I thought I'd follow-up on my
initial review of the DOL-Fin Pilot2, which I posted back in March, with some more thoughts and experiences with this fin.
Refining the Technique
It has taken a little while to refine my technique, but then as I didn't have much of one to start with I guess that's not too surprising really. Having become somewhat more relaxed now, and spend less time looking behind me to study what the fin is doing and, instead, feeling what my feet are doing I find I can easily judge the force I'm applying, into the fin, through my feet. That makes a heck of a difference.
If you're experiencing twisting problems with your arms out ahead of you, as I did, I found that reverting to 'soldier' position (arms by you side) helped a lot as it's one less variable in solving the body position equation. When you're comfortable with that you can get your arms out again.
Exploring What's Possible
Yesterday was, I think, my seventh visit to the pool and I feel I've established a reasonable base upon which to start exploring what the Pilot2 can do by way of amplitude and frequency of kick and how much the ankle plays in the stroke. We should all warm-up and stretch before getting in the water, that's a given, but I find that some extra attention to the muscles running down the front of the lower leg is important as these tire easily when they're not used to being applied to the kick in this way.
When you get it together, body undulation, straighter legs and a nice ankle flick you're not so much finning, I feel, as lazily gliding. It really can be quite effortless using this fin. I do have more work to do to be consistently this good but, as I've mentioned previously, the smooth conversion of effort into propulsion occurs over a wide range of the stroke. To-date, I've been somewhat lazy or half-hearted in my stroke as I've only really put effort into the down stroke. This is something I need to rectify because, obviously, the upstroke is important too but makes the Pilot an even better monofin when the stroke is applied properly!
Turns
The traditional
roll, tuck, push-off turn, which seems so graceful, just doesn't work with the Pilot as kicking-off is very difficult. That said, instead of making a hard kick-off to get some glide at the start of a length I'm coming to appreciate the more relaxing flat turns that you need to make with this fin. I think it keeps the feeling of a DYN more relaxed in general, and that's where you want to be.
Shoes
Ahhh, yes, the shoes, something I think those of us who have gone down this path have spent some time thinking about. Ron's good in that he has chosen some shoes that you can buy along with the fin. I've not tried them myself but they have the advantage of a wraparound heel which you'll appreciate when trying to stand up in a pool.
Having come to the Pilot2 through, shall we say, a somewhat circuitous route where I ended-up with the shoes before I ordered the Pilot2 I've some additional observation to make. Firstly, I made a post on the '
CYCLING SHOES FOR MONOFIN USE...' thread regarding my experiences with the ratchet closure 'popping' which gives you uneven connection to the fin and can lead you into a wonky stroke that can quite noticeably through you off-balance so to speak. Secondly, as mentioned in that post, I'd be interested to hear from anyone using the boa closure system on their shoes as to how effective they are. I'm inclined to lean towards Velcro for my next shoes, whenever that may be.
Construction
The Pilot is a solid piece of kit, very robust and even when I've been clumsy it's taken the knocks with good grace so I feel it will be with me for a long time and that is significant with regard to the long term cost of ownership of a monofin. I like the folding blade tips, they're quick and simple to deploy, no fiddling with nuts 'n' bolts, so I'm good to go.
How do I feel about the Pilot2, two months in...?
I can honestly say I'm enjoying this fin. I like its feel and when I 'get it together' I can really
fly with this thing. I'll be hitting open water soon, getting some depth so that's where my next exploration with this fin will come.
I'm looking forward to it.
