Extreme Dolfinism

[Fondueset]

A couple more videos from our last session (after the toe returned to more or less full functioning) These are two 75s with the Orca at what I consider a moderate pace and using different techniques - included also are a couple of 75s with the Starfin. The comparisons are not perfect A/B s but we had some problems with the pool lights messing up the focus and with the Orca's velcro coming undone during push offs and ankle flexing.

You can also see the lifeguards vacuuming the pool - we've been lucky to get in a couple hours before opening.

 

[wjohnson100]

A couple more videos from our last session (after the toe returned to more or less full functioning) These are two 75s with the Orca at what I consider a moderate pace and using different techniques - included also are a couple of 75s with the Starfin. The comparisons are not perfect A/B s but we had some problems with the pool lights messing up the focus and with the Orca's velcro coming undone during push offs and ankle flexing.]

Yea, I totally get your problems with the velchro. I got rid of the velchro and metal clip totally with my own strap design. A picture of one version of the straps is on the previous page of posts I think. I recently revised it even more to delete a couple of tension locks I had on the picture you will see on the previous page. In any case, I never have problems now with the straps coming loose, the metal clip never eats into my feet, and the main strap never has to be loosened to remove the fin. In fact, once I got the right settings on my main straps, I sewed them in place. That is especially important for me because my feet and legs are not the same size. Until I figured that out, I was swimming in circles. Anyway, now the only straps that get adjusted when I put the fin on are the heel straps. Here is a picture of the current configuration:

When I put the fin on, it looks like this:

 

[cdavis]

" legs are not the same size"

I have similar problem, one leg longer than the other. Makes is hard to put even power into the fin.

What exactly did you do with leg/foot placement on the orca to fix your problems?

 

[wjohnson100]

" legs are not the same size"

I have similar problem, one leg longer than the other. Makes is hard to put even power into the fin.

What exactly did you do with leg/foot placement on the orca to fix your problems?

Yea, that is exactly what I had a problem with.

My first competition with the ORCA, I had to so overcorrect to stay straight that I was swimming with only about one leg. I don't know if people with regular monofins have this problem. It would be tough, as there is not much they could do about it except have the fins custom made.

With the DOL-Fin X-20, the fix was easy - I just moved my left shoe for my longer leg, bigger foot longitudinally toward the blade end of the fin, about one shoe size distance for me - problem solved. Now when I am swimming up from the bottom plate, I go in a straight line and I get nice even pressure on the fin, and following the lane line in the pool is no problem. I can actually close my eyes and swim a straight line, impossible before the fix.

With the ORCA original straps it is much harder. You have to set the straps so that your longer leg foot is longitudinally further toward the blade end of the fin than your other foot. With the original straps, that is a bit difficult as you have to loosen all of the straps every time you take the ORCA off, so that then you also have to reset the straps precisely each time you put the ORCA on. I found that difficult to do on a consistent basis with the original straps. I would usually make my best guess on the side of the pool and then readjust as necessary once I got wet, all-in-all a very cumbersome non-user-friendly thing to have to do. As a consequence, I mostly used the X-20 where the fix is permanent. The good news though, is that you can do it with the original straps. It just takes a bit of patience.

With the new straps I designed for the ORCA, once I got the main straps the way I wanted them, I sewed them in place, so now they fit consistently just like a shoe. I don't have to worry when I put the fin on out of the water whether my feet and legs will be in proper allignment when I get in the water - it is perfect every time.

Like yesterday, I was in a competition here in Kuala Lumpur. I put the fin on out of the water and once it was on, I never touched it again till after I was done with my DYN - no adjustment contemplated or needed. Pictures from yesterday are available here -

https://www.facebook.com/wjohnson100/media_set?set=a.10151995064013962.1073741852.623243961&type=3

Incidentally, there is no metal or velchro in the new straps, so there is not much left to wear out or cause pain. I have worn the fin for many hours at a stretch with no problems. Doing all of this has unleashed the ORCA for me. I almost never use the X-20 anymore.

Once you get the longitudinal placement of your feet set properly, it is much easier to get even power into the fin. It actually feels different in the water. Your confidence in yourself and the fin will increase drastically.

Let me know if this solution works for you.

 

[Fondueset]

Yea, that is exactly what I had a problem with.

My first competition with the ORCA, I had to so overcorrect to stay straight that I was swimming with only about one leg. I don't know if people with regular monofins have this problem. It would be tough, as there is not much they could do about it except have the fins custom made.

With the DOL-Fin X-20, the fix was easy - I just moved my left shoe for my longer leg, bigger foot longitudinally toward the blade end of the fin, about one shoe size distance for me - problem solved. Now when I am swimming up from the bottom plate, I go in a straight line and I get nice even pressure on the fin, and following the lane line in the pool is no problem. I can actually close my eyes and swim a straight line, impossible before the fix.

With the ORCA original straps it is much harder. You have to set the straps so that your longer leg foot is longitudinally further toward the blade end of the fin than your other foot. With the original straps, that is a bit difficult as you have to loosen all of the straps every time you take the ORCA off, so that then you also have to reset the straps precisely each time you put the ORCA on. I found that difficult to do on a consistent basis with the original straps. I would usually make my best guess on the side of the pool and then readjust as necessary once I got wet, all-in-all a very cumbersome non-user-friendly thing to have to do. As a consequence, I mostly used the X-20 where the fix is permanent. The good news though, is that you can do it with the original straps. It just takes a bit of patience.

With the new straps I designed for the ORCA, once I got the main straps the way I wanted them, I sewed them in place, so now they fit consistently just like a shoe. I don't have to worry when I put the fin on out of the water whether my feet and legs will be in proper allignment when I get in the water - it is perfect every time.

Like yesterday, I was in a competition here in Kuala Lumpur. I put the fin on out of the water and once it was on, I never touched it again till after I was done with my DYN - no adjustment contemplated or needed. Pictures from yesterday are available here -

https://www.facebook.com/wjohnson100/media_set?set=a.10151995064013962.1073741852.623243961&type=3

Incidentally, there is no metal or velchro in the new straps, so there is not much left to wear out or cause pain. I have worn the fin for many hours at a stretch with no problems. Doing all of this has unleashed the ORCA for me. I almost never use the X-20 anymore.

Once you get the longitudinal placement of your feet set properly, it is much easier to get even power into the fin. It actually feels different in the water. Your confidence in yourself and the fin will increase drastically.

Let me know if this solution works for you.

I think it's reasonable to suppose that the wide, straight blade of the Orca tends to amplify any asymmetry more than the blade of a hyperfin. I noticed this myself when one strap or another would either slip a bit, or was asymmetrically adjusted.Interestingly - I've had less problem with this in open water - probably because no push offs and no standing. But I agree - the default strap arrangement on the Orca is it's weakest point.

 

[wjohnson100]

I think it's reasonable to suppose that the wide, straight blade of the Orca tends to amplify any asymmetry more than the blade of a hyperfin. I noticed this myself when one strap or another would either slip a bit, or was asymmetrically adjusted.Interestingly - I've had less problem with this in open water - probably because no push offs and no standing. But I agree - the default strap arrangement on the Orca is it's weakest point.

Yea, for me the straps are no longer a weak point, but rather a strength. I hand-sewed mine because I had no access to anyone who could do the sewing for me here in Kuala Lumpur. Also it was a bit of a pain getting high strength tension locks here in KL. The only things I used to make the straps as they are configured now, were 1" nylon webbing, 6 tension locks, some glue, and needles and thread. I also reused much of the 3" webbing from the old straps for the new. I would have preferred polyester 1" webbing, but could not find any here in KL.

I have found a huge sailmaking company in Phuket, Thailand where I live. They would be perfect for the manufacture of straps if I am able to communicate to them what I want. They can easily make everything of the proper materials. Soon as I get back to Thailand next month, I will check into making several sets of straps. If I cannot get it done there, I will do it this spring when I get back to the USA. The only limitation really, is to be able to guarantee high strengh tension locks are used in them. The ones I use now are rated at 200 pounds breaking strength. I can get stronger rated to 300 pounds in the USA from Amazon. I am pretty sure that would be strong enough. Unfortunately though, they don't ship those particular items overseas. Not even expensive at all -
Of course, 1" polyester webbing is easy to get - http://www.cargoequipmentcorp.com/Webbing-p/30150b-1-rl.htm
and 3" also if you need - http://www.cargoequipmentcorp.com/Webbing-p/747b-3.htm

Once made, there is really nothing left there to hurt or wear out, as the velchro and metal clip are gone. Also, no velchro to loosen in the water. In fact, my main straps are sewn, so that now the only adjustable straps are the heel straps. Fits like a shoe now, and consistent every time I get in the water.

 

[Fondueset]

I went back through the videos and found one of my 'Bad Toe Session' 75s with the Starfin is about the same duration as one of the Orca 75s I did more recently. Though it might be useful the have them up together. It's fun to start them both at about the same point.

 

[REVAN]

Speed and stroke count appear to be fairly comparable on these 2 videos. The biggest difference is that your turns were quicker with the hyperfin, though some of the turns with the Orca did not look as though you were trying for fast clean turns. Good thought on putting these videos up next to each other. This is a pretty good method for doing a comparison over a forum.

It is not the whole story as we still need to know the background information and an assessment of the effort going into each stroke supplied from the diver. But this is a good way to approach the subject of evaluations and comparisons.

Ideally, we would use a split screen capable video editor to time sync the laps and display each lap one above the other on the same video screen with a counter in each window keeping track of the number of fin strokes. Combine that with some interval recovery data, and finally the touchy-feely overall impressions and you've got the makings of a good monofin gear review.

 

[Fondueset]

Speed and stroke count appear to be fairly comparable on these 2 videos. The biggest difference is that your turns were quicker with the hyperfin, though some of the turns with the Orca did not look as though you were trying for fast clean turns. Good thought on putting these videos up next to each other. This is a pretty good method for doing a comparison over a forum.

It is not the whole story as we still need to know the background information and an assessment of the effort going into each stroke supplied from the diver. But this is a good way to approach the subject of evaluations and comparisons.

Ideally, we would use a split screen capable video editor to time sync the laps and display each lap one above the other on the same video screen with a counter in each window keeping track of the number of fin strokes. Combine that with some interval recovery data, and finally the touchy-feely overall impressions and you've got the makings of a good monofin gear review.

It's a start! This gear review business can get time consuming. Comparable videos like this is what I was trying for last time in - but it got screwed up due to straps coming loose and the like. The star fin video is from the BTS (bad toe session) so the downstroke is VERY gentle. The turns are not something I pay much attention too - they're a bit better with the hyperfin just because I'm more acclimated to it.For the record - I'm not affiliated with Smith Aerospace and I'm not getting and free fins or anything out for checking these out. To the extent I can I'm posting videos of the Orca a/b'd against my Starfin so that anybody interested can start to get a feel for how they compare.

My criteria in posting and evaluating is to give out the kind of information I want about a fin.
With the Orca with it's current blade I'm pretty confident at this point that I know where it stands relative to my Starfin.

In terms of getting to a point where you'd think about buying one - a review can only go so far. But I'm certainly open to suggestions if there is something in particular you'd like to see.
Questions too. Feel free to ask questions.

 

[REVAN]

You are right. These evaluations are time consuming, and they cannot be done alone. It takes a small team of people to pull it off.

When the developers do the testing, there is too much room for shenanigans and bad data.

What we need is to raise some funds to put together an independent team of volunteers that will take the time to evaluate the different monofins against each other. It may not take much. Under the right circumstances we may be able to get a team together with promises of free food, free dedicated pool and some good open water diving.

Anyone have ideas? Maybe we could do something at one of the freedive-palooza events. We could set up a race-track of sorts in the lake and use that instead of a pool....

 

[wjohnson100]

It's a start! This gear review business can get time consuming. Comparable videos like this is what I was trying for last time in - but it got screwed up due to straps coming loose and the like. The star fin video is from the BTS (bad toe session) so the downstroke is VERY gentle. The turns are not something I pay much attention too - they're a bit better with the hyperfin just because I'm more acclimated to it.For the record - I'm not affiliated with Smith Aerospace and I'm not getting and free fins or anything out for checking these out. To the extent I can I'm posting videos of the Orca a/b'd against my Starfin so that anybody interested can start to get a feel for how they compare.

My criteria in posting and evaluating is to give out the kind of information I want about a fin.
With the Orca with it's current blade I'm pretty confident at this point that I know where it stands relative to my Starfin.

In terms of getting to a point where you'd think about buying one - a review can only go so far. But I'm certainly open to suggestions if there is something in particular you'd like to see.
Questions too. Feel free to ask questions.

I went back through the videos and found one of my 'Bad Toe Session' 75s with the Starfin is about the same duration as one of the Orca 75s I did more recently. Though it might be useful the have them up together. It's fun to start them both at about the same point.

I wanna steal your monofin stroke, ok?

 

[Fondueset]

I wanna steal your monofin stroke, ok?

Thanks -It's open source - though to really precisely match the one in the video I suggest bashing the living crap out of your big toe.

What I do, pretty much all the time, is focus on getting the wave going in my spine. The point where the upstroke transitions through the hips, up the spine - rounding the upper back and out the arms and back down as the downstroke is a particular focus for me. There are points where it wants to stall out or go to far - like the low back, knees etc. Finding those and working with the exact right tensions and relaxations at the right times makes it a really interesting form of Yoga for me.

One of the things that really please me about the Dol-fins is that I can still use basically the same technique with them. I'd probably spend at least 4 hours a day doing it if I could.

 

[cdavis]

Cool idea to put the two vids together and play them at the same time.


Second the comments on the difficulty of getting a good gear comparison. Very hard to get an accurate comparision and way too easy to fool yourself or be subject to sheanigans.

I noticed a slight difference in the strokes. Your butt wasn't getting as high with the Orca as with the Starfin. Was that related to the toe issue or was that something inherent in the fins, or??

 

[Apneaddict]

www.youtubedoubler.com/

 

[Fondueset]

Cool idea to put the two vids together and play them at the same time.


Second the comments on the difficulty of getting a good gear comparison. Very hard to get an accurate comparision and way too easy to fool yourself or be subject to sheanigans.

I noticed a slight difference in the strokes. Your butt wasn't getting as high with the Orca as with the Starfin. Was that related to the toe issue or was that something inherent in the fins, or??

Two things, Connor - one is the Starfin has more resistance, likely effecting butt height - but also I was backing way off the toe on the downstroke. To synch the two files - I suggest the point where my head crosses the midline of the pool. What you'll note is that the Starfins 75 is a few seconds quicker than the Orca's.

 

[wjohnson100]

Thanks -It's open source - though to really precisely match the one in the video I suggest bashing the living crap out of your big toe.

What I do, pretty much all the time, is focus on getting the wave going in my spine. The point where the upstroke transitions through the hips, up the spine - rounding the upper back and out the arms and back down as the downstroke is a particular focus for me. There are points where it wants to stall out or go to far - like the low back, knees etc. Finding those and working with the exact right tensions and relaxations at the right times makes it a really interesting form of Yoga for me.

One of the things that really please me about the Dol-fins is that I can still use basically the same technique with them. I'd probably spend at least 4 hours a day doing it if I could.

 

[Fondueset]

You are right. These evaluations are time consuming, and they cannot be done alone. It takes a small team of people to pull it off.

When the developers do the testing, there is too much room for shenanigans and bad data.

What we need is to raise some funds to put together an independent team of volunteers that will take the time to evaluate the different monofins against each other. It may not take much. Under the right circumstances we may be able to get a team together with promises of free food, free dedicated pool and some good open water diving.

Anyone have ideas? Maybe we could do something at one of the freedive-palooza events. We could set up a race-track of sorts in the lake and use that instead of a pool....

Hey Ron,

Suddenly this morning a part of my brain started working - before coffee even! I don't know if I'll make it to Palooza next year - but I have a friend here who is going to take the FII course there - if I still have the Dol-fins here I can send them along with him if I don't go. If we could get a lunocet there as well we could have The Great Monofin Shoot Out! Of course I would then have to be there, due to my personal awesomeness.

 

[REVAN]

Hey Ron,

Suddenly this morning a part of my brain started working - before coffee even! I don't know if I'll make it to Palooza next year - but I have a friend here who is going to take the FII course there - if I still have the Dol-fins here I can send them along with him if I don't go. If we could get a lunocet there as well we could have The Great Monofin Shoot Out! Of course I would then have to be there, due to my personal awesomeness.

By then, I should have the Mk-2 ready!

 

[Fondueset]

By then, I should have the Mk-2 ready!

My dive buddy/videographer and I are plotting as we speak!

 

[REVAN]

Possibly a first: We took our DOL-Fin technology and attempted to work out the force and balance equation to get a monofin that could work for a leg amputee freediver or scuba diver. The asymmetric design is necessary to get the thrust to line up so that the diver can swim a straight line. It looks strange, but it appears to work!