to last. My husband has a set of stereo speakers that he has that he bought 20 years ago. His vehicle has 370,000 miles on it. I hope that someone who is reading this and is on the fence about force fins recognizes that somebody is being honest here. My husband Wore his hockey fans last weekend and showed me how he can kick his feet and actually go backwards in them. I am not sure if that makes them better for swimming out for distances off the beach, which is what we do, but I thought it was pretty cool that he was definitely taking and going backwards.
