Old diver but force fins newbie

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Tried them in the Med (Medes Islands) last weekend. Very happy with them. :)

Pros :
- compact, so easier to load in the kit bag, and to walk on the boat
- lighter to carry,
- forget them in the water, don't feel like kicking (frog kick mainly)

Cons :
Didn't do so good in a strong current (with my usual fins, I do), meaning I'm not perfectly used to them yet. So only a temporary setback.

Concerning the dive : lousy visibility after a week of heavy rains and strong winds, but when you meet friendly 200 pounds groupers, you just forget it ! :D

Have a nice week.

Not sure if it's a pro or a con, but did you get strange looks from your fellow divers when they saw the fins?
 
Bob,
You mentioned that FF's have been around since 1983, but I believe your timing is a little off. In Mar 1982 I was transferred to Okinawa and not long after I read a review in SkinDiver magazine of a new fin that sounded like it was exactly what I was looking for. I wrote you a letter to find out about getting a pair and in about 45 days I had a pair in the mail. I put about a 1000 dives on them before I rotated back to Camp Lejeune NC in Mar 1983. The type diving was different but the fins worked great still. That began a long relationship that continues today. Say Hi to Suzanne for me. I've always had nothing but the best of service from Yall. I still have that set from 1982 though they are retired now.
 
Not sure if it's a pro or a con, but did you get strange looks from your fellow divers when they saw the fins?
What's a con ? It's reather a orginal (86a) or Pro at (92a) measurement of flex... I have given up on Divers and really gave up on what people think. We gave it a good effort and sold over one million Force fins and still sell a few each day. Lost the passion with all the negative comments over the years..Working on a Earth saving project Water...
 
Bob,
You mentioned that FF's have been around since 1983, but I believe your timing is a little off. In Mar 1982 I was transferred to Okinawa and not long after I read a review in SkinDiver magazine of a new fin that sounded like it was exactly what I was looking for. I wrote you a letter to find out about getting a pair and in about 45 days I had a pair in the mail. I put about a 1000 dives on them before I rotated back to Camp Lejeune NC in Mar 1983. The type diving was different but the fins worked great still. That began a long relationship that continues today. Say Hi to Suzanne for me. I've always had nothing but the best of service from Yall. I still have that set from 1982 though they are retired now.
Thanks...Susanne is chasing down customers needs while working on several major projects...keep kicking. Love, Bob and Susanne
 
What's a con ? It's reather a orginal (86a) or Pro at (92a) measurement of flex... I have given up on Divers and really gave up on what people think. We gave it a good effort and sold over one million Force fins and still sell a few each day. Lost the passion with all the negative comments over the years..Working on a Earth saving project Water...

Is the earth really worth saving? (Technically, you're saving humanity. The earth will go on without us.)

The con is the negative looks, which you admit has discouraged you. To me, it's fun - especially when they see me zip through the water.
 
Concerning the questions and strange looks :

- I had some questions, but not silly ones, yet. Discussing equipment in an open minded way has never been a problem to me,
- Weird looks : got none so far, but I've been on the boat only three times with those fins, time will tell.

Anyway, when confronted to jerks my motto is : So what ?
 
All I can say about Forcefins is this: I am not a technical minded person, but I am married to one, big time. If it runs on current, gas, oil, or water, my husband can take it apart and put it back together without a blueprint. He gets excited about all things mechanical. He buys everything mechanical only in very high quality and that he expects to last forever. This is someone who feels pressure changes on planes when no-one else notices, and whose eye goes right to a microscopic scratch, or inferior o-ring on his gear after he gets it serviced. He is also very experienced diver, who learned to dive in a frigid unfriendly climate, and can take everything he owns apart and repair it. He started with the Pros about 15 years ago, and has since never worn a fin Bob didn't make. He recommended them for me, and my days of diving with blisters and cramps ended at that moment. Once I had become accustomed to my excellerators, I recognized what I read from Dan Volker as the absolute truth. Your fins have the most influence on your diving experience, beyond your reg, beyond your BC, beyond all else ( unless you're also half blind and can no longer see your gauge ( see my review for the Perdix AI). When my hubby and I swapped fins for a day, his pros were disorienting for me because they are so light it feels like you do not have fins on, but he hauls arse in them, like a torpedo. They have a too good to be true feel to them, and you have to get used to the fact that they are the real deal. They feel like nothing on your feet, and it's part of their technology. He picked up a pair of excellerators like mine and likes them even more. When we were in Cozumel last month, it was blatently clear how aptly named they are. I don't have an expect kick-type vocabulary, but when we wanted to stop, against the strong current, to look at sharks and eels under ledges, I just kicked mine with little back flips to hover. When we kicked just to steer, we ended up so far away from our group that our new friend joked about us not wanting to dive with them. It reminded me of when I did my advanced training and my dive master asked me to slow down because I will kicking his arse. I had no idea what I was doing wrong or how to slow down. I have had dive masters ask me to stay near them because the new divers follow me, since I wear a cap you can see 100 miles away under water. Our last trip, it was hard for me to follow in a line without back kicking. I keep posting messages here because today one rarely gets the satisfaction of buying something that lives up to the hype. The thing with Bob is that he is zero hype, and I will not get into the slamming him for not offering his fins to the advertisers the big companies use ( he is fins only, thus a niche market shops can't sell), or letting then make it overseas and wreck it. My hubby and I have all met dive shop owners ( one who sold me my kick arse Perdix) who have tried force fins ( usually the Pros) and found them odd and not understood the cult following. People, they feel different because they are made different. You don't kick the same with them. If you get used to them, you will grow to love them above all of your gear. We were picking this year's dive spot, and we decided that we will no longer travel to a certain spot in the Dutch Antilles that we love for the singular reason that it has a gear theft problem and losing our force fins would change our diving experience, and we don't know how much longer Bob will keep shop. When was the last time you based your dive trip decision on the possibility of having to replace one specific item in your gear bag? That's how we feel about our Forcefins. I am a petite person in her late 40s, and I can't tell you how often the people on boats (often young fit guys wearing well advertised not cheap fins, sometimes even the dive masters) with me ask me what fins I am wearing after the first dive. It breaks my heart that they are not better known, and that is why I take the time to post here. If we had underwater olympics here in Florida, you would see how well this old gal could cut effortless corners like a gymnast and race like an Ironman. No one in my family has any relationship with anyone in the dive industry. Please forgive me for the length of the review, but I am posting it because far too much equipment is based on marketing. I want people like me to have the chance I had to buy something exceptional. Get them while you can.
 
I will back @Bob Evans product 100%. His customer service is just as good as his fins. He took the time to chat with me on my wants and needs along with my worries. He listened and then broke it all down while throwing a few very interesting stories in here and there. I was leaving for Turks and Caicos in 3 days and Bob had the new fins at my front door in 2. They made the week of diving even better. Lots of looks and questions about the “ fish fins” on my feet. I even exchanged fins with the DM at the mid point of one dive and she was hooked by time we hit the boat. I will alway let other divers try these on for a dive. I truly think everyone needs to feel how great they are. It’s a shame people’s “cheapest $” is such a big factor in today’s shopping trends. I live by the motto you get what you pay for. Sure, sometimes the most exspensive isn’t the best. Force Fins matches up to their price tag.

Thanks Bob
 
I will back @Bob Evans product 100%. His customer service is just as good as his fins. He took the time to chat with me on my wants and needs along with my worries. He listened and then broke it all down while throwing a few very interesting stories in here and there. I was leaving for Turks and Caicos in 3 days and Bob had the new fins at my front door in 2. They made the week of diving even better. Lots of looks and questions about the “ fish fins” on my feet. I even exchanged fins with the DM at the mid point of one dive and she was hooked by time we hit the boat. I will alway let other divers try these on for a dive. I truly think everyone needs to feel how great they are. It’s a shame people’s “cheapest $” is such a big factor in today’s shopping trends. I live by the motto you get what you pay for. Sure, sometimes the most exspensive isn’t the best. Force Fins matches up to their price tag.

Thanks Bob
 
WOW, Thank you all for a Father Day. I like to respond later to some comments that need to be explained in more detail. But Thank you Angel fish and cruisekingkris.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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