You can pretty well educate yourself about products available for fins at ebodyboarding.com and other commercial bodyboarding websites
Okay now…an email I just received (not a pm) from someone who doesn’t seem to have posted on this topic yet seems to take exception to anything bodyboarding. Like Dale wrote August, mats don’t really have anything in common with bodyboard riding characteristcs other than both are usually ridden prone.
Available commercial swim fins are pretty much common to both sports, however, as are available commercial accessories. Not all commercial sites or stores will carry all products, so you have to poke around a bit. Like I said about the mat group and other prone forums, you can get expert feedback from people who use them the way you intend.
As to foot variations, yes, they do exist. I experienced a light fracture of my right ankle ocne upon a time, and it remains slightly larger than my uninjured left. My experience has been to fit the larger foot/ankle and then do whatever adaptation may be needed to the smaller one. Fins that have no adjustment can’t be made bigger.
don’t worry too much about aching feet after using fins: when you’re not used to swimming/kicking with fins it can be a pretty intense experience for your feet and legs (I know it was for me)! After a while they get used to it, so build it up kinda slow.
chipfish61, I’ve also spoken at length with Dale about this. There appear to be some major differences between prone mat surfing and prone riding on other (solid) craft. He said that can have a direct influence on choice of swimfins and how they’re best used.
Skilled mat surfers ride in a very low profile, i.e. head down, spine relaxed and almost straight, chest and chin sometimes resting on the deck, weight evenly distributed, arms tucked around the rails, or sometimes the hands are used to push down, also for subtle squeezing and releasing grip to adjust the mat’s air pressure for speed and control.
Whereas other prone surfers (on solid devices) ride in a more upright posture, i.e. head, shoulders, chest up, with neck and back arched or hyperextended, weight on elbows and over tail, hands are gripping, forcefully pulling up on nose and leveraging the rails.
George Greenough’s classic mat surfing technique is wholly unlike that of today’s body boarders, paipo riders, et.al :
chipfish61, I’ve also spoken at length with Dale about this. There appear to be some major differences between prone mat surfing and prone riding on other (solid) craft. He said that can have a direct influence on choice of swimfins and how they’re best used.
Skilled mat surfers ride in a very low profile, i.e. head down, spine relaxed and almost straight, chest and chin sometimes resting on the deck, weight evenly distributed, arms tucked around the rails, or sometimes the hands are used to push down, also for subtle squeezing and releasing grip to adjust the mat’s air pressure for speed and control.
Whereas other prone surfers (on solid devices) ride in a more upright posture, i.e. head, shoulders, chest up, with neck and back arched or hyperextended, weight on elbows and over tail, hands are gripping, forcefully pulling up on nose and leveraging the rails.
George Greenough’s classic mat surfing technique is wholly unlike that of today’s body boarders, paipo riders, et.al :
and i have noticed , having watched crystal voyager and fantasea footage innumerable times in slo-mo , that , as in the photos above , george lifts his ‘outside leg’ , while keeping his ‘inside leg’ straight …
the reason / purpose of that , please ?
is it to provide sort of a longer “rail line” , if you like , to “hold an edge” in tubes better , or something ?
and i have noticed , having watched crystal voyager and fantasea fotage innumerable times in slo-mo , that , as in the photos above , george lifts his ‘outside leg’ , while keeping his ‘inside leg’ straight …
the rreason / purpose of that , please ?
is it to provide sort of a longer “rail line” , if you like , to "hold an edge in tubes better , or something ?
There are many mat surfing photos (including those of George) that show both legs up, outside leg down/inside leg up and vice-versa. Sometimes they’re extended, other times folded up. Legs and swimfins are frequently used as a counterbalance, usually just above the water.
When I first began mat surfing in the 1970s, George told me one of the most effective ways to ride a (reduced inflation) surf mat was “low profile… forming a flexible body line” along the INSIDE rail: hand flat- palm pressing down on deck about 8" back from front, with forearm and elbow TUCKED IN against the ribcage just above the hip joint (see photo below). So the “flexible body line” along inside rail = palm + forearm + elbow + hip joint + thigh. Chest and abdomen often rest on deck, sometimes the rider’s chin. Also, movement and position of an adult mat surfer’s head (10+ lbs.) has considerable influence on performance, especially with modern ultralight surf mats weighing only 16-24 ounces.
Skilled mat surfers can draw long, high trim lines in hollow waves WITHOUT dragging their legs and swim fins. The same is true for hard carving turns. The more you drag, the slower you’ll go. Try placing your hip joint over the inside rear corner. Experiment with adjusting speed and control while surfing by applying and releasing pressure.
Kenny Hughes’ comment on the (above) photo by Greg Huglin, “I’m not sure why I was riding that way… photos can be deceptive, that was only a fraction of a second, not a (fixed) riding position. I think I was adjusting to the wave… my body and arms aren’t usually like that… I lay closer to the mat.”
The only way to achieve competancy as a mat surfer is through “un-learning” nearly everything you know about solid wave riding equipment.
…wow , that is some great and very helpful and practical advice there , thanks heaps Dale ! [I wish I had read that before this morning’s 3 1/2 hour effort . ]
oh well, maybe tomorrow again ?
cheers
ben
please keep the info [ and photos ] coming , guys !
Both of my Neumatic Surf Mats have had a row of grommets along the front edge with bungie cord. In most conditions I’ve been able to hold on with a bear hug death grip but have exited the surf on occasion with torn and bloody fingernails.
When I’ve had a camera with me, a one hand hold on the bungie (camera in the other) has saved my bacon. On my first Neumatic the bungie was reduced to bare strands of rubber in places and gradually cut down and retied to where it was only about 200mm long and went through two of the original five grommets.
I drag my fins, fully inflate my mat and use unmodified UDT fins much to the horror of the group up in Santa Cruz this past week. You should have seen the looks as I was asked, “UNmodified fins?!.. FULLY inflated?!” LOL
As Dale points out - less is more. Some of my best rides were the result of just laying there like a slug and letting the wave and the mat do all the work. For a person who is looking to rip, tear and lacerate - probably better to stick with a thruster.
Was pretty darn funny. John was blowing up his mat. And blowing. And blowing. I glanced over and he said, “Don’t look at me like that!” Then I said, “OOooooo, grommets!” He said, “Don’t look at me like that!”
Anyway, I have had same experience of some best rides lying there like a slug. But I think that is the key, a relaxed slug. Very small adjustments have a large effect and bigger adjusts can buckle the mat or bog it or what ever. So far I’ve found that just rolling my lower body a bit so my weight shifts to the inside hip (which is semi-close to the inside rear corner) is enough on the waves I’ve ridden to hold a high line and get tons of speed. Have yet to try shifting my position over that way, though probably Dale above is referring to a matter of an inch or two shift. Less seems indeed to be more.
strange is as strange does ? anyway, i sure wish i could have made the santa cruz thingie, maybe next year.
as for fast and controlled mat rideing, i just RELAX, let it flow —that works best for me, both here on the east coast and when i travel to Hatteras or Panama—mat just flys and takes me along
