The Fins Fit Great!
Photo courtesy of Alpinist magazine
This one's best, these have turbo ridges, this one is faster because it's red.
Hogwash!
Which fin is best?
The truth is there is no one BEST fin for everyone.
The trick is to find the best fin for YOU.
First lets divide all fins into categories.
and no fin soup is NOT one of the acceptable groups...
We have
Short and wide like these
Or long like these
The short ones are generally easier to kick but produce less total forward propulsion due to the smaller surface area you are pushing against the water.
The long ones have a larger surface area and you get more forward propulsion but they have also been described as strapping 2 by 4's to your feet.
Which one is best depends on several things the most important of which is you.
First, the fins you use MUST fit YOUR FOOT and be comfortable or at least tolerable.
The foot at the beginning of this post has frost bite and the mountaineer in question lost four toes.
Let's try to be kinder to our feet than that.
If you have wide feet you need fins with a wide foot box.
Some break in of your feet is to be expected but you should keep all of your toes.
Second, you need to look in the mirror at your legs.
If you see tree trunks growing out of your body you can use long slower leg movements and long fins to rocket thru the water.
If you see wispy thin legs try the wide short fins. You can use the short fast kicks to provide bursts of speed to get you into waves.
If you see three legs in the mirror your case is outside the parameters of this blog post, but I understand the circus is hiring.
So try all your friends fins and find some that are comfortable.
If none of your friends have fins then get new friends.
You can scout the garage sales for cheap fins. They might not last long but you might find the perfect combination of fit and forward motion!
Hint if you wear Duck Feet upside down you get another half size up.
I am not sure why but I think it has to do with some sort of Voit fin magic.
Hint number two there are those that will take a big fin (see the UDT's above) and carve them up to fit them better and change the flex characteristics. Thinning the blades increase their flex. Carve the straps to accommodate your ankle bones. Go nuts with it. It will do you good. You can also modify the foot box by gluing neoprene pads in the box. Do what you have to do to get a comfortable functional fit. See Swaylocks or UK Matsurfers sites for discussions about fin mods.
Here are some Duck Feet that have had the blades shortened and thinned out.
These are readily available so you don't get rubber bits all over the garden.
Even if you are not of the mat or boogie board persuasion get a pair of fins for the summer. Body surfing is a blast and it one of the things surfers lost touch with when "Leashes Ruined Surfing".
Let me know what kinds of fins you use.
I am starting a personal collection and hope to, one day, be the Imelda Marcos of swim fins...
Personally I use a several pairs of Duck Feet (no not all at the same time) but a smaller pair during the summer when I wear them over fin socks and a larger pair during the winter that fit nicely over my booties.
I am also looking at Da Fin as an interesting mid-sized fin
I will also be taking a close look at the fins coming from Yucca Fins from Costa Mesa.
Short blades, long blades and variations in softness. Just the kind of things you expect to see from someone who actually uses the fins. If they work at the Wedge they will work everywhere. Cool dude and he rides a mat among other things.
Definitely on my short list of retailers to visit once conditions improve.
That's all for now it's getting light and I want to get on it early.
PS - The Apinist magazine is now available again! Great photos of some of the most beautiful places on earth (without surf)
PSS the poor guy in the photo above lost all his toes except his piggy.
No word on if that little piggy went wee-wee-wee all the way home though...
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