Bought long fins, did not get much more kick!

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darsunt

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Fountain Valley, California
Bothered by my inability to swim against the surge last month, I bought new long fins, 2'4" long. But the improvement in my swimming speed was marginal. I'm wondering:
Am I using the wrong technique in swimming with fins?
Or did I get too large fins for my leg strength, I need to be in better shape?
What do you guys think? Thanks.
 
Getting into better shape is always recommended. It's not always the length of the fin but also the stiffness, design etc. Personally I like turtle fins and Dive Rites for anything requiring "power".
 
It's about finding the right fins for your body. I have skinny legs but good endurance, I became faster by switching to shorter fins.
 
I assume that you bought freedive fins. They are designed to allow you to cruise along at a steady pave with a low level of exertion. Freedivers need efficiency, not raw speed. The fins should deliver that, however there is a wide difference in performance between different freedive fins.

I use freedive fins for scuba and snorkeling. I much prefer them over sP jet fins or any scuba fin that i have used. If you MUST go really fast, try kicking fast, with short amplitude strokes. You will move fast, but you will get tired quickly and air consumption will go way up.
 
Remember, fins are made for the masses, not for individuals who may be stronger, weaker, or have fewer limbs than their fellow diver. With that said, you can only get so much horsepower out of your legs, and fin manufacturers don't want to fatigue you. If you want to move faster in the water, get a scooter. I always love seeing the plethora of fins in a dive shop. Some fins are made for bicycle kickers (a gear solution to a skills problem), some are made for different finning techniques (ever notice a perfectly trimmed cave diver? Fins up and frog kick so they don't stir up silt), but for most of us single tank numpties, any blade fin will deliver about the same thrust for the amount of work you put in. Hint: Don't buy split fins, they suck in surge. They are best for still water cruising, and in the current and surge they start to show their weaknesses.
 
I tested 3 sets of my fins, all with different areas, lengths, widths, weights and stiffness. I swam with a different fin on each foot in every combination. Guess what - there was absolutely no discernable difference for me. I firmly believe most of the advertising copy on fins is nearly total hype. I know the rabid defenders of their "absolute best" fin will have a hissy-fit but that's what I found in a side by side experiment.
 
I tested 3 sets of my fins, all with different areas, lengths, widths, weights and stiffness. I swam with a different fin on each foot in every combination. Guess what - there was absolutely no discernable difference for me. I firmly believe most of the advertising copy on fins is nearly total hype. I know the rabid defenders of their "absolute best" fin will have a hissy-fit but that's what I found in a side by side experiment.

I'm sure you're probably right...

Assuming there's little real difference in performance, then the logical choice of all the fins out there would be the most rugged fin. The one least likely to have a failure. Which still means that one might have an advantage over the others.

So technically, Jets with spring straps are STILL the best. :cool2:


Sorry, couldn't resist...
 
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There is a reason the military divers use jet fins.... Just saying. If you want to swim against currents, you need stiff paddles, long fins are designed to move the most water with the least effort, but they are inherently bad at providing torque. Think diesel engine vs. F1 car. F1's use little tiny engines that rev at super high speeds to provide the max horsepower, which is work over time. More HP=more work done with less effort, they also have horrible torque ratings which means they don't have a lot of power. Diesel engines have very low HP numbers, but astronomical torque numbers, so they require a lot of energy to do the work and can't do as much for the effort required, but if you need to pull something, you need high torque.

Jet fins are like diesel engines, you're not going to be as fast in perfect conditions as the freediving fins and you will have to exert more effort to do it, but if you have to kick through the current, you need short and stuff, not long and floppy. OMS Slipstreams are actually better than jetfins for this since they are a bit stiffer and a lot lighter, but the same basic fin design is the same
 
Don't swim against the surge. Even fish don't do that. Swim with the surge.

I totally agree with Donnah. Fin types aside, when it comes to surge, you should learn to work with it and not against it....
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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