Force Fins vs Jetfins - tek diving and all the kicks

[fuggler]

This is a bad example of fog kick. Don't do this!!

I have used Jet for a long while and have tried Extra FF for quite sometime. Extra FF's advantage IMO is comfort, a fast flutter kick type of fins. They are efficient in low current. They are easily to sustain a constant swimming speed. Jet on the other hand, can give you a much more powerful short burst. In terms of precise position in water, Extra FF is too soft and too small. Jets give you instant response with tightly amount of ankle movement. Making small and precise adjustment is easy. Back kick with FF is doable, but not as efficient and Jets.

If you swim a lot, I think FF is a good choice. If you tent not swim too much, and spent a lot of time maneuvering and positioning yourself (say for photography), I think stiffer fins like Jet/OMS are better choice

Yeah it's more like an exaggerated frog kick...

 

[tomfcrist]

Definitely an exaggerated kick, which you would think would make you move faster or mor efficiently through the water....that guy was going nowhere fast. Imagine if he was in doubles with stages...he would be going nowhere but with the current.

 

[knotical]

... The only thing I dislike about my force fins is they suck against currents. ...

That has definitely not been my experience.

 

[tomfcrist]

The biggest problem with force fins is that they aren't around to be tried out. Even though the company has been around seemingly forever, there just aren't any force fin users at 99.9% of dive sites. The info that we do see is just like that video..."see you can frog kick in force fins"...when anyone with half a brain can see that old boy is getting nowhere in that video...that big of a kick and he would be flying across the pool with ANY regular bladed fun.

My suggestion to the MFG.... Put in a tour like DUI or DR does... Travel all the major dive spots and demo the fins (all the models) for free...Advertise the tour...offer a 10% discount if they buy on the spot.

If force fins are really that good, it can do nothing but make huge money this way.

 

[knotical]

The biggest problem with force fins is that they aren't around to be tried out. ...

That’s an excellent point.
I’d been diving for many years but didn’t became aware of Force Fins until a dive shop went out of business and the shop where I worked got a lot of their inventory, including two pair of Force Fins. Our shop owner asked us instructors to try them so he could decide if he wanted to stock them. Only a few tried it, and the first couple said “they have no power” – that I later found out actually meant they didn’t feel like they were working hard. I was the only one to try some sort of semi-scientific test. I swam laps and timed myself. Even without knowing how to use Force Fins properly, I was getting better times with the Force Fins than with my blade-style fins. I immediately bought the pair that fit me. However, the negative word had already gotten around, so the owner never stocked them. What did that mean? It meant I couldn’t use Force Fins when working with students, but did use them on all my pleasure dives. I still seldom see other divers using them, but now that I’m no longer an active instructor, I dive with nothing else.

 

[Hatul]

If you're doing slow, precise kicks, though, they're great. Here's a youtube video of someone frogkicking with force fins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQvpQHvui28

.

That's one inefficient kick because he's using the return side of the fin to push water and it's not made for this. If you want to frog kick with FF kick out instead of in so you're using the working side of the fin.

 

[Bob Evans]

Knotical, Thank You.

 

[TN Traveler]

One of the things that people who indicate that they find Force Fins "to soft" need to look into is what material the fins are made with. Regular Force Fins are the softest urethane (made primarily for flutter kicks), Pro models are slightly stiffer, Tan Delta Material is even stiffer with greater "rebound" and the newest material, as used in the "Hockey" fin has even greater rebound. In fact, for Technical diving and frog kicking, the Hockey Fin is probably the best. The Extra Force Fins and Excellerating Force Fins made of Tan Delta materials are also excellent for alternate kicks - add whiskers and they get even better.

Bob used to make a specialty fin called the Flying Force Fin which was only made in the Tan Delta Material and was slightly larger than the standard force fins but has the tips turned down 90 degrees (like the aero tips on a jet airplane) - with the tips turned down these fins can handle a frog kick as well as any fin (unfortunately he only made about 100 pairs ) and can handle any current.

So please, before you spout off about how Force Fins are "soft" or can't perform certain kicks - research what is out there - Bob has many designs and they are often made to perform certain tasks better than others.

 

[RJP]

Here's a youtube video of someone [-]frogkicking[/-] riding a see-saw while wearing force fins:

Fixed it for you.



---------- Post added March 17th, 2015 at 10:40 PM ----------

My suggestion to the MFG.... Put in a tour like DUI or DR does... Travel all the major dive spots and demo the fins (all the models) for free...Advertise the tour...offer a 10% discount if they buy on the spot.

If force fins are really that good, it can do nothing but make huge money this way.

I've had many clients over the years where we've recommended that they NOT sample the product. "Why?" they would ask. We'd come up with something about ROI metrics, cost of goods, cognitive dissonance, etc.

The fact is that some products simply don't sell very well if you let the customer try it before they give you their money.

 

[Dave616]

That has definitely not been my experience.

That was also my experience last year in Coz...

For fresh water/wet dives (no current), I love my FFP's, but in the current I was getting passed by newbee divers in Mares Avanti's. I still have my FFP's but this year I'm taking my shiny new DR XT's.


(FFP's are XXL w/padded inserts. DR's are size Large. DR's are right at about 24" total not counting the spring strap sticking out)

Maybe I'm doing it wrong