Excellerating Force Fins vs. Extra Force Fin

[PerroneFord]

LOL! That's the problem. I frog nearly all the time. And I'm in doubles, sometimes a stage, and now going to be dealing with the flow as well.

 

[MarkUK]

Floater – I have used 'normal' FF Excellerating fins as well, and they work fine for frogkicking. They are probably the best of all the FFs for frogkick because of their long, flat shape, as opposed to the turned-up FF Pros, but having said that, I can still frogkick in my Pros and Flying Force with no problem, just not quite the thrust of the Excellerating FFs.

I would, and have, used all my FFs inside silty wrecks with no problems. In fact, I really like my Pros and Flying Force in particular because they are so short, it makes moving around far easier. Never done any cave diving, but some of the wrecks around the UK are tight and full of silt, and it's never been an issue, so I would presume it would be a similar scenario in a cave in terms of finning/silting.

I have used Jetfins, but found them heavy, uncomfortable and hard work when doing anything other than frogkicking. Sometimes you hit some serious currents in the Red Sea, for example, and even the world's best frogkick isn't going to work that well, and when I went to a normal kick, that is when I found them particularly heavy-going. Each to their own – I know some people swear by 'em, but I like a fin that is reasonably lightweight, comfy and can be used in a variety of ways.

PerroneFord – Give 'em a shot, but be prepared to bear with them for a few sessions. I took to them immediately, but many people I know who are now converts needed several dives in them before they mastered the finning action and the feel of the fins.

And I wouldn't worry about lack of power when carrying a twinset and stage. Mark Andrews uses a pair of FF Excellerating all the time, and when he did the 205-metre Yolanda wreck dive in the Red Sea with Leigh Cunningham, he was carrying three 20-litre cylinders on his back and two stage-mounted 15-litre cylinders and he had no trouble moving around.

Mark

 

[PerroneFord]

Well, I'll try em in the pool first. And if I am feeling brave, I'll take them on night dive somewhere... quietly!

 

[MarkUK]

Go on, feel the Force – and don't give a ******* what anyone thinks or says! :14:

Too many people wear what's 'en vogue', but I say go with what works for you personally.

Mark

 

[Johanan]

Mark,

Can you tell, how useful are the accessories - whiskers, Speed Pods, Sharks' Tooth, Bat Wings? And what is the difference between Tan Delta and the original matherial? Thanks!

J.

 

[danvolker]

Do you happen to know how the Excellerating FF frog kick compared to the Scubapro jets?

Would you dive a silty cave or wreck with them?

You said yours are stiffer than normal, would the normal ones still work for alternate kicks?

I have Jets, Hollis F1's, and a pair of Excellerating Force Fins .... For Frog kick the Excellerators are at least, the equal to the Jets or the F1's. For GUE divers, the Excellerators have some serious extra perks in how well they can reverse kick--they are by far the best fins at reverse kick I have ever used.
For a normal recreational diver, or a GUE diver, or a tech or cave diver, having a spectacular advantage in reverse kicking is nice, but I think the ability of the Excellerating Force fin to essentially be able to shift gears from low to overdrive, smoothly, is worth the price of admission. This is a fin the can be flutter kicked slowly, and have no effort--just like the jets...then as you begin to increase the kick turnover, and muscle work increases, the jets begin to degrade in efficiency around the point of your attaining a fast cruising pace....but--the Excellerators actually start becoming hydrodynamically MORE efficient, and at the point when you begin to feel the workload from going much faster, these fins seem to push you alot faster with less increased muscle work--while the jets have you pushing harder and harder, getting very little extra speed out of them. Non-athlete or Bike Racer, I have no doubt a 5 minute or longer race between jetfin and Excellerating Force Fin will have the Force fin wearer a very long way ahead of the jet fin wearer....this is an issue for fighting currents getting back to an anchor line, or if flow has reversed in a cave, or if a diver in your group needs help fast--there ARE ISSUES we will face as divers, where max speed will matter. Jets are not the optimal fin for this....Jets are better than most scuba fins for this, provided you are a fit athlete, and too much to "push" if you are a non-athlete. The Excellerator is unique in how it handles this.

If the primary interest you have is not moving forward or backward, just hovering, and being almost motionless, the jet fin may edge out the Excellerator for this. In a GUE Fundies class, a big part of your skills is the ability to be motionless....for this, the larger control surface of the jet fin is an advantage over the excelerator. The Jet fin known as the Hockey fin, while also very fast and efficient like the Excellerator, is poor for trying to be motionless, as it does not have the right control surface for the tiny and imperceptible movements a tech diver/cave diver will use to remain motionless in an exploration scenario in wreck or cave, where their life may depend on this skill. The control surface of the Excelerator DOES allow the diver to benefit from the subtle motions, so it is massively superior to the Hockey fins, but slightly less perfect for this than the jets. The comparison DEMANDS a demo between the two, so you can appreciate the swimming efficiency of jets versus Excellerators, and the motionless potenital of each fin. Something this important should not be left to whether you believe me or not--you owe it to yourself to experience the difference. After you do, I expect to hear about your results

 

[Johanan]

Thanks, Dan! After posting my question which brought this thread up again, I noticed that this is an old one, from 2006. Nevertheless, it was a good review, indeed. I am looking for fins which would be lighter then my Hollis F1's and efficient in currents or for long swims. After reading your comment, it seems that Excellerating Force Fins could be the ones. Could you also comment on the accessories - Whiskers, Speed Bumps, Sharks' Tooth, Bat Wings - how useful they are? And what is the difference between the original matherial and the Tan Delta? Thanks again.

J.

 

[danvolker]

Thanks, Dan! After posting my question which brought this thread up again, I noticed that this is an old one, from 2006. Nevertheless, it was a good review, indeed. I am looking for fins which would be lighter then my Hollis F1's and efficient in currents or for long swims. After reading your comment, it seems that Excellerating Force Fins could be the ones. Could you also comment on the accessories - Whiskers, Speed Bumps, Sharks' Tooth, Bat Wings - how useful they are? And what is the difference between the original matherial and the Tan Delta? Thanks again.

J.

Johanan,
My Excellerating Force fins do not have the whiskers or anything added.....I believe Bob Evans told me that if they were added, the fins would be even faster. At some point, I look forward to trying this, but have not yet. Bob is on SB often, so I would ask him...Since I can tell you his technology really does work with these fins, I would be inclined to listen to him on the value of the accessories. This is NOT like talking to a typical manufacturer. He is the idea guy also, and he proves what he makes.
I would go with the bungee approach to holding your heels in, over the standard approach.

Hopefully Bob will get alerted about this thread, and also answer you on the difference in material.....I can only comment on what I have used.

 

[Johanan]

Thank you, Dan! I PM'd Bob Evans. Hope he would give me some info. Have a good day!

J.

 

[viking diver]

I have a pair of force fins pro that I have been using since 1998, never had any issues with them cracking, and yes everyone gives you the weird googlie eyes, but then when I'm back on the boat everyone wants to know about them mainly use them in cold water with 7mm or dry suit. I use the bungie heel straps much better than the original for putting on and off. I also have a pair of the slim fins since the early 90's for snorkling and have even worn those when scuba diving in very warm water without too much gear and they perform outstanding, of course after all the pool and sea water the original color has faded almost grey, but hey they have character now!