Swimming on the surface - Excellerating Force Fins

[bodysurfer]

Hi All,

I really like the look of the Excellerating Force Fins, and have read many good things about them. I do occasionally dive, but my real love is bodysurfing. I am looking to add to my arsenal of fins something that will let me power on to big offshore waves. I've tried other large fins, but they are either too cumbersome or really uncomfortable, or both.

A poster on a different forum noted that when they swam at the surface the EFF would slap the water surface and not be effective for swimming on their front e.g. freestyle (so they had to swim on their backs). Could anyone comment on this ? I'd be very bummed out if I did lay out so much cash for a pair that turned out not to work for what I am hoping to use them for.

(Yes, I know there are Rip Force FF specifically for bodysurfing, but they match pretty closely other fins I have - and I am looking for something with considerably more power).

I have also read that the fins suck on to one's feet very well. I am hoping that with a bungie strap and fin savers I would be OK in surf.

thanks all very much !
JP

 

[uncleavi]

JP,
I served in an elite unit in the military and to prevent your fins from flopping on the surface use a modified Combat Swimmer Stroke. If you swim on your side you will get all the power you need on the surface and not have your fins slapping down on top of the water. You don't need to exactly on your side either. Tilt a bit till you find the spot you are most comfortable and kick away.
Have Fun
Force Fin Tester #1

 

[meesier42]

The excellerator is actually pretty good on the surface. I have been using it for freediving for years and just recently for underwater hockey. Obviously both include a lot of surface swimming and of the ForceFin line, the Excellerators are the best for surface use, although with only a little training with any of the ForceFins work fine. The problem that most people claim as a detriment to surface swimming is those people have bad habits from other fins, this habit is to kick upwards hard (recovery) and with the reduces load on the recovery of the ForceFins, this action causes them to pop out of the water, not really the fins fault that people haven't learned how to use them properly.

Based on your other post, I think you should look closely at the SD-1 Military. It is a great fin, it is very comparable to the UDT and the Jet Fin, the profile of the Military is almost identical to the UDT, even the ribbing is similar. They are somewhat more flexible (improves acceleration) and the foot pocket is already worked out.

 

[uncleavi]

Yeah, what he said!
I really love my SD-1's

 

[bodysurfer]

Thanks all for the feedback

uncleavi: Having been a competitive swimmer, my tendency is to a strong flutter kick, which is what the EFF are apparently geared towards - hence my checking them out. As for swimming on my side (or an angle): I am not too sure about how practical that would be for when I'm using my arms in freestyle.

meesier42: The training you refer to is for a modified kick, I would guess. Looking at a video of the EFF, this might involve keeping the feet lower in the water or not using much of a recovery kick. (keeping legs deeper in the water is of course exactly the wrong thing for efficient freestyle).

The SD-1s look interesting, though the foot pocket on the EFF looks more comfortable when worn barefoot.

 

[meesier42]

I too am a competitive swimmer, or at least I was... Guess what, competitive swimmers are the single fastest adopters of the ForceFin advantages. A well coached and powerful flutter kick will move you like you have never gone before. And with a well controlled flutter you'll be fine. As a competitive swimmer, while swimming I actually prefer the Pros. The Pros are a great balance of stiffness and responsiveness. Although the upgrade TanDeltas are fantastic as well, they are a little stiffer, but I actually think they are borderline too stiff.

Modifying the kick for best use, is actually really easy, go for a swim w/o fins, then put the FF on and go. Freestyle your never flat on the water, always on one side or the other depending on which arm is forward at that time, you also swim "uphill" feet low as well, and then you don't force a back-kick, although you power the recovery, you don't use the hamstrings to do it. The bad habits that other fins encourage, includes using your hamstrings to perform the recovery kick, not only is this ineffecient and leads to cramps, but also tends to cause the fins to be very close to the surface.

The Excellerating ForceFins are massive fins, they're pricey too. They can be fluttered quite hard and go... well fast. I have always thought the Excellerating are best in the TanDelta material, I wish that I could recommend something else, but the price is worth it. The problem with the Excellerators is they really require the use of ForceWings. This is due to their size and stiffness, they will exhibit significant lateral shutter without them, of course you can just kick harder to overcome this issue, but the you will only benefit from the variable flow control of the Force Wings. You can read more about the Wings and the benefits of them here or here ForceWings
I personally love the Batwings and the Whiskers. My Excellerators are wearing Batwings right now, but that's a feel thing for me, they look CRAZY, but they are cool in the water.

Yes, the standard footpocket is more comfortable barefoot than the SD-1, infact I would never recommend using the SD-1 barefoot. Even in the basic footpocket, I highly recommend using a comfort instep with them, it's much more comfortable, and gives you the availability to remove them and put your booties on to go diving.

I have recently started playing with the Flying Force The improved footpocket is easily the MOST comfortable footpocket I have EVER USED. Not to mention the added control and fluid dynamics improvements of the winglets, basically they ROCK, and yes I can surface swim in them easily. No shutter, not too stiff, not to soft, they are quick and effecient. I am not sure if they would be good for Bodysurfing although, they won't outpower Excellerator (not far behind, but won't win), nor will they have the control of ForceWings (rudder effect).

With all of that, I am not sure I have answered the question, for bodysurfing, I would recommend either the RipForce with some ForceWings (doesn't much matter which ones) or Excellerating with ForceWings, both will rip it up pretty well, the RipForce would be better for bodysurfing, while the Excel better for diving, but both will be great for what you want to do.

 

[bodysurfer]

Cool, thanks. I've ordered a pair of EFF's - hoping I'll love them.

 

[uncleavi]

Keep us informed on how they work as you use them.