Custom-made high-performance diving fins

[Eero Soralahti]

I've been doing military scuba & competitive freediving for well over a decade, and in all these diving disciplines the available fins were having recurring problems in e.g. ergonomics or efficiency. The available fins were either efficient OR comfortable, even though I never understood why they could not be efficient AND comfortable at the same time. My road bike is efficient and comfortable at the same time, so why are my diving fins not?

I concluded that in order to make efficient AND comfortable fins, you would need to start from the diver, and more specifically from her/his feet, and then build a fin around the foot to make sure it fits perfectly, comfortably and without any power transfer losses caused e.g. by a stretching foot pocket or a compressible neoprene sock.

I then proceeded to fix a long list of other problems that I was not comfortable with in current fins e.g.

• Why do I create most of the thrust in the front-kick, even though I have large muscle groups available for the back-kick as well (hamstring, glutes, lower back)?
• Why do my fins weight so much?
  
• Why do my knees bend and increase drag in glide phase?
• Why do my fins use compressible cell foam for buoyancy control? Wouldn't some buoyant, yet pressure-resistant material reduce the risk that my fin breaks in deep dives, and offer consistent performance in different depths?
• Why do I need to buy new foot pockets with every set of new fins?

I've explained and illustrated these fins in more detail in my site www.finnfin.fi. I would love to hear what you think of the approach and concept! Especially: Are you sharing any of the problems I have faced with current fins? What else would you like to have fixed in current diving fins?

And to be direct, I know these fins are not for everyone:

• These are 100% custom-made, using the best materials I know (e.g.carbon & Kevlar fibers) so the production time and material costs drive the price beyond the casual diver's budget.
• These need to be wore in bare foot, or using only a very thin sock, so they are not suitable for dry suit diving