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Extreme Dolfinism G2

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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I should be pretty close to that, 1/2 lung, 1 mil half suit, a 3.5 lb neck weight and the fin is neutral .

Compliments on your upper body flexibility. Must have been doing the "dance" a lot.
 
Just calculating. That's about a 1 minute glide with 60 or so vertical feet and one heck of a long way horizontal. Looked like you were going fast. Impressive.
 
...Compliments on your upper body flexibility. Must have been doing the "dance" a lot.

Thanks. The dance is a very useful training aid. So is making videos of your technique so you can see what you like and don't like about what you are actually doing. This is one I did today with Mandy Sumner here in Hawaii.



PS - Some examples of KKG technique are near the end of the video (last 3 swims starting at 1:40).
 
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Wow Ron, that first swim of yours looks really smooth like a sinus wave...

A question: Now that you have gotten to a higher level of "monofin-undulation", does it seem like you use less O2 per metre, or is it at a cost energy-wise...?
 
Wow Ron, that first swim of yours looks really smooth like a sinus wave...

A question: Now that you have gotten to a higher level of "monofin-undulation", does it seem like you use less O2 per metre, or is it at a cost energy-wise...?

That wave technique is what got me to my US dynamic record, so I think it is better energetically once the body adapts to using it.
 
I did some more reef gliding (with the Orca2 this time) and got to fly over some really great looking coral formations for some nice video. Also, we got some video of gliding with a hyperfin.

 
The video isn't a great test because of different technique levels, but do you have a feel for the gliding efficiency of each? same, one better than the other? Much?
 
The video isn't a great test because of different technique levels, but do you have a feel for the gliding efficiency of each? same, one better than the other? Much?

The hyperfin seems to glide nicely. Mandy had some trouble controlling the hyperfin in the glide. That may be because hyperfins are a little more slippery in the side to side motion, but I'm pretty sure that with a little more practice at gliding that the side-slipping could be overcome and avoided. The Orca has that nice deep keel, which acts like a rudder and helps to avoid the side-slip during the glide and in a long freefall, and also makes it easy to turn and control your direction during the glide.

We each did about 4 to 5 glides that day looking for the best spot and working up to a good glide. The videos are of our final glides. We were getting tired, having been in the water for over 3 hours. Plus, Mandy was getting some bad hyperfin blisters on her feet. We were both pretty happy with our final glides and decided it was time to go back in.

Mandy comes from a competitive swimming background. Her natural tendency has been to swim all the way down and back up when diving. She was saying that the gliding was not only fun, but that it was very useful for teaching her to relax and let gravity do the work. On her first "glide", she actually kicked the whole way down. By the end, she was making long glides and feeling good about it.
 
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The hyperfin seems to glide nicely. Mandy had some trouble controlling the hyperfin in the glide. That may be because hyperfins are a little more slippery in the side to side motion, but I'm pretty sure that with a little more practice at gliding that the side-slipping could be overcome and avoided. The Orca has that nice deep keel, which acts like a rudder and helps to avoid the side-slip during the glide and in a long freefall, and also makes it easy to turn and control your direction during the glide.

We each did about 4 to 5 glides that day looking for the best spot and working up to a good glide. The videos are of our final glides. We were getting tired, having been in the water for over 3 hours. Plus, Mandy was getting some bad hyperfin blisters on her feet. We were both pretty happy with our final glides and decided it was time to go back in.

Mandy comes from a competitive swimming background. Her natural tendency has been to swim all the way down and back up when diving. She was saying that the gliding was not only fun, but that it was very useful for teaching her to relax and let gravity do the work. On her first "glide", she actually kicked the whole way down. By the end, she was making long glides and feeling good about it.

I've found the Orca and hyperfin comparable in pure glide. The Gen2 fin has more leverage - being slightly longer - and the one I am testing has a larger blade. I'm finding it wants a slightly slower stroke. Surface swimming is work in progress - and maybe where the fin differs most from a hyperfin. The prevailing theme I find with the Orcas is that you really have to tone down the amount of force you put into them. They deliver a lot of thrust with very soft effort. The trade off tends to be higher frequency but I'm interested to see the impact of this wider blade on that equation.
 
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I've found the Orca and hyperfin comparable in pure glide. The Gen2 fin has more leverage - being slightly longer - and the one I am testing has a larger blade. I'm finding it wants a slightly slower stroke. Surface swimming is work in progress - and maybe where the fin differs most from a hyperfin. The prevailing theme I find with the Orcas is that you really have to tone down the amount of force you put into them. They deliver a lot of thrust with very soft effort. The trade off tends to be higher frequency but I'm interested to see the impact of this wider blade on that equation.

Update On the New Orca: A few things about these fins:

There is nothing to break or wear out. I imagine it is possible to wear something out, but I just don't see it happening. I've got a lot of hours on these fins.

Performance is Superb. Not just the Orca - but the X20/x22 I tested is an excellent performer. (the orca2 I am running now - with the wider blade - at least matches my hyperfin - and may exceed it in dynamic)

Fit is not a problem - this is one of the biggest problems with hyperfins - The Orcas and X series will leave your feet warm even in very cold water.

You can customize the power - blade span is what matters in this regard. You can tune the fin to your diving style/ body mass etc. With the Newest Orca I'm having to re-think blade span because the fin is a little longer; providing better leverage.

The Investment: These fins are pricy. But by the time you have to replace even one small (and very cheap) part..maybe.. it will have outlasted at least one hyperfin. Support is excellent. These were designed not only to be stunningly efficient - but to be extremely durable (literally zero signs of wear on any of the models I'm using).

I want to say here that these fins are designed with a very good understanding of hydrodynamics - they are a 'math - up' design. Meaning they started from a highly technical perspective for performance and have evolved based on practical experience. I suspect, however, that the very first Dol-fin is probably still working just fine with zero maintenance.

The combination of simplicity and intelligence in these fins is absolutely brilliant.
 
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Very nice to read your report Fondue. Great to see the ideas progressing at a remarkable rate! Congratulations on the new model.
 
Thanks for the user/performance update Fondueset!

An update from my end: The first limited production run for the Orca2 has finally begun. The problem is that the job shop that is doing the plastic forming lost the original order and those parts are going to be really late. They were supposed to be done last week, but when I called for an update, the rep I submitted the order with at the end of June was no longer employed there, and he apparently failed to handoff the order to anyone else. I had to start over at the beginning with them, and I am expecting it to be another 6 weeks before I will have the parts such that I can complete any of the Orca2s that I'm currently assembling.

I've been continuing to refine and improve the strap system for the Orca2. It is amazing how much thought and effort goes into something that seems so simple. However, the effort is noticeable, and I'm quite pleased with all the improvements. I think customers will be pleased also. The latest configuration feels very solid and connected, and it has excellent power transfer.

In spite of the delay, I'm feeling good about reaching the production milestone on the Orca2, but I realize that it is a high-end fin that is not for everyone. Still, I feel this milestone is cause for some celebration! For readers here that are interested in spending less $$$ than the cost of an Orca2, but would still like swim recreationally with a DOL-Fin, I'd like to offer a limited special price on the DOL-Fin X-20 at only $650+shipping, for instock fin sizes. That's a significant discount from the regular price of $890. Currently I have at least 1 of every shoe size available in stock, but that could change quickly, so if you are interested, don't wait. Send me a message that you want DeeperBlue special pricing on your DOL-Fin X-20!
 
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Thanks for the user/performance update Fondueset!

An update from my end: The first limited production run for the Orca2 has finally begun. The problem is that the job shop that is doing the plastic forming lost the original order and those parts are going to be really late. They were supposed to be done last week, but when I called for an update, the rep I submitted the order with at the end of June was no longer employed there, and he apparently failed to handoff the order to anyone else. I had to start over at the beginning with them, and I am expecting it to be another 6 weeks before I will have the parts such that I can complete any of the Orca2s that I'm currently assembling.

I've been continuing to refine and improve the strap system for the Orca2. It is amazing how much thought and effort goes into something that seems so simple. However, the effort is noticeable, and I'm quite pleased with all the improvements. I think customers will be pleased also. The latest configuration feels very solid and connected, and it has excellent power transfer.

In spite of the delay, I'm feeling good about reaching the production milestone on the Orca2, but I realize that it is a high-end fin that is not for everyone. Still, I feel this milestone is cause for some celebration! For readers here that are interested in spending less $$$ than the cost of an Orca2, but would still like swim recreationally with a DOL-Fin, I'd like to offer a limited special price on the DOL-Fin X-20 at only $650+shipping, for instock fin sizes. That's a significant discount from the regular price of $890. Currently I have at least 1 of every shoe size available in stock, but that could change quickly, so if you are interested, don't wait. Send me a message that you want DeeperBlue special pricing on your DOL-Fin X-20!

Highly recommended - the x-20 is not that far off the Orca in performance - and remember Ron is including the shoes. The one I tested was starting to grow on me - but then someone bought it!
 
Fondue,

I own what is probably the oldest x20(the last prototype). As you suspected, zero maintenance to the fin, very little to the shoes. The fin is bullet proof to an excessive level of abuse. The shoes are just about worn out after lots and lots of hours with several different divers. I'll be getting some new ones shortly.
 
I would love to see some detailed pictures of your new Orca ! It is most likely the present epitome of monofin advancement and way shower of things to come...
 
Orca2_glide2.jpg


I finally got the parts for making the Orca2 fairings today. It always takes longer than expected to bring a new product to market, but this is the final hurdle in getting to the initial production run for the Orca2. While waiting for these critical parts, I've been putting a lot of time on the prototypes lately. Each time I swim the Orca2, it impresses me. I'm really liking this monofin. I hope you all will be as impressed with the Orca2 as I have been. :)

I feel bad for those folks over there on the Lunocet thread, with their broken monofins and epic long waits to receive their hardware. I'm starting to wonder if they will ever get anything. I hope they do, but it would not be the first time a 'too good to be true' project just falls apart leaving customers with nothing.

Please help spread the word that I have X-20 monofins that are on sale for essentially the same price as the 2015 Pros (taking into account the cost of shoes). I can ship without delays. The X-20s have been around for several years and have well established performance and durability. I can personally vouch that the X-20 is a much better performing monofin than either of the 2014 Lunocet models, and I suspect it will be better performing than the 2015 model as well.
 
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