Fins?

I started with "jet" and "rocket" fins long enough ago that my feet outgrew them.
Many years later I bought some Mares Quattros and still use them as my in close rock beaters and loaners.
I tried the Scubapro splitfins at the urging of a diveshop owner and was not impressed with performance but they are very soft and forgiving on your feet/legs.
I bought Picasso Blackteams and I really like them. They have nice wide comfy footpockets for my "Hobbit" feet and great performance.

The fins you have now will work fine for the time being bro,buy some longblades when you're ready to upgrade.

i dive with apollo bio-fins. they are the bomb. imo split-fin design fins are a thousand times better than traditional fins. but they damn sure aint cheap.

I may get these myself.....I tend to cramp when using the long fins (IMO: long fins are for those who are in shape)

Andy - what size are you? And I mean "foot size" 

Andy - what size are you? And I mean "foot size" 

That actually sounds..."worse." 

Andy - what size are you? And I mean "foot size" 

That actually sounds..."worse." 

We all know what "foot size" correlates to in the worlds of Mooches and/or Manatees...   

Mooch Costco has a clone of the Bio Pro that are nice and a lot cheeper when they put out their scuba gear, should be prety soon now. I have a pair and like them fine.    They are fine for scuba but do not have enough thrust for freediving IMHO. Find out what size you are and check ebay and craigs list.  I got my wife a set of bio Pro's for $25.00 on ebay.  The person did not list them as bio pro just fins. I love my black teams. 

For cramps eat more bananas for potasiam and hydrate. 

I'm NOT knowledgeable....
And I've been known to be wrong....

But as I visualize the swim-fin "mechanics"...???...you are not looking for power from the "topside" of the fin....but pretty much only from the bottom-side.

1) Floating face-down, you "point-your-foot" and bring the knee up.
    (pointing your foot...minimizes forward-motion drag)
2) Then your ankle brings your foot to "walking orientation."
3) The leg extends --- and simultaneously..the other foot points and the knee comes up in an alternating rythem.

Your legs do more of a "pumping motion" than "up-and-down."

That therefore little thrust comes from the top-side of the fin...???..

That the most efficient technique of using swim-fins EMPHATICALLY employs "bent-knee" motion......unlike the small amount of knee-bend that is most efficient in the "australian crawl".....???.......

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Put me right on this.

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It seems that a correct understanding of exactly how the swim-fin is supposed to deliver maximum power..???....would not only play a role in swimming strongly, but would enlighten a person as to whether   L O N G    fins were a thing to look for in fin-design..???... Would also shed light on the "stiff-fin" Vs. "flexibile-fin" question.

Judd

(I just now spent a fair amount of time laying on the floor trying to visualize where the "push" comes from in a fin-stroke   My interest comes from last summer.   I bought a new pair of long flexibile fins and used them ONCE in a lake.  Underwater, I was trying to use the "swimmer's crawl kick" with them and was very disappointed in the amount of propulsion I got.   Then someone shouted from shore:  "Hey Judd....the hotdogs're ready...!!!....   And I haven't used them since.)

Ok so now put both feet together and dolphin kick. This is really fun coming up.

JwSmith long blades are not designed for swiming on the surface.  The majority of your speed when you are doing a crawl if from your arms your legs are mostly just for balance.  If your long blade fin comes out of the water you lose all the power.  The kick I use with long blades is a larger slower stroke with less of a bend in the knees.  It takes about 2 kick cycles for me to reach 15 feet.  4 to hit 30.  Once I become negativly boyant I like to stop kicking and just sink so I do not use as much air.  Long blades develop thrust on the forward and reverse kick because you moving them through a lot of water. 

Take a piece of wood move it up and down it will have resistance when it moves both ways same is true for a fin unless you are trying to kick like riding a bicycle.  Pull the long blades back out and give them a try while diving.   

Here is a link showing several kicking styles with long blades.   

Here is a link showing several kicking styles with long blades.  

If given a chance DO NOT freedive with this woman.  Rapid heart rate, blood flow to non vital organs may leave a trail of dead divers on the bottom.  Then again, they are smiling...

If your long blade fin comes out of the water you lose all the power.  The kick I use with long blades is a larger slower stroke with less of a bend in the knees.  It takes about 2 kick cycles for me to reach 15 feet.  4 to hit 30.  Once I become negativly boyant I like to stop kicking and just sink so I do not use as much air.  Long blades develop thrust on the forward and reverse kick because you moving them through a lot of water. 

Fishsticer what you wrote could have come right out of a text book.  For long blades you do want a more straight leg (not completely straight).  A wider stroke is good, it saves energy.  Stiff fins pigeon hole us into a narrow stroke (something I am guilty of).  The sink phase, the glide, the free fall...what ever you want to call it is the key to free diving.

Long blades are really more important for coming up from a deep dive then anything else.  There not really necessary for a quick ab dive, but if you love to be in the water and you are good at clearing your ears they can be a lot of fun and they are pretty impressive.  They generate a lot more thrust then scuba fins or split fins.  The air in your neoprene suit and in your lugs will be very compressed at depth and you will be very heavy (this allows for the energy saving freefall).  Even with long blades the first few strokes coming off the bottom of a deep dive move you very little.  I forgot my long blades one day and I had to rent some fins from a dive shop.  I wanted to set them on fire at the end of the day.  I have a pair of blackteams, a pair of waterways fiberglass fins, and a pair of picasso carbons.  Out of the three the black teams are the best value in my opinion.  I have beat the hell out of them and they are still going strong. For a medium length fin mares quatros are pretty good.  I thought that split fins were a gimmick until I tried on a pair.  They do work, but it takes a fast past kick like a freestyle swimmer.  They don't generate much thrust per kick, but they are easy on the ankles.