Tropol Monofin - a Fondueset Review

[Fondueset]

Last Winter I wrote Tropol to ask about their fins. From the site I could see they used a synthetic for all the 'rubber' parts and that the footpockets were molded. Having had problems with bad glue, deteriorating rubber and delaminating fiberglass on previous fins from several manufacturers - and, to be fair, typically subjecting my fins to extreme conditions, I was pretty excited at the prospect of a truly durable 'hyper' style fin.

Time went on with no word from Tropol. I had several online conversations with our man Trux here on DB about the Tropol fins - he was interested in them too.

Well, by and by I heard from Lubos at Tropol. Based on Trux's recommendation they were planning to send me a new fin - gratis - in exchange for my opinions and, if my impressions were positive (they hoped!) a review! (The operant to term to describe my reaction is 'Holy Crap!!') Lubos had seen my Lunocet review - so he knew I was not an easy sell.

There were some problems getting materials Tropol was satisfied with (which I thought was a good sign for sure)- and, as a few months went by, I gradually gave up on the idea. Lubos, however, did not. He contacted me, said they'd at last worked out the materials question and the fin would be here in two weeks!!

Last Saturday I found a note in the mail - there was a package waiting for me from the Czech Republic - I had an hour before the post office closed!!

I have the fin. I've got some time in with it and I have some impressions - which will appear below in due course Meanwhile, here's a picture - in situ.

 

[WillUnderwater]

Look forward to a review. Their fins look promising

 

[Fondueset]

Re: Tropol Monofin - Part I: Packaging and Curb Appeal

The fin arrived well packaged in a purpose built box. The Blade was well protected against flexion, impact and corner damage. The angry guy in the US postal service who hates monofins did impale the box on the corner of something - but his efforts were thwarted by the good quality cardboard.

Despite ridiculously high temperatures, humidity and carcinogenic sun, I opened the box with my car keys right in front of the post office.

First Impressions

The fin, blade and pockets, is a lovely seafoam green. It weighed in at exactly the same weight as my first Triton hyperfin - about 8.5lbs.

note: Marks, smudges and scratches on the fin are all mine - pic was taken after the first couple of dives in our zebra mussel infested waters

The Foot pockets have heels and some kind of reinforcement running along the bottom - which ends right at the heel. This appears to be a way to take some of the strain off the arch and ankle by leveraging the heel.

The Blade is hand laminated with a beautiful wave pattern and the quality of finish is excellent. It has a slight inward curve along the trailing edge and the corners are rounded.

According to Lubos the blade angle is 15 degrees - measured from the axis of the leg.

Click on the link below and scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a cutaway of the footpocket and an illustration of relative angles (don't hit the english translation button or you'll lose the page)

Tropol-monoploutve

Here is my angle illustration - it looks a bit more than 15 to me - but my methods are doubtless flawed. ( I did weight the stick to make it lay flat along the bottom of the pocket)

Whatever the angle may be - I find it very comfortable and effective - as I'll discuss in the next section...

My overall first impression of this fin is one of elegant simplicity and very solid, high quality construction.

 

[Fondueset]

Re: Tropol Monofin - The Force is strong with this one!

I've now had this beauty out in the bay a few times. During this time a couple of interesting things have happened. First - the surface temp shot up from 58F (around 15C) to 72F (22C) in 3 days. As soon as it hit 60 F we switched to our 3 mils suits - and this was also the first day with the new fin.

Next - I had one of those breakthroughs in monofin technique my second day out with it.

Therefor I conclude: The Force is strong with this fin.

Heres a short vid from the first day - I was a tad overweighted and tend to swim too close to the bottom (from swimming under people in a public pool) so please forgive some marginal technique.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uQHhEB0ja4]YouTube - Tropol Monofin[/ame]

I'm not working particularly hard in these videos - probably what I'd call a comfortable fast cruise.

I immediately noticed two things - the blade is stiffer than my other monos and the footpockets seemed to place my feet farther from the fin - which felt bad.

The footpocket issue corrected itself - and I realized it was because there were no holes in the footpocket to let water and air out - so it was just taking a few minutes for my feet to get nested in there. (Lubos left it without holes because, he said, some people prefer it that way - the rest of us can just add them)


The fin's weight and blade area are very close to my first Triton Hyperfin - which I like for both of those reasons. The blade is stiffer though, and the fin is negatively buoyant. This last made it really nice to swim with in shallow water - and I was able to get some nice photographs of fish that might otherwise have spooked with my other fins - which would float up behind me at such depths.

The fin has plenty of power, yet I did not find it tiring to swim with. The footpockets are quite comfortable and I had no trouble wearing it for a couple of hours. ( I asked for their largest - size 45 - in order to accomodate socks in cold water) Our longest dive covered about a kilometer on the surface, with lots of horizontal swimming - both surface and along the bottom - and dives to about 20 meters.

In the video you can see the fin has a very symmetrical '(' bend across the blade - as distinct from the 'V' bend you sometimes see in other fins. It felt very controllable and stable to me as I swam with it. In addition to being great vertically and horizontally while submerged, I really enjoyed swimming on the surface with it.

 

[Erik]

Looks like a beautiful and well-made fin, thanks for the review.

 

[apneaboy]

Good thread.

Nice fin and nice style

Where can these fins be purchased from and what customer service record do they have?

If you could compare it to other fins you have owned with maybe marks out of 10 for various things e.g. comfort/efficiency/cost etc that would be useful please.

 

[Fondueset]

Not done yet - conclusions to come! - Keeping asking for what you want though.

 

[Fondueset]

Okay, had to get some media sorted out and re-read some things.

First - Footpocket Material is a Urethane Elastomer - which should be much better against drying, UV, salt, pool chems etc.

Lubos sent me two .jpg files illustrating different ways to approach the angle

Experientially I favor the second one - and will repeat that it seems a really nice angle for me.

I should also note - and you can see this in the pictures I've posted earlier in this thread - that my footpocket differs from the one in the photo in a couple of ways. First there is a full-length ridge along the bottom which has some kind of rigid re-enforcement in it and next - the bottom part extends all the way to the tip of the top part.

edit:The airspaces in my fin - and in the freediving version of this fin - are filled with uncompressible urethane foam

I asked Lubos at Tropol if there were any screws or bolts in these fins and he said no - they are entirely glued. He also said they have had no problems so far. If you examine the cutaways above you can see these footpockets have a pretty large surface area in contact with the fin blade. I think this and, possibly the materials and general shape of the footpocket probably make for a much better gluing surface. I've flexed the blade and footpockets on this fin until my joints started making little popping sounds and so far I just don't see a problem.

Of course the real test comes in winter here - when things will break if they possibly can.

Apnea boy - I like your idea of a ratings system but there are a couple of problems. I've had the fin only a week - so I have to run off an informed first impression in some areas, and a reasonable rating system has to go up against comparable fins - of course.

For example - my gold standard for durability is the waterway nemo - a fin that is not in the same performance class as these hyper or non-axial fins but one I have beaten the living crap out of, frozen, smashed, shipped and peeled frozen off the bed of a pickup without a problem. I haven't had the chance to do those things with this one, and I won't if I can avoid it!

The most comfortable fin I've used is the C4 monoflap - again; a whole different critter.

Regarding performance and comfort my Hyper fins are all pretty comparable. The Tropol is stiffer and has no V- bend - which the larger of my other two has. The Footpocket material in the Tropol is also softer than the rubber on my other fins. The pocket is larger on my big fin - so more comfort, smaller on the other fin - which is optimized for force transmission - so less comfort.

My thinking when I first saw the Tropols was that they had solved two of the major problems with Hyperfins - variations in hand-made footpockets and deteriorating rubber.

Time will tell, but I'd say I was right so far.

Build Quality and Materials: Excellent

Comfort : Very good

Performance: Excellent

Prettiness: It's definitely the prettiest monofin I've seen.

Durability: Possibly right over the top

I hope to get this around to some of my buddies who've used even more monofins than I have. But this an excellent fin across the board -with a quite possibly radical improvement in durability.

I've spoken with Lubos extensively and he is really interested in the freediving market - and in optimizing his fins for our sport.

As mentioned - the blades are handmade to spec. He also mentioned they plan to mold the footpockets as one piece - instead of the current two - which should further enhance durability. He's obviously open to experimenting.

Based on my impressions from our conversations I'd say support on these fins is excellent.

I'd love to see what some of the really picky heavy-hitters think of this fin. From the standpoint of a recreational freediver - who's also pretty picky - this is an awesome fin.

Prices are on the site Tropol-monoploutve Currently about $455us and mine was $82us to ship - which puts the price below that of most current N/A (aka Hyper) fins.

 

[DivingDane]

Hmmm nice looking fin great to see some news kids on the block making some good products, in the ut away images of the footpockets i see there are 3 air spaces? i wonder what eefect this will have at depth with variation in boyancy and confort as these air spaces compress with depth/ i would guess the fin will become more negatively boyuant as the little bid of boyancy they do give is removed. and i would also think the pockets would colapse a little changing both anlg eof the blade and potentially shape of footpocket? then again maybe the small rubber reinforcements may be enough to prevent this issue. just and observation. fin looks VERY nice though.

Pricing?

 

[Fondueset]

Forgot to say - my fin is slightly negative and the air spaces have been filled with non-compressible urethane foam. This is how they plan to do their freediving fins. I've suggested they use something that is non-compressible but leaves the fin slightly positive for fins used in dynamic.

Pricing is up there at the bottom of my conclusion post - below the picture - here it is again - Our price including VAT is: 8500,- CZK / 325.90 EUR / 454.30 USD

 

[WillUnderwater]

Where are you taking the pictures? Water looks very clear much like our springs down here.

Also, is this only available in the puke green or was it a custom color?

Thanks for the review - look forward to the details.

 

[Fondueset]

It's seafoam green and I got it because it matches my hair - thankyou very much :thankyou

They've got quite a few colors - this one works pretty well here as it goes neutral in the water - it's also a little darker than the pics.

Water is right here, 5 minutes from my house, in West Grand Traverse Bay. That was actually pretty mediocre visibility for around here.

Let me know what other details you'd like

 

[Fondueset]

Put in five hours with the Tropol today. These footpockets are growing on me - almost literally.

 

[Kars]

Colours:
What colours are available and possible? I reckon it would be nice if they would match up with the Elios wetsuit colours, such as silver, metallic blue, black, red, green. Any possible blade colour choices? Custom colours would be very cool of cause!
Yes we freedivers care much about style and beauty, hence the artistic freedive websites you'll see so commonly!

Foot pocket Width & Length:
With bi fins some brands have wider or narrower foot pockets, how does the Tropol fin match up? - What shoe sizes are there available?

Blade stiffnes:
What stiffness did you get? how does it compare to familiar brand's stiffness's? Brands like Waterway? - For instance my "HyperfinS" fin is supposed to be medium, but to a Waterway user it would feel like a Waterway soft fin.

Foot pocket pressure points:
How is the pressure distributed? and in comparison with other fins?

Buoyancy:
I'm happy you already mentioned about the buoyancy, neutral to a bit positive will be the best for most people I've experienced.

Kick 'n glide:
Did you test dynamic kick 'n glide?
A close up video would be very interesting to see.

Great Pictures and nice video!
Keep it up, excellent work Fondueset!

Kars

 

[Fondueset]

Thanks for your questions Kars!

I will email Tropol this week and ask about colors.

For shoe size - I know 45 - the size I have - is currently their largest. I will also ask about this.

I am wearing the footpockets with 3 mil socks - but I do not feel any pressure points - as I often do in my other fins. I think the material of these pockets is more able to conform to various small individual differences in foot shape - like larger joints, etc. My feet are relatively wide - but they do not feel crammed in this fin. Yesterday I had some numbness in the tips of some of my toes after three hours, but there was no adjustment period before I could begin walking. Normally I have to sit for a few minutes and let the bones in my feet shift back into walking mode In my other fins the greatest discomfort is focused on the big toe and the outside of the foot - also a general compression of the foot. (this is mitigated in my larger fin - by the footpocket size and the thickness of sock - my smaller fin is tight on purpose - since I use it primarily in the pool and wanted good force transmission rather than comfort)

As for where the force of the fin rests on my foot - it seems very balanced. I think the long re-enforcement along the bottom probably helps with this. We were in the water a total of 5.5 hours yesterday and comfort was never a distraction. Visibility was not particularly good so I spent most of the time swimming horizontally.

This fin is stiffer than my other two hyper-style fins. I asked for medium stiffness. I would say the stiffness is comparable with the hard waterway nemo I used to own. (you can sort of see it in the video - though I was not undulating with a great deal of force)

I personally like this stiffness. There is an area between an old underwater pipeline and an iron breakwall that I used to try to swim on one breath. I never quite made it - usually about 4 meters short. Yesterday, with this fin, I nearly collided with the breakwall - I was there so quickly and with so little effort. However it must be noted that my technique is much improved since the last time I tried.

I believe most recreational freedivers would prefer a softer fin than this. But this one does provide a good reference for the relative stiffness of Tropol fins. (Blades are made to order - so you can ask for a 'fonduest hardness -2)


I will also mention your thoughts on buoyancy. I agree with you. I will have the fin in a pool for the first time this week and should have some more precise observations.

Anyone reading this thread Please post your questions! Tropol is very interesting in feedback and in knowing what freedivers want in a fin.

 

[Fondueset]

Lubos has sent me some of the available colors. He warns that they all tend to fade with UV exposure - except for blue - which tends to turn green.
Usually the blades are yellow - this depends on the fiberglass manufacturer. In my case they got green - which is unusual and quite cool looking. (my fave blade colors so far are amber - on my newer Triton - and the interesting green on my Tropol. . Kars - I think Lubos is looking into the possibility of metallic colors. They are very flexible, but it all depends on demand.

Current footpockets come in the following sizes:

39-40, 41-42, 43-44, 45-46

I would say, like all other monofin manufacturers I know of, they run tight - so if you want to wear them for long open water dives or with socks - probably best to order big. I'm a 44 - I have the 45-46 pockets. If you are using a fin for constant ballast or dynamic only - then I'd go tight for good force transmission.

Since the footpockets are molded they are not able to make custom sizes unless there is enough demand to justify tooling up a new mold. As mentioned these pockets do seem a bit wider in the toes - which I like - and the material conforms to the feet better than rubber. (though Triton's are lined with a softer rubber that is pretty comfortable)

Last image below the fin is ivory colored - which I think is kinda cool.

 

[Jon]

Chris,

Next time you talk to him maybe you can ask him about a white, or greyscale, blade color for the fin. Something that could be used to set the white balance on our cameras while we're at depth.

I know that Cressi used to make a white bladed scuba fin that was pretty popular with under water photographers (on scuba) and it would been nice to have a monofin that you could do the same thing with. It would also help when spotting a diver in crappy vis.

Jon

 

[Fondueset]

He said they can't really do pure white - it comes out as sort of an ivory. Nice idea though!

 

[WillUnderwater]

These foot pockets do look very interesting and a heck of a lot more comfortable - yet with a design where the power transfer still should be quite superior when compared to an omer or equivalent pocket

 

[Fondueset]

Hi Will,

The Tropol is a Hyper or Non-axial type fin with a relatively high blade angle - so yes, it does have superior performance when compared with fins with bifin-style footpockets. I would rate this fin on a par with other fins of this design that I have used. I think the difference with the Hyper style fins is not only the blade angle - but the fact that the footpocket contributes to energy storage and return.

N/A fins are not as comfortable as fins with bifin pockets.

I think the primary advantage of the Tropol relative to other non-axial fins will be durability of materials.

I also think the toe area of the footpocket is a bit wider than most fins of this style - and that the material is softer - but the thing effecting comfort is the size of the pocket.

My big fin from Triton is just as comfortable as this fin - because I can fit a 5 mil sock into it. The trade off there is a certain loss of efficiency caused by introducing some play in the footpocket. For me, being primarily a cold-water recreational diver - its worth it - but they are still very tight and uncomfortable compared with my waterway nemo.