best fins for backfinning

[plok]

Excellerating Force Fins look to be unconventional, but an interesting option. They seem to be lightweight, which is good for traveling to tropical destinations. How much do they weight?
Where to buy them? So far I was only able to find them Force Fin website, and they are EXPENSIVE - $395, whiskers not included. I was not able to locate whiskers at all. Are they important pieces, especially for back finning?

 

[danvolker]

Excellerating Force Fins look to be unconventional, but an interesting option. They seem to be lightweight, which is good for traveling to tropical destinations. How much do they weight?
Where to buy them? So far I was only able to find them Force Fin website, and they are EXPENSIVE - $395, whiskers not included. I was not able to locate whiskers at all. Are they important pieces, especially for back finning?

The whiskers are mostly for funneling more water through the thrust area of the fin in a flutter kick, when you are trying to go fast to beat a current or something...if high speed is not an issue, they are less significant.
They are significantly lighter than jets...and you can always get the whiskers later if you want....There is a Force fins forum on Scubaboard, and the creator of Force fins, Bob Evans, is on it a few times per week--being chatty with his loyal followers of divers using force fins
You can go their and ask Bob questions....and the cool thing is, this is one of the most brilliant minds in dive gear creation, and you can get direct access to him

If you get by Palm Beach on a dive trip, I have a few sets I will let you try....I am big into the importance of the "best" fins and the importance of propulsion for a diver....I probably have over 15 pairs of fins, my Favorites for open reefs in big currents would be the big DiveR freedive fins, and my favorites for Wreck penetrations are Excellerating Force and Extra Force fins. I also have pairs of Jet fins, Hollis F1's, cressis, Mustang C4's, Omers, Quatros( hate them) and many others....I like to share this exploration into which fins work best, which is why I make the offer to you, and many others on SB. I get really pissed about the absolute fictions put out by print magazines like Sport Diver, where the lies and poor testing creates a very incorrect picture of what fins divers should be looking at.

 

[olphart]

The only fins that I have been even moderately successful backfinning are my Mares Powerplanas. I've tried jets and slipstreams.
Of course I have a lot of difficulty with frog kicks generally. My hips, (both have been replaced), don't like it one little bit, but I keep working on it. I use a kind of scissor kick most of the time...still not optimal for silt

 

[danvolker]

UTD Equipment Fins - YouTube


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The sentiments Andrew shares about what fins are supposed to do, is essentially the same party line sentiments of many of my GUE buddies.
They pretty much all have been taught, to respond with " if you need to go fast, you need a scooter". And "Fins are not for going fast".

That's all well and good for cave diving. When you get to boat diving, in challenging conditions with what can be strong currents ( which bring in huge clouds of fish to structure)....there are a couple of additional issues this party line ignores:

• On many charter boats, there is only enough room to store one or 2 scooters, and getting them into and back on to the boat, can be a real problem if you don't have a strong crew member to help you with this. So what happens if there are already 2 scooter divers, and you and your 3 buddies want to bring their scooters? There is no good place to put them, they are in everybody's way, and the captain is not liking the dynamics of having you and your extra scooters on his/her boat.
• As with doubles diving on 60 foot reefs...most dive boats are not set up for double tank divers...the tank holders are often poorly constructed for doubles, and a diver that does 60 for 60 with double 80's, may really have dramatically insufficient gas for the 2nd dive, unless they bring a second set of doubles, and the boat is not set up to store two sets of doubles for each diver--just like most boats are not set up for each diver to store a scooter. It is an IGNORANT idea to suggest the SOLUTION for most divers, is to use double tanks on recreational dives, and to use scooters for the conditions if they are challenging. The better solution is a streamlined recreational diver, with more like a HP120 for extra gas needs, and really good fins to prevent the diver from becoming "a leaf in the wind", and now all the divers on the boat have room for their gear, they can all deal with the conditions, the captain and crew like having you on the boat....and most divers are far less likely to get a back injury from carrying scooters or doubles, when they are using a single tank and good fins, rather than a scooter.
• Ocean diving is enjoyed by finding some of the best dive sites, and finding the highest concentrations of marine life. This often involves large current areas that have fish congregating by large structures. To enjoy these awesome dive sites, the diver needs to be great with both control, and with propulsion speed for when needed. Jetfins, the go to fins of GUE and UTD, are great for control, but very poor for a sustained burst of power you might need to get back to an anchor line, or to bridge an expanse to get to a wreck or reef across a sand flat. Jets have their place on top of the hierarchy, if there are NOT GOING TO BE ANY CURRENTS TO FIGHT. When their are currents, the potential exists for them to be the wrong tool for the job...and scooters offer a poor solution for everyone on the boat.

 

[Aquavelvet]

I have a pair of HOG Tech 2 fins which are essentially the same as the UTD fins. While they were fine for maneuvering around reefs and rock piles, they were insufficient for kicking into current. On one occasion where there was a fair bit of surface current, I struggled to get back to the boat, and they eventually threw out a trail line for me to grab.

Since then I've stuck to my Mares Excell+ and more recently a pair of Dive Rite EXP fins. Both of those are fine for keeping up in a reasonable amount of current as well as precision maneuvering. I took the Excells to Cozumel in November, and was one of the few divers who could point into the stronger currents and maintain position over a coral head.


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[jarrow]

The thread is about backfinning not about swimming in a strong current.

 

[danvolker]

The thread is about backfinning not about swimming in a strong current.

Silly me....And here I thought the issue was related to the special propulsion techniques that underwater photographers benefit from....certainly the reverse kick is on-point....but so is the frog kick and the helicopter kick, as well as the photographer not silting their shot up.
Show me a photographer that has never had some issues in getting shots when the current picks up, and I'll show you a photographer that has missed out on some spectacular photo ops.
It's about keeping your body exactly where it needs to be, easily, and without silting...this is both control, and propulsion. Fin choice can make an enormous difference here.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

So far this thread sounds like a using equipment to solve a skills problem. Truth of the matter is you don't even need fins to do a back kick and get backwards movement. Split fins, Force Fins, UTD branded fins, WHATEVER. See if there is a local GUE instructor who might be willing to teach you the proper way to efficiently perform a back kick. That one day will probably cost less than a new pair of fins you DON'T need.

 

[RJP]

So far this thread sounds like a using equipment to solve a skills problem. Truth of the matter is you don't even need fins to do a back kick and get backwards movement. Split fins, Force Fins, UTD branded fins, WHATEVER. See if there is a local GUE instructor who might be willing to teach you the proper way to efficiently perform a back kick. That one day will probably cost less than a new pair of fins you DON'T need.

I don't think you'd find a GUE instructor who would suggest that someone forgo using fins because they are a "gear solution to a skill problem." You surely won't find one who's shy about telling someone they are using the wrong fins if they are indeed using inefficient fins. So if you follow their advice you'll pay for the day... and new fins anyway.

:d

 

[ScubaInChicago]

I don't think you'd find a GUE instructor who would suggest that someone forgo using fins because they are a "gear solution to a skill problem." You surely won't find one who's shy about telling someone they are using the wrong fins if they are indeed using inefficient fins. So if you follow their advice you'll pay for the day... and new fins anyway.

:d

GUE actually teaches how to perform the back kick without fins in a pool environment. It helps to reinforce proper technique that is normally masked by the use of fins. I will personally take off my fins in full tech gear with stages at places like Ginnie Springs and swim around. Its awesome feedback on many levels as most people use fins as a crutch which hides areas in need of improvement.