Materials- Poly Who?
We all know Force Fins look different. What most people don’t know is that they are made completely different and the material used to make the fins is very different from that used to make other fins.
In 1971 Bob Evans designed his first fin out of chicken wire and a Santa Barbara News Press. His good friend and mentor, Dick Anderson
said, “Hey Evans, you should try making your fins out of polyurethane.”
This expensive and amazing material when poured into a cast mold and baked at the right temperature (240 degrees Fahrenheit) for the right amount of time (8 hours), then cooled properly, chemically bonds and cross links to the shape it is molded right down to its molecules. Other fin materials are compressed or injected out of cheap materials that lie together like a bunch of spaghetti noodles.
Bob knew he was using the finest materials to make the finest fin possible. As he worked in this rarely used medium he found its amazing characteristics to be the best for making fins. Its durability was just part of the formula. What really excited Bob was the memory set that allowed him to make fins in hydro- and ergo-dynamic shapes that were never possible before. That is why the Force Fin is part of the permanent collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art. The way in which Bob shaped his fins from polyurethane “changed the way in which we perceive moving through water.” MoMA.org | Exhibitions | 1995 | Mutant Materials | Plastics
What also excited him was the almost super ball rebound of polyurethane, and we all know it’s the SNAP of the Force Fin blade that creates a power and recovery to allow a diver to kick most efficiently, and moves water faster than any kick can propel.
Bob’s discovery of polyurethane was a great moment in Force Fin history, but it also came with a price.
The material and the process he chose is much more expensive than that used in making other fins. That meant that the profit margin, or amount a dive store could make from buying and selling fins was less than they might if a fin was made with a material and process that cost about the same as a McDonald’s® value pack meal. And that is the reason you see Force Fins only in very special dive stores that put the value of the product above the profits made.
He kept to his idea on making the most efficient and durable fin on the market and to this day uses the finest USA made polyurethane to make his fins. In the words of the Fin Doctor himself, Bob Evans, “There are no bad fins on the market. All fins work. My fins are simply the best. Diving with Force Fins is kind of like driving a car that is made to get 200 miles to the gallon vs. 20.”YouTube - The History of Force Fin
We all know Force Fins look different. What most people don’t know is that they are made completely different and the material used to make the fins is very different from that used to make other fins.
In 1971 Bob Evans designed his first fin out of chicken wire and a Santa Barbara News Press. His good friend and mentor, Dick Anderson
said, “Hey Evans, you should try making your fins out of polyurethane.”
This expensive and amazing material when poured into a cast mold and baked at the right temperature (240 degrees Fahrenheit) for the right amount of time (8 hours), then cooled properly, chemically bonds and cross links to the shape it is molded right down to its molecules. Other fin materials are compressed or injected out of cheap materials that lie together like a bunch of spaghetti noodles.
Bob knew he was using the finest materials to make the finest fin possible. As he worked in this rarely used medium he found its amazing characteristics to be the best for making fins. Its durability was just part of the formula. What really excited Bob was the memory set that allowed him to make fins in hydro- and ergo-dynamic shapes that were never possible before. That is why the Force Fin is part of the permanent collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art. The way in which Bob shaped his fins from polyurethane “changed the way in which we perceive moving through water.” MoMA.org | Exhibitions | 1995 | Mutant Materials | Plastics
What also excited him was the almost super ball rebound of polyurethane, and we all know it’s the SNAP of the Force Fin blade that creates a power and recovery to allow a diver to kick most efficiently, and moves water faster than any kick can propel.
Bob’s discovery of polyurethane was a great moment in Force Fin history, but it also came with a price.
The material and the process he chose is much more expensive than that used in making other fins. That meant that the profit margin, or amount a dive store could make from buying and selling fins was less than they might if a fin was made with a material and process that cost about the same as a McDonald’s® value pack meal. And that is the reason you see Force Fins only in very special dive stores that put the value of the product above the profits made.
He kept to his idea on making the most efficient and durable fin on the market and to this day uses the finest USA made polyurethane to make his fins. In the words of the Fin Doctor himself, Bob Evans, “There are no bad fins on the market. All fins work. My fins are simply the best. Diving with Force Fins is kind of like driving a car that is made to get 200 miles to the gallon vs. 20.”YouTube - The History of Force Fin
