I am building a special board tomorrow for out family vacation to Tahiti
This special board will have a camera mounted to the deck and I have the honors of being the film guy during part of the trip of all the surfers in our the family.
The Board is 4'10 x 22 (17.5 nose - 19.19 tail) designed to be ridden on your knees or belly with a volume of 25.0 liters. It will be glassed in Epoxy and I want to ride waves in between photo shots and I thought a boogie board would be cheesy.
I will have to power this thing with a pair of swim fins which I haven worn since the 70's.
My choices so far are as follows:
Custom XX Fins ____
Churchhill Fins ____
Catch Surf Stealth Fins ____
My brother told me to get Duck Feet however I remember how they were hard on my feet when I wore them one summer. Maybe their softer these days?
Churchills. They're softer, and will not be likely to cramp your legs. Me, I like Vipers. But, they're stiff, and tend to generate foot cramps, if you're not used to fins. Good luck.
Ding get some Da FIns they are the best by leaps and bounds. I have used them all and body surfed everywhere and when I lived in hawaii the lifeguards showed me them one day bodysurfing they are the best I have ever had…
I like NeoFins myself when travelling… they have a foot pocket that’s made of bootie-like material, and have an adjustable heel strap so you can wear them tight (in waves) or loose (snorkeling). Very comfortable and not horribly expensive, and they pack well. Made by a company called Laguna if I recall correctly.
Ding, you can wear fin socks inside the duck feet and that should take care of the blisters. I have some I got years ago. They look like they are made from very thin wetsuit material (neoprene). I like the power you get from duck feet. I also wear straps to keep the fins attached in case of a bad wipeout.
But having said all this I rarely use fins anymore. Just when I go on vacation and can’t take a board. I’ll throw a mat and fins in my suitcase. In my day we only had 2 choices, Duck Feet or Churchill. My Duck Feet are probably 20 years old, maybe 30 years now.
Mark Cunningham was using Da Fin for quite a while, but I haven’t seen him lately.
On a impluse I pulled into JACK’s on the way home from the shop driving down Pacific Coast Hwy. Since it was raining and no one was shopping I took advantage of the situation. Ended up Buy some Viper Swim Fin and a few other things for my trip
My Brother swears by Duck Feet and that’s what he has always used. I gave in to comfort.
I’ve looked at several fins, but I just don’t use them enough to get a new set. I’ve always wondered if there was something that was comfortable yet powerful like duck feet. I used to see Mark Cunningham in the water and he always had Da Fin’s on. I always bug guys I respect about the gear they use and he was always happy to show me his fins. Same for board guys, I just ask them what they’re currently doing, and they are usually happy to tell me. Kinda like what goes on here at Sway’s.
Looking forward to seeing some images you get. My brother said he got a water camera ready for our little trip next week. Hope to get some good shots of us surfing.
**I’ve looked at several fins, but I just don’t use them enough to get a
new set. I’ve always wondered if there was something that was
comfortable yet powerful like duck feet. I used to see Mark Cunningham
in the water and he always had Da Fin’s on. I always bug guys I respect
about the gear they use and he was always happy to show me his fins.
Same for board guys, I just ask them what they’re currently doing, and
they are usually happy to tell me. Kinda like what goes on here at
Sway’s. **
I do the same as you. Mike Steward swears by them.
I think Viper has a Mike Stewart model, and I think Mark Cunningham may have been involved with Da Fin, but I’m not sure about that.
The last several times I’ve seen Mark in the water, he was stand up surfing on a regular surfboard. Mark said he comes to town and surfs while he’s waiting for his girlfriend who lives in town. Now that it’s winter, I probably won’t be seeing him much. He lives in a friend’s house at Kawela Bay. My brother and I went to school and played water polo with the home owner’s son. Mark played for the rival school.
I think my brother got the go pro, but I haven’t seen it yet. I like the little blue Canon waterproof camera because you don’t have to deal with the extra housing, but it won’t go as deep, only 30 feet. It has HD video too.
I found that the camera needed to be really close to get decent shots. It was also very hard to keep the horizon level. I used my camera with a head strap. My brother said I looked like an idiot, but I wanted to get shots of him surfing, not me.
Got a couple shots of Laird Hamilton in the water, and some girls dropping in on me on a couple of waves. Works good when your right behind someone.
I would rather have a conventional camera with viewer and zoom lens and be able to manipulate the camera better.
