Extreme Dolfinism G2

[REVAN]

Orca2 is the best. I'm pretty sure the Pilot is better than the SR1, but by exactly how much is still a question that needs more testing to get an answer. In some of my testing the difference appeared to be about 10% for comparing flutter-kick count cycles to to the Pilot with continuous dolphin kicking. I think the SR1 is more efficient with dolphin kicking.

I know that I was very closely matching Walter Johnson last summer when he was using the Pilot and we were both doing KKG technique alongside each other. We had the same number of KKG kick cycles and close enough in time we couldn't definitively declare a statistical winner. Encouraging, but it says little about the actual efficiency; it was an older prototype of the SR1, and it was on a different swimmer with maybe differences in technique, etc....

The design has changed a lot since then. Certainly it is better for manufacturing and robustness, but I really have not had the chance to do the all the detailed testing I'd like to do to fully and accurately verify the freediving performance.

BTW: I just heard that Jessea Lu, from China, set a Dynamic National Record at the Pan Pacific Championship with her DOL-Fin Pilot monofin. Records indicate she did 157m on day 3, and I'm assuming that was the N.R. dive.

 

[derelictp]

I belive any bifin can be more effective using dolfin kick if the user normally dives that way and have an efficient dolfin kick.

The opposite is probably true with a user that normally use flutter kick.

 

[Azrael3000]

Thanks for the reply Ron, the SR1 seem really intriguing. Just something that came to my mind yesterday, as the fin seems to have some metal parts sticking out you should consider adding the option for (temporary) protection for pool users.

 

[REVAN]

Sorry it's been so quiet lately. I've been working hard here, but haven't had any new material to post for a while.

 

[Philip Fennell]

Hello, and Happy New Year,

I had my first (2016) pool session with my Pilot2 this afternoon, just finding my form again after a few weeks lay-off. As far as form goes I have been putting in some ankle-kick only training cycles as part of my training to see how well it compares to a conventional (full body undulation) dolphin kick. Whilst I know others, including @REVAN, have been on record to say that a full dolphin stroke is the way to go I have been doing some basic comparisons in a 25m pool and this is what I've noticed before and confirmed today...

At an average pace, 30 seconds for 25m, I'm not sure how much advantage there is in the ankle-kick as the distance is quite short. If I crank the pace up then 23-25 seconds with dolphin and 20 seconds for the length with ankles only.

Firstly, it goes without saying that the ankle-kick allows you to adopt a more streamlined position, as you can lock your arms into a, stereo-fin style, position either side of the head. Dolphin demands a more relaxed position that brings the elbows out to allow more shoulder movement but at the loss of streamlining. Secondary streamlining effects may be improved because the body remains flat when just using ankles.

Secondly, I'm predominately using only my lower leg muscles which is a much smaller set of muscle in the ankle-kick compared to the full-body dolphin kick. However, with the ankle-kick you are giving up some of the amplitude of kick so reducing the range over which you are getting propulsion compared to the dolphin. Having the fin at its furthest position from the ankle will help a bit in this situation.

I'm imagining that these differences, if meaningful, are more pertinent in pool based DYN activities as opposed to open water and depth dives. Also, I've yet to work this over longer distances to see how fatigue sets in on these muscles.

If anyone has gone through similar experiences I'd be very interested to hear their comments.

 

[Philip Fennell]

When I go training I've settled on putting all my kit in my backpack save for my Pilot2 which I carry in my hand. To save passers-by in the underground from being clonked by the fin I've made myself a foil case that protects the folded over blade tips. The first version was a simple wrap-around affair, using Velcro to secure the various edges but was a bit of a fiddle to get around the foil. The second version, see below, is like a pencil case with two zips at either end and fits neatly around the foil.

Foil case and Pilot2...

...insert one end in first...

...then the other, zip-up and close the centre flap.

Reasonably neat and tidy and quick to get over the foil.

 

[derelictp]

Nice foilcase Philip, I have to build something similar

 

[Philip Fennell]

Nice foilcase Philip, I have to build something similar

I have the 76cm (30") fin and these are the dimensions for the case:

• Fabric is a vinyl material like you'd make a pencil case from
• W 240mm x L 822mm
• I marked a 12mm border all round within the above dimensions
• The fold-over flap is centred and 124mm x 45mm, secured with 55mm of 20mm Velcro
• The Zips are standard 300mm dress makers zips
• The ends are stitched at the 12mm border
• The Zips are sown in place with their tapes flush to the edge

If I made another I'd add a couple more millimetres to the length as otherwise it's a wee bit snug.

I hope that helps.

 

[derelictp]

Thanks Philip!


Some orca training insights
Here is a bad quality video from todays training. I have made some progress both in form and performance during these 3 months with the Orca. I really love diving with it because of the flow it gives. The constructions greatness is that the diver can swim without overextend any part of the body to adjust to the blade, therefor relaxation is much better with still streamlined and fluid motions.

 

[REVAN]

Thanks for the video @derelictp. You have the best looking hands-down monofin technique I have seen!

Progress Update:
I've been busy working on the large and small frame Orca2 designs, (this mixed in with several other ongoing projects like the Pilot-SR1 fins). It takes a lot of work to get the sizing of the parts right so that the fins will be able to fit everyone that they are intended to be able to fit. It is harder to get it right when I'm designing for feet that are not mine.

Presently, I'm working on lofting the streamline shapes to make the fairing molds. It is a slow, iterative and tedious process to get the shapes properly defined in digital space, but this task is now getting close to completed. Once I am comfortable with the shapes, I will cut them and build them up into new mold designs that I will make for forming the polycarbonate fairings; another lengthy process. I'm doing my best to get all this done in time for the summer swimming season (with luck, by mid spring).

When done, the Orca2 products should be able to fit all the sizes presently covered by the DOL-Fin Pilot monofins.

 

[derelictp]

You have the best looking hands-down monofin technique I have seen!

Thanks
I whish I could cure my very stiff shoulders to unlock the hands up technique but now I'm 25% more effective hands down and I'm pretty happy with this hands down tech for now.

 

[Jackin]

Hi all,

first - lot of thanks Ron for Orca2, the most versatile mono with superb performance on a market.
second - Philip - thanks for idea to protect a blade. I take your concept without middle section, only 2x zip - easy handling and super protect

third - I have a problem with little scratches on black bottom body, when I using Orca in a pool once a week. I have an idea about protect cover using removable spray Plasti Dip or Foliatec (car wheels protect, maybe something the same is on a wood in Orca). Is it suitable for Orca polycarbonate covering ? Someone already try it ?

fourth - for same using (pool), I need heel support. Standing on Orcas blade is not suitable for every condition (you need optimal depth of edge/step and lot of space around and also something to grab with hands for balance). Also it create tiny scratches on black body part and also on a blade after few "hours". We are 2-4 people for one line, sometimes it is difficult to evade underwater. On the end, there are not much space to rest and recover, everybody can imagine it...
In deep look on Orca - there is no space for hell support, I think. Polycarbonate does not lasted needed weight and I do not have any idea how to make some new bottom part and attachment. Maybe Ron.
My one and only notion is take away whole polycabonate parts (2 parts) and using flotation wood part as a heel support (if the shape let me stand on pool edges). It will be only for motion training, for openwater and competitions I supposed to get Orca back to original state/design for better performance. What do you think ? Someone already try it ?

Thanks for a help.

For Orca - there are only two things I do not like (when someone is around me in a water) - blade width (I can live with it as well as I can live with my wife) and no heel support (I want to solve this). Everything else is on the other side perfect - solid, replacable, modificable, good looking, very smart designed and much much more. Also, I am not perfect at all too. Seems that the Orca is a fin with a soul. And swimimng with Orca is amazing experience, every second.

 

[Philip Fennell]

I have a problem with little scratches on black bottom body, when I using Orca in a pool once a week. I have an idea about protect cover using removable spray Plasti Dip or Foliatec (car wheels protect, maybe something the same is on a wood in Orca). Is it suitable for Orca polycarbonate covering ? Someone already try it ?

@Jackin, it is not exactly the same problem as yours but I have a similar problem with the shoes I use on my Pilot2.
The heel bumpers on the shoes were in the wrong place, when I stand on the fin in the pool, they didn't make contact with the floor of the pool so I removed them. The shoes are very smooth and that makes it easy to slip on the tiles. I've tried different things but what works best is racket grip tape, like you'd get for a squash racket. I've used the rubbery, slightly tacky, variety and that seems to give me enough grip on the tiles and saves wear on the shoes. May be something like that, strategically placed on the underside of the Ocar's covering might help.

 

[REVAN]

I have an idea about protect cover using removable spray Plasti Dip or Foliatec (car wheels protect, maybe something the same is on a wood in Orca). Is it suitable for Orca polycarbonate covering ? Someone already try it ?

No one has tried it that I know of.

My one and only notion is take away whole polycabonate parts (2 parts) and using flotation wood part as a heel support (if the shape let me stand on pool edges). It will be only for motion training, for openwater and competitions I supposed to get Orca back to original state/design for better performance. What do you think ? Someone already try it ?

The fairing adds stability of the fin to the feet. The binding straps hold the feet to the frame, but it is the fairing holds the feet in alignment with the frame. Bottom line is that I don't recommend using it without the fairing.

I use the tip of the fairing for a support. I don't really stand on it with any significant weight on it, but I'll hold my head and shoulders out of the water and that's all I need.

On the issue of scratches:

I used the the translucent PC material for the fairing so that the color we see from it would come from within the material instead of from the surface of the material. This has the effect of attenuating how prominent the surface blemishes appear. However, it doesn't really work when there are just a few scratches. When the fin is new, the predominant surface feature is the gloss finish, and one scratch breaks that up and is very noticeable. When there are a lot of scratches, the gloss is no longer a feature. In that case the predominant feature is the light that is reflected from within the PC and the surface finish is much less noticeable.

This is one of my demo fins. This fairing is over 2 years old and has been heavily used, and sometimes by people with little or no prior monofin experience that bang it up quite badly. It went through a couple months where new surface scratches were noticeable. At some point it just sort of plateaued. Now it doesn't matter much what is done to it, it always looks like this. In my opinion, it doesn't look bad, it just isn't a gloss finish any more. This is what an Orca2 fairing really looks like. I think it looks good for a heavily used demo fin that is 2.5 years old.

My advice is to just use the fin and enjoy it. I designed it for the long haul, not to just look good when it is new and unused.

- Ron

 

[Philip Fennell]

One of these fins is not like the others, one is different do you know...?

 

[derelictp]

Report from Reethi beach Maldieves 1st dive with the Orca2:
1,5mm suit
1kg at the neck
0,5kg at the waist

Already at the first dive to 30ish meters I realized this fin is unbeliveably good even though I would have benefit from 0,5kg more weight.

Make no mistake about it, the float combined with the efficient blade makes it uncomparable to anything I have dived with. My 30m dives is so easy and I belive when diving on a line with good safety a dive to 50m can be made in comfort. In the freefall from 15-30 I can ralax totally without loosing the direction.

 

[cdavis]

Getting the buoyancy right on a Dol-fin truly makes it the "cats meow." My early prototype came without floats and it took me a while to get the right float size. The Orca2 I tried seemed perfect from the first day.

One other great benefit for me was the ability to lie flat on the surface in salt water without moving at all, no wetsuit and no tail dragging. Do you have the same experience?

Connor

 

[derelictp]

Getting the buoyancy right on a Dol-fin truly makes it the "cats meow." My early prototype came without floats and it took me a while to get the right float size. The Orca2 I tried seemed perfect from the first day.

One other great benefit for me was the ability to lie flat on the surface in salt water without moving at all, no wetsuit and no tail dragging. Do you have the same experience?

Connor

yes, I totally agree
My surface position and relaxation was very good and that is an important factor in my opinion.

Today I was neutral @15m which is slightly to boyant but I belive my position will be great even with 0,5kg more.

I have the 30" blade and I did not lack thrust in the beginning of the descent inspite my "heavy" boyancy. Turning at 30 m and ascending did not need any thrust though I was only slight sinking at that depth.

I will report trying the 2kg config.

One thing I have get better at is the duck dive which is different from using a traditional mono. I feel it's getting better and that it will not be an issue for me in some sessions.

 

[karl bellamy]

I couldn't help but notice Ron, in your photo of mk 2 there are two fin extensions that run off the fin up to the rear of the cowling, what are they for? and how come my mk 2 doesn't have them?
It took me a little while to workout how best to stand with fin on at the shallow end of pool, I do a bent knee pirouette, kind of like a sitting position with pointed toes. This allows fin to rest almost flat on the bottom offering stability. Also lessens scratches on cowling.
I tried using ordinary mono fin last week and was surprised at how inferior it felt.
I'm also interested in the proposition of using carbon instead of polycarbs ?
Big thanks Ron for having the mindset to develop such a good product, always a talking point when a bring it out.
Karl

 

[REVAN]

I couldn't help but notice Ron, in your photo of mk 2 there are two fin extensions that run off the fin up to the rear of the cowling, what are they for? and how come my mk 2 doesn't have them?

The fin cuffs were an experiment, looking for ways to make the fin perform even better. I only made a couple of that style, but didn't promote it to product status or sell any of them. I didn't like how ropes or weeds could potentially get jammed in the gap between the cuff and the suspension strap. I didn't want to sell an entanglement hazard, but I still use this fin sometimes. I have a stock large foil, but when I want to use a medium, I use this one because it is available and I can't sell it. I'd use it without the cuffs, but the foil is drilled for having them attached and won't fly right without them.

I have a new design that I like quite a bit better. From a distance, it looks almost the same, but it works differently from the traditional cuff like you see in the picture above. This new design is more of a strake than a cuff, and it is much less prone to any entanglement issues. I have been selling many of the new Mk-2 fins from the last several months with variations of this strake upgrade, and I think I have finally settled on a final design for the part and recently made a small production run of these fin strakes.

The best news is that these strakes can be easily added to any of the earlier Mk-2 fins out there, as it doesn't require a modified foil like the earlier fin cuff design. Better still, it has a built in adjustment to provide more user customization of the fins AOA control and thrust. I've been planning to make these strakes an available upgrade option, but haven't yet done the new Owner's Manual and Website updates to make it official. However, I do have the parts here for the upgrade, so shoot me an email if you are interested in it.

The strakes can be seen in three of these four Orca2 bodies in this picture. One Orca2 (on the left), is the original Mk-2 design first introduced in October 2014.

I'm also interested in the proposition of using carbon instead of polycarbs ?

That will be an expensive modification for something that doesn't actually make the monofin work any better. But, sometimes people will buy an expensive silver platter that doesn't actually work any better than a stainless steel platter; so what do I know... ?