Want to learn about ForceFins, start reading here.
This is really a recap of lots of older post, combined into a single post and turned into a "sticky" for all of the divers, freedivers, snorkelers, etc... that want to have a consumers view of things. I have been lucky enough to use ForceFins for 10years now, and met Bob Evans(owner and designer of FF) a couple of years ago and encouraging me to try more and more of his fantastic designs.
Question: ForceFin makes so many different fins and they are often hard to find in the local stores, how do I pick the right fin for me?
Answer: Forcefin makes many different fins because every diver is different and the wide selection allows each diver to fine tune his/her body, technique, expirience, strengths and weakness to find the best fin for YOU. Rest assured that all of the fins in the ForceFin line carry the same heritage of testing and refinement to make each as good as they can be for their intended purpose. Of course, they also share the trademark footpocket.
The Prime Line of fins are just that Prime. They are purpose designed for the recreational diver and meet the needs of technical and miltary divers around the globe. Just because ForceFin makes the Extra Line (Extra Force and Excellerating Force) they are not neccasarily better for you. The Extra Line are named appropriately, they are extra in every way, they are extra control, extra thrust, extra stable, but are extra expensive (sorry Bob, but they are, worth every cent, but still expensive).
So to pick the fin for you, lets start with your background. So answer the following questions
1) Are you (or have been) a competitive swimmer
2) How much do you dive?
3) Where do you dive? (ie currents, tropical, cold, penetration)
My basic recommendation for all Divers/swimmers new to the ForceFin line is to start with the basics; the Original or the slightly stiffer and more responsive Pro Fin. These 2 fins represent all of the characteristics of ForceFin and won't break the bank. Most divers find that one of these fins will do everything they want and don't need to buy more. If you are a competitive swimmer (or simply dive A LOT) the TanDelta maybe a better starting point for you.
All three of the Original Shaped fins will perform wonderfully, their differences lay not in the feel or strength to use them, but more in the kick frequency that you will use to go a given speed. The stiffer the material the slower your kick frequency will be. I have found that the ProForce is a great comprimise between flex and stiffness to allow me an optimum kick frequency and speed, giving me fantastic endurance to cover ground if I need to, but that being said, many people prefer the even lower frequency of the TanDelta as it also provides lots of low end torque. The stiffer materials will also allow greater speed, but of course greater speed requires more leg power, as no fin can overcome the friction of pushing you through the water, and if you remember physics: friction is proportional to the square of speed. So ulitmately your top speed will be more dependant on your legs than the fin, rest assured all of them compare favorably to even the best of the competition.
Of course don't forget the Original Split fin, named the Foil Force. This easy kicker will refresh your mind as you forget about kick and just enjoy the woderful mysteries of the underwater world. Its very easy to use, having a very similar feel to the Originals but with a lower kick frequency. I will say that although it moves quite well, it does not accelerate as well as the Original or the Pro even though the speed will be about the same. I believe this is due to the longer narrower blades.
Once you are fimiliar with the ForceFin Prime lines you may want to evaluate the Extra Line and the Adjustable line.
The Extra Line contains 2 of the best fins I have ever used; the Extra Force and the Excellerating Force
Both of these are absolutely incredible, but beware, incredible or not, they are a lot of fin, and they may be too much for many divers. You can see my previous dicussions on these here.
So that leaves the adjustable line. This is the most diverse line in the catalogue, but these are all pretty much specialist fins. If you need to change your bootie or go to a drysuit boot or go skin, this pocket will do it for you. In this line we have everything from the leg busting MultiForce for in pool workouts, Body boarding shredders RipForce, to the Fishermans friend the Float Tube Fin designed to allow the largest of Wader Boots to be securely held. The final fin to talk about is the Adjustable Force which looks similar to the Float Tube, but remember the Float tube has an oversized footpocket, this is the normal size and will fit dive booties and drysuit boots alike. The Adjustable has the advantage of fitting comfortably to any size boot and even barefoot, with the added advantage that you can add any of the ForceWings to the fin (see ForceWing Thread). Although ANY of the ForceFin line can have the Comfort Insteps added to reduce the size to fit your wetsuit booties. Which is my norm, I wear XXL fins with my Drysuit boot and slip the instep in to snug up the 3mm wetsuit bootie.
Military SD-1, I was able to convince Bob to sell me a pair of these about a year go, but he claims that he will put them on the market, so bug him and you "might" get a pair too. My first expirience with them was on the Boiler Wreck off Cape Hatterass. And of course there was a nice southern current, divable, but just barely. Of the 3 person dive group I was part of, I was the only one to make the 300yard surface swim onto the wreck, the other 2 were swept down current forcing me to abort, get them and make it back to shore, the others were wearing either Quattros and Bio-fins, but I digress. The next day we made it out diving in open water and I took them out again, this time I was really able to test them. Again a current, not as strong but over a knot and it was much weaker on the bottom. I found they manuever very easily, not to mention have enough speed to easily overcome the current. I found they performed flawlessly in positioning and sculling and the comfort of the footpocket is unmatched.
A side by side with the Pro, the Miltary lacks the distinctive snap and recovery feel of the pros, something I have always appreciated, but they out manuever the Pros. I also believe this is a fin that will convert many of the FF nay-sayers as it has a much more classic fin design and feel. If you swap diving wet and dry you will appreciate the great fit that you will get out of this fin in either boot
I did a series of runs counting the number of kicks to cover the pool in my nieghborhood
Pro Force Fins- 22
Foil Force- 22
Extra Force TanDelta w/whiskers parrallel- 20
Extra Force TanDelta w/whiskers in tight V- 17
Excellerator TanDelta
No ForceWings- 20
w/ Whiskers Parrallel- 19
w/ Batwings in any position- 18
w/ Whiskers in Tight V- 17
Based on the feel of the Excellerators and Extras. I have some additional comments-
1) shutter is very predominant without ForceWings, I do not recommend using this fin without one of them. disclaimer, this may not be as bad in the original polyurethanes
2) The Batwings are very flexible and adjusting them from the outside edge of the blade to a tight-V did not change the feel or distance per kick
3) Unlike the Extra Force, moving the whiskers to a tight-V did not change the feel of the Excellerator, but an improved DPK was noticed. Also unlike the Extra, speed did not seem to change, but I was not timing so this observation is purely anecdotal.
4) I found that I prerfered the Batwings on the Excellerators over all other configurations
This is really a recap of lots of older post, combined into a single post and turned into a "sticky" for all of the divers, freedivers, snorkelers, etc... that want to have a consumers view of things. I have been lucky enough to use ForceFins for 10years now, and met Bob Evans(owner and designer of FF) a couple of years ago and encouraging me to try more and more of his fantastic designs.
Question: ForceFin makes so many different fins and they are often hard to find in the local stores, how do I pick the right fin for me?
Answer: Forcefin makes many different fins because every diver is different and the wide selection allows each diver to fine tune his/her body, technique, expirience, strengths and weakness to find the best fin for YOU. Rest assured that all of the fins in the ForceFin line carry the same heritage of testing and refinement to make each as good as they can be for their intended purpose. Of course, they also share the trademark footpocket.
The Prime Line of fins are just that Prime. They are purpose designed for the recreational diver and meet the needs of technical and miltary divers around the globe. Just because ForceFin makes the Extra Line (Extra Force and Excellerating Force) they are not neccasarily better for you. The Extra Line are named appropriately, they are extra in every way, they are extra control, extra thrust, extra stable, but are extra expensive (sorry Bob, but they are, worth every cent, but still expensive).
So to pick the fin for you, lets start with your background. So answer the following questions
1) Are you (or have been) a competitive swimmer
2) How much do you dive?
3) Where do you dive? (ie currents, tropical, cold, penetration)
My basic recommendation for all Divers/swimmers new to the ForceFin line is to start with the basics; the Original or the slightly stiffer and more responsive Pro Fin. These 2 fins represent all of the characteristics of ForceFin and won't break the bank. Most divers find that one of these fins will do everything they want and don't need to buy more. If you are a competitive swimmer (or simply dive A LOT) the TanDelta maybe a better starting point for you.
All three of the Original Shaped fins will perform wonderfully, their differences lay not in the feel or strength to use them, but more in the kick frequency that you will use to go a given speed. The stiffer the material the slower your kick frequency will be. I have found that the ProForce is a great comprimise between flex and stiffness to allow me an optimum kick frequency and speed, giving me fantastic endurance to cover ground if I need to, but that being said, many people prefer the even lower frequency of the TanDelta as it also provides lots of low end torque. The stiffer materials will also allow greater speed, but of course greater speed requires more leg power, as no fin can overcome the friction of pushing you through the water, and if you remember physics: friction is proportional to the square of speed. So ulitmately your top speed will be more dependant on your legs than the fin, rest assured all of them compare favorably to even the best of the competition.
Of course don't forget the Original Split fin, named the Foil Force. This easy kicker will refresh your mind as you forget about kick and just enjoy the woderful mysteries of the underwater world. Its very easy to use, having a very similar feel to the Originals but with a lower kick frequency. I will say that although it moves quite well, it does not accelerate as well as the Original or the Pro even though the speed will be about the same. I believe this is due to the longer narrower blades.
Once you are fimiliar with the ForceFin Prime lines you may want to evaluate the Extra Line and the Adjustable line.
The Extra Line contains 2 of the best fins I have ever used; the Extra Force and the Excellerating Force
Both of these are absolutely incredible, but beware, incredible or not, they are a lot of fin, and they may be too much for many divers. You can see my previous dicussions on these here.
So that leaves the adjustable line. This is the most diverse line in the catalogue, but these are all pretty much specialist fins. If you need to change your bootie or go to a drysuit boot or go skin, this pocket will do it for you. In this line we have everything from the leg busting MultiForce for in pool workouts, Body boarding shredders RipForce, to the Fishermans friend the Float Tube Fin designed to allow the largest of Wader Boots to be securely held. The final fin to talk about is the Adjustable Force which looks similar to the Float Tube, but remember the Float tube has an oversized footpocket, this is the normal size and will fit dive booties and drysuit boots alike. The Adjustable has the advantage of fitting comfortably to any size boot and even barefoot, with the added advantage that you can add any of the ForceWings to the fin (see ForceWing Thread). Although ANY of the ForceFin line can have the Comfort Insteps added to reduce the size to fit your wetsuit booties. Which is my norm, I wear XXL fins with my Drysuit boot and slip the instep in to snug up the 3mm wetsuit bootie.
Military SD-1, I was able to convince Bob to sell me a pair of these about a year go, but he claims that he will put them on the market, so bug him and you "might" get a pair too. My first expirience with them was on the Boiler Wreck off Cape Hatterass. And of course there was a nice southern current, divable, but just barely. Of the 3 person dive group I was part of, I was the only one to make the 300yard surface swim onto the wreck, the other 2 were swept down current forcing me to abort, get them and make it back to shore, the others were wearing either Quattros and Bio-fins, but I digress. The next day we made it out diving in open water and I took them out again, this time I was really able to test them. Again a current, not as strong but over a knot and it was much weaker on the bottom. I found they manuever very easily, not to mention have enough speed to easily overcome the current. I found they performed flawlessly in positioning and sculling and the comfort of the footpocket is unmatched.
A side by side with the Pro, the Miltary lacks the distinctive snap and recovery feel of the pros, something I have always appreciated, but they out manuever the Pros. I also believe this is a fin that will convert many of the FF nay-sayers as it has a much more classic fin design and feel. If you swap diving wet and dry you will appreciate the great fit that you will get out of this fin in either boot
I did a series of runs counting the number of kicks to cover the pool in my nieghborhood
Pro Force Fins- 22
Foil Force- 22
Extra Force TanDelta w/whiskers parrallel- 20
Extra Force TanDelta w/whiskers in tight V- 17
Excellerator TanDelta
No ForceWings- 20
w/ Whiskers Parrallel- 19
w/ Batwings in any position- 18
w/ Whiskers in Tight V- 17
Based on the feel of the Excellerators and Extras. I have some additional comments-
1) shutter is very predominant without ForceWings, I do not recommend using this fin without one of them. disclaimer, this may not be as bad in the original polyurethanes
2) The Batwings are very flexible and adjusting them from the outside edge of the blade to a tight-V did not change the feel or distance per kick
3) Unlike the Extra Force, moving the whiskers to a tight-V did not change the feel of the Excellerator, but an improved DPK was noticed. Also unlike the Extra, speed did not seem to change, but I was not timing so this observation is purely anecdotal.
4) I found that I prerfered the Batwings on the Excellerators over all other configurations
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