Swimming&Diving with Lunocet Monofin

[finSailor]

Lunocet monofins created by @Ted Ciamillo have received a lot attention in many ways. This thread is about swimming and/or diving with one. So if you have one, please share how it flies underwater

There are different threads where people have posted updates about the order process of Lunocet 2014, and lately about shipments/lost packages of Lunocet Pro 2015. No rants about missing shipments here, please. Those you can find & contribute to in 2015 LUNOCET PRO- thread.

Personally I'll share my experiences with videos to learn more about free diving.

 

[finSailor]

Few months back I promised to show my Lunocet to a group of advanced-level freedivers here in Finland. Last friday we finally managed to meet in Espoo, with friendly people from the Cetus diving association..

I wanted to hear how Lunocet compares to a traditional monofin. Here is a very brief test report and teaser video.

Tested piece was a Lunocet Pro 2015, with Delrin vertebrae which has been fixed with additional stainless steel washers to minimise fin's lateral movement. The spring had 2 pins installed, so stiffness was in medium setting. The fin has been used quite actively, so the spring's rubber is completely 'broken-in' and very flexible comparing to it's stiffness in the beginning. Attached shoes were standard Shimano road shoes.

Few experienced divers tested it and here are some comments:
- Looks & feels very professional
- Feels like a 'whip'
- Feels like very small stereo fins but gives thrust like a standard monofin one you gather some speed
- Very sensitive to errors while kicking
- Requires a lot more kicking comparing to a standard monofin to reach same speed/distance
- Very interesting product
- Usage of biking shoes is a very good idea, to get better fit than with a traditional monofin

This was just a brief run, more rigorous testing continues.. I hope fell Finns could add their comments directly here if possible.

Last diver in the video without a wetsuit is still a rookie, people from Cetus are far more skilled..

 

[Apneaddict]

Nice to see some footage of it in use.

I hope to put up some new footage of me using mine in the next 10 days or so.

I think I've really got the technique down. I'm using one "regular" classical undulation followed by a much smaller ankle flick.

The first kick is great for acceleration after a long glide and the ankle flick really adds to the speed.

I can also just use single kicks... But I'm liking the extra speed and limited energy expenditure of the ankle flick.

 

[alphazo]

I have only used the Pro 2015 for few sessions and still trying different techniques (when not interrupted by other swimmers asking questions )
Today I experimented something between the ankle flick and regular undulation. Basically I try to keep the undulation to minimum amplitude but with a more continuous movement but still using the pelvis. Compared to the double-kick then glide approach I feel much more relaxed and I find my heart rate to stay on the low side. I find speed still reasonable to my taste. It is really comparable to when I use my long super soft carbon bin fins (Imersion Mifsud Freediving Spirit) when trying to break a PB at the pool. Now what I really want to try is to use this bad boy for CW at the sea so I can kick it hard and get some real acceleration during the first meters down (and up too .

 

[Chipswim]

Playing with 2 Lunocets....2014 pro in back... Classic up front:

 

[Chipswim]

Good idea for the thread FinSailor!

First attempt posting videos to support your cause

Playing with 2 Lunocets..... Other direction:

 

[neurodoc]

Here's a video of me using a 2015 Pro on my feet (only one pin; soft-long distance setting for me) with an adaptation of my Lunocet regular/classic flukes with a custom pectoral fin setup. My idea was to provide both directional stability and vertical stability to counter the up/down forces of my feet and fin. So far it works pretty well! More videos to come, eventually edited with sound-still learning the GoPro Studio software.

 

[Chipswim]

Very nice to see your innovation Doc!

 

[finSailor]

Great videos, guys! Very interesting to see your lights, Chip. That visualizes how fin really acts like a whip..assuming that water actually moves like that when kicking.

I found better place/slot to dive, and expect to film more material shortly.

The pool is just so frigging cold, that I was forced to order a wetsuit. Last time coldness took really edge away, I couldn't concentrate/relax at all.

 

[Marco_W]

Stiffness Index for shoes:
I bought in Sept. last year my first shoes for the LunoPro15 i choose the Ano Fit from Scott.... today after a visit at the Doctor i thought about to check out some new shoes, cause i bought the first one a bit to large and had the feeling that the sole is to flexible so that i loose power while using the fin....these shoes had the Stiffness Index 6 whatever this means... I went to the shop and normaly i just want to took a look about the model from last year, with a more stiffer sole... price etc. ...I was checking the offer, choose some Shimano and want to check how they fix at the Luno... there i had a bad surprise....i had no chance.. this was, by the way, also the best argument for my treasury secretary that i had to buy new ones.... well here they are.... Shimano Dynalast R170 for 139.95.-€ (Stiffness Index10)
Always very funny are the sellers in these shops...." here we have also a fine model with holes down under so the water can run out...."
The Luno Pro 2015 was standing right beside her... i just ask " You really have no Idea what is this about or what Iam doing with it, isn`t?
well.... what i liked to know from you which stiffnes index you use on your Luno`s???
R&f`swimm
Marco

 

[neurodoc]

Looks good, Marco! yes, our use of cycling shoes is puzzling to many. I got lots of comments and questions yesterday while assembling my lunocet and pec fins. Good looking shoes! I would try regluing those that came apart. Here we have a glue called "shoe goo" that is a fast drying hard silicone made for fixing shoes. I've found it works quit well even underwater if you let it dry enough first.

 

[Chipswim]

Visual comparison of Deflection by hand of Shimano composite shoes stiffness 6 compared to Shimano carbon sole stiffness 11:

My 2014 Lunocet Pro performs well actually dead even on the clock with either shoe. I happen to prefer the sensation from the stiffer model.

 

[neurodoc]

I bet the stiffer model will last longer as the adhesive between sole and top doesn't have to flex as much.

 

[neurodoc]

I've been enjoying swimming with the pec fins, which in my design provide vertical and directional stability but not propulsion. It doesn't seem to slow me down any, and helps me to be able to kick more efficiently (more from the back instead of the knees) so I may actually go faster with it. Going back to swimming without feels weak and unstable! it is quite a difference. I put a GoPro mount on the bottom so that the camera can hang there. Easy to aim it downward and leave it on the surface, so it would film my dive. I may use this when spearfishing!

 

[Chipswim]

I've been enjoying the Lunocet Classic as a fore fin in conjunction with the 2014 Pro in the rear.


Mine is hand held so my wrists provide the articulation to set the angles for the swimming motion. So it does contribute directly to propulsion. As you recall I started with the avalanche shovel out front and like it..... Then added a nose piece "proboskis" to my Lunocet Classic as an upgrade. (The proboscis is actually a repurposed crack tool from an old vacuum cleaner.)

I've used this fore fin which resembles a Klingon intergalactic fighter every swim since making it. I find it to be more fun and easier to go father. You can see in the video posted earlier it can be used for depth control, steering, and propulsion. The learning curve is super short just put it in your hands and off you go. It has even been helpful / preferred by a new swimmer during his first hour of monofining. In his case he liked easily adjusting his depth by simply pointing the fore fin where he wanted to go. He was not yet articulating it to make propulsion.

Certainly it's great for depth control in a pool. As long as you are moving additional weights don't seem necessary in the pool. I don't know how deep it could take us or if it could reduce the need for weights in some shallower open water applications.

Doc and I have been playing with these fore fins in a side thread. It is encouraging that every one we have made has merited multiple trips to the pool. It has been new and interesting!

I really want to try a set of the new bigger 2015 Lunocet flukes on mine.

Perhaps you could mount a a spear out there with your camera Doc?

 

[Apneaddict]

Neurodoc, it sounds like an underwater version of the common monofin exercise to surface-kick with a flutter board in your hands.

Doing this and actively working of upper / middle back flexibility should help you be able to kick like that without the pec-fins over time.

Kudos!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[neurodoc]

Yes, AA, it does help me to push my spine to a greater range of motion instead of my knees. I've used a kickboard on the surface with a monofin, and this feels similar except less buoyant and more streamlined-plus you can dive with it. I know that just as an exercise tool it improves me, and in the long run this will help my finning. But I think it also has useful potential as it makes swimming easier too, provides a place to store small items and attach a camera. I am thinking, for example, of adding an additional plastic tab with holes to hold a dive flag. Normally when I swim in our lake, I have to stay near my dive flag. This way it stays with me! There is a certain fun factor to using pectoral fins and being more cetacean-like in the process. The only drawback with my current version is it's harder to turn this way. In open water this wouldn't be an issue, but turning 180 degrees while still being in my swim lane requires releasing one arm. I'm working on solutions to this. Chip, I've found that putting my neck collar inside the tube on the pecfin makes me swim nice and level underwater! easier on the neck too.

 

[marginatus]

Very interesting stuff !
Keep the reports flowing guys...

 

[Chipswim]

Hmmmmmm....... Turns out this has been done before! Just on our way to reinventing the Plesiosaurus....
Thanks M for helping me try bigger ones up front.

 

[marginatus]

Thank you for sharing the experiments with us...
You still need to do something about the neck