I finally got to try the Force Fin Tan Delta UDTs last week on a 58ŽŽ° day off Deerfield Beach, FL. I have used Force Fins off-and-on since the fall of 1982, but this was the first pair of Tan Deltas for me.
I used the old Voit UDTs until I tore the heel strap of one of them in 1970 and could not locate another pair of them in my size.
Then in 2005, 360 Incorporated found the original molds, probably in China, brought them back to the US, and began manufacturing UDTs again. I have a pair in both the Extra Large and Super sizes, but I can't wear booties with either of them since my feet are kinda big. The best I can manage are neoprene socks.
Putting on UDTs was always a nightmare since the heel strap was so unyielding, but once they're on, nothing short of a traumatic amputation is going to make them come off accidentally. I use a shoehorn to get them on – in a drysuit or a wetsuit on a hot day, it's too easy to overheat wrestling on a pair of the things. They slide off ok in the water if you jigger the heel strap down over your heel and then pull the things off.
At the 2007 DEMA, I mentioned the UDTs to Bob Evans and he decided to run a mold up the flagpole and see who saluted.
And I got the first pair.
Each fin is based on the XL size, and the Force Fins are a few ounces lighter than the rubber version. They are THE easiest fins that I have ever put on, but therein lies the problem. With the legendary blade stiffness of the UDT design preserved in Bob's version, there is too much heel flex to allow maximized thrust so I had to ease back my kick to keep the fins snugly on.
After the dive looking at these beauties, I realized that this fin ran counter to the Force Fin design philosophy. Not only did the original UDT fins disappear after I tore my first pair, but the UDT designation in the Navy disappeared as well as every supporting Navy Special Warfare unit was redesignated with the SEAL moniker. Maybe this fin design is best left to history.
I always loved whatever pair of Force Fins I bought initially, but over time with lots of dives, the blade stiffness and flex faded until I had to go back to whatever POS regular fins I had in the dive locker. The last pair of Force Fins that I owned were the Foils, and then they were new, I could use them for scuba and freediving and really move through the water. When the flex slipped a little, I actually doubled my money on them on eBay after two years of ownership.
Wherever in the world I was diving, people always had to check out my fins. There are innumerable “experts” on Force Fins who pretty much condemn them as worthless, but pretty much NONE of them have actually used them. Each model is supercomfortable – the UDTs are frankly a royal pain to put on, they're unwearable for me with normal booties, and if I let my conditioning slide a little, I pay for that on a serious dive.
I have to say that this Tan Delta material looks like the real thing – lots of stiffness, but with a real nice return whip on them. I don't know how they would hold up after a couple of years of serious diving – it's a little scary buying a pair for almost $500.
So Bob, I have to give you a big mahalo for tooling these babies up and molding a pair even if they're only going into the Force Fin Museum of Superior Fin Technology out there in California. It was pretty cool opening up a UPS box and seeing pair #1 of anything. And that Tan Delta material seems magical.
I used the old Voit UDTs until I tore the heel strap of one of them in 1970 and could not locate another pair of them in my size.
Then in 2005, 360 Incorporated found the original molds, probably in China, brought them back to the US, and began manufacturing UDTs again. I have a pair in both the Extra Large and Super sizes, but I can't wear booties with either of them since my feet are kinda big. The best I can manage are neoprene socks.
Putting on UDTs was always a nightmare since the heel strap was so unyielding, but once they're on, nothing short of a traumatic amputation is going to make them come off accidentally. I use a shoehorn to get them on – in a drysuit or a wetsuit on a hot day, it's too easy to overheat wrestling on a pair of the things. They slide off ok in the water if you jigger the heel strap down over your heel and then pull the things off.
At the 2007 DEMA, I mentioned the UDTs to Bob Evans and he decided to run a mold up the flagpole and see who saluted.
And I got the first pair.
Each fin is based on the XL size, and the Force Fins are a few ounces lighter than the rubber version. They are THE easiest fins that I have ever put on, but therein lies the problem. With the legendary blade stiffness of the UDT design preserved in Bob's version, there is too much heel flex to allow maximized thrust so I had to ease back my kick to keep the fins snugly on.
After the dive looking at these beauties, I realized that this fin ran counter to the Force Fin design philosophy. Not only did the original UDT fins disappear after I tore my first pair, but the UDT designation in the Navy disappeared as well as every supporting Navy Special Warfare unit was redesignated with the SEAL moniker. Maybe this fin design is best left to history.
I always loved whatever pair of Force Fins I bought initially, but over time with lots of dives, the blade stiffness and flex faded until I had to go back to whatever POS regular fins I had in the dive locker. The last pair of Force Fins that I owned were the Foils, and then they were new, I could use them for scuba and freediving and really move through the water. When the flex slipped a little, I actually doubled my money on them on eBay after two years of ownership.
Wherever in the world I was diving, people always had to check out my fins. There are innumerable “experts” on Force Fins who pretty much condemn them as worthless, but pretty much NONE of them have actually used them. Each model is supercomfortable – the UDTs are frankly a royal pain to put on, they're unwearable for me with normal booties, and if I let my conditioning slide a little, I pay for that on a serious dive.
I have to say that this Tan Delta material looks like the real thing – lots of stiffness, but with a real nice return whip on them. I don't know how they would hold up after a couple of years of serious diving – it's a little scary buying a pair for almost $500.
So Bob, I have to give you a big mahalo for tooling these babies up and molding a pair even if they're only going into the Force Fin Museum of Superior Fin Technology out there in California. It was pretty cool opening up a UPS box and seeing pair #1 of anything. And that Tan Delta material seems magical.