They're weird looking and I'm a skeptic. I was pretty convinced they were just a gimmick, but I was offered a pair cheap and figured what the heck.
So I ran some tests. It's not possible to do anything scientific such as a double blind because the participant sees what he is putting on his feet, and because the kicks required for some fins are different.
I did timed laps with my best paddles, my favorite Force Fins and the Morfins. I both sprinted and swam at sustainable speeds.
I was surprised to find that without modifying my flutter kick, the times for the Morfins were comparable to paddles!
I then experimented with various kicks and maneuvers (frog, helicopter, etc.), and the Morfins acted almost the same as paddles.
But I prefer my Force Fins over paddles, both because I can get about 10% better times, and more importantly because they put very little stress on the front of the ankle (is that the anterior tibialis?). The down side was that it took me some time and teaching myself some different kicks before I was as maneuverable with the Force Fins as I was with paddles.
Now here's where it got interesting for me. The Morfin website attempts to show another way to kick. If I've figured it out correctly, it's kind of like stomping grapes with first one heel, then the other. Because of the aquadynamics (is that a word?) of the Morfins, this grape-stomping action ends up with the fins pointing the same way as if you were doing a standard flutter kick. But you appear to be doing a fairly shallow bicycle kick. After a bit of experimenting, I was able to again match the times of my paddle fins. But here's the kicker: used this way, they didn't stress the fronts of the ankles! And maybe with practice, I could improve my times.
In summary,
Paddles are almost universal, but Morfins were comparable for me.
Force Fins and Morfins (with the right kick) don't put nearly as much stress on the ankles as paddles.
Force Fins and Morfins are smaller a travel consideration.
If you have a chance to borrow someone's Morfins, I strongly suggest you play around with them. Like me, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Disclosure: The shop with which I am affiliated sells neither Force Fins nor Morfins. I have no financial interest in either brand.
So I ran some tests. It's not possible to do anything scientific such as a double blind because the participant sees what he is putting on his feet, and because the kicks required for some fins are different.
I did timed laps with my best paddles, my favorite Force Fins and the Morfins. I both sprinted and swam at sustainable speeds.
I was surprised to find that without modifying my flutter kick, the times for the Morfins were comparable to paddles!
I then experimented with various kicks and maneuvers (frog, helicopter, etc.), and the Morfins acted almost the same as paddles.
But I prefer my Force Fins over paddles, both because I can get about 10% better times, and more importantly because they put very little stress on the front of the ankle (is that the anterior tibialis?). The down side was that it took me some time and teaching myself some different kicks before I was as maneuverable with the Force Fins as I was with paddles.
Now here's where it got interesting for me. The Morfin website attempts to show another way to kick. If I've figured it out correctly, it's kind of like stomping grapes with first one heel, then the other. Because of the aquadynamics (is that a word?) of the Morfins, this grape-stomping action ends up with the fins pointing the same way as if you were doing a standard flutter kick. But you appear to be doing a fairly shallow bicycle kick. After a bit of experimenting, I was able to again match the times of my paddle fins. But here's the kicker: used this way, they didn't stress the fronts of the ankles! And maybe with practice, I could improve my times.
In summary,
Paddles are almost universal, but Morfins were comparable for me.
Force Fins and Morfins (with the right kick) don't put nearly as much stress on the ankles as paddles.
Force Fins and Morfins are smaller a travel consideration.
If you have a chance to borrow someone's Morfins, I strongly suggest you play around with them. Like me, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Disclosure: The shop with which I am affiliated sells neither Force Fins nor Morfins. I have no financial interest in either brand.
