Why are jetfins so good?

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*Floater*:
Below are a few pics of a size large IDI Power Fin Frogfoot Model (now XS Scuba Frog Foot Fin) and an XL Force Fin Pro:

frog_ff1.jpg

I have about 10 sets of the IDI Frogfoot fins that I'm trying to clearance out. If anyone is interested, PM me. I'm looking for $35 a pair plus shipping. they are brand new.

Cheers.

Mike
 
Slight tangent. I know that XS Scuba is now the distributor for Turtles and Frogs. But for those of us new to scuba, who is IDI? Are they the manufacturer? Former distributor?
 
Divin'Hoosier:
Slight tangent. I know that XS Scuba is now the distributor for Turtles and Frogs. But for those of us new to scuba, who is IDI? Are they the manufacturer? Former distributor?

Never mind. Just found this question answered earlier today here.
 
I took the frogfoots and the force fin pros to the pool yesterday and today and did breath-hold laps with each pair. I was just wearing swim trunks and a mask, and didn't have prior experience with either fin, so it's hard to say how they would work with heavy gear, drysuit,... on for someone who very skilled at using them. (Most of my prior experience has been with XL jetfins).

For now I noticed that when using the flutter kick both fins were about equally easy for doing a 25 yard breath-hold swim (pool length), but the force fins were more comfortable because they were lighter so I'll give them the edge on flutter. For frog kicking I was surprised I could even get anything out of the force fins, but I did. It was a lot less efficient than with the frogfoots though, but on my best tries I was able to complete the pool's length in one breath-hold. It took about 17-18 frog kicks which felt floppy, but I'm still working on the correct technique. With the frogfoots I needed about 9-11 frog kicks to complete the 25 yards, and I was less out of breath at the end of it.

As for back kick and helicopter turn, I could do those with both fins, but then again I can do them without fins on (at least in the pool with no equipment), so it's not saying much. The force fins were easier to load for the backstroke since they are small and thin and therefore have less tendency to push you forward when (perhaps incorrectly) loading the kick. The frogfoots were much more unwieldy for loading the kick because they are long and heavy, but I think they packed more punch - but I'm still testing and evaluating... The shorter jets are probably more maneuverable from what I remember. I plan to take my XL jets to the pool as well and see how they compare.

But while I was doing this testing the thought occurred to me that it's almost impossible to objectively compare fin performance because the group of evaluators would ideally have at least 50+ dives on each fin and would have mastered the flutter, frog and back kicks with each. And you'd have to test them in different conditions and with both light and heavy gear on.
 
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