these swim fins have had a lot of air time on this message board so i got a pair sent over to oz to see what the fuss was about. we had a real good run of swell in the last few days, and i got to try them out in some really nice bodysurfing waves, slow breaking outside peaks through to a shorebreak. the best thing was the bank was out in front of the lifegaurd flags so there were no boardriders allowed. i had two 1.5 hour sessions over a couple of days. UDT’s are definitely a lot longer and stiffer than any other bodyboarding fin i have seen. my first impression was that they were going to be hard on my feet but with a pair of 2mm neoprene socks the comfort level is good. they also give your leg muscles, especially calf muscles a workout. once you get them moving the udt’s are very quick and easy to get onto waves with compared to shorter blade fins. i had no trouble having to long sessions of 1.5 -2 hours each in the past 3 days. at one point i went into the beach to swap over to my other favourite swim fins to see if i could see the difference, 1 minute later i was back on the beach after having unsucessfully tried to get back out through the strong current close to the beach. i had not even noticed the rip while i was wearing the udt’s. my old fins felt like absolute crap with no power at all. to sum up, UDT’s rip if your legs can handle them. i love them and will now never use anything else.
I totally agree with your review of the fins. I first saw the fins from this site and had to get a pair. I use them for my paipo and also to swim. While swimming I dive down to the bottom and use a dolphin style kick as hard as a can and I get tremendous amounts of speed, way more than my original duck feet. They were a bit expensive but woth every penny.
How do they compare to the long flexible divers fins? I got a pair of the UDT’s and haven’t really tested them yet.
For long slow SCUBA work, regular fins are easier on you, you can cruise longer, you can putt around not disturbing the enviorment.
UDT’s are best for quick, powerful kicks and then gliding.
My first pair in 1965.
My buds joined NavySEAL and swore by UDT’s, something I already knew.
Greg, just like LeeDD said, I feel that the UDT’s would not be a good match for scuba diving, they would work but those scuba fins would probably be better. I also noticed that the UDTs can get a little uncomfortable at times but its worth enduring a little less comfort for great pwower and glide.
I just got a pair yesterday, I thought that I got a size too big but I got some 2mm fin socks and they seem to fit better. They are not super tight but I don’t feel like I’m going to fall out of them. Can’t wait to get them in the water!
A buddy of mine scored me a couple of pairs of the older UDTs a while back - one had a hard blade and soft foot-pocket in blue and orange-ish like most fins sold for surfing, the others ( all black) had the same sort of composition as the new UDTs: softer fin blade, harder foot pocket.
Now, the blue and orange fins were silly. Not for color, but for power. The setup is like putting a 500 HP engine in a car made of Jello. On the other hand, the all black fins quickly became my favorites.
Plenty of power for wave catching with a kneeboard: a couple-three power kicks and I am up to speed. Getting through the shorebreak is quick. And once there, maintaining position in a cross-current or cruising out to the lineup is just lazy and rhythmic kicks at what’s equivalent to a walking pace, not the mad splattering you see behind Churchill users.
I got a couple pairs of the new Deets UDTs recently, waiting for it to warm up a bit before using 'em, but I’m confident they will be an improvement on my trusty black pair.
As mick mentioned, the other fins are just kinda silly by comparison. This includes the standard Duck Feet and others of that smaller ilk. A little better than dive fins for that quick power you want for catching waves. The heel strap is useful, so that you can attach tethers and not lose 'em in shorebreak.
As scuba or freediving fins- a vast improvement over churchills and that ilk, but not in the same league as the Sporasub H.Dessaults ( see http://www.scubastore.com/ for more info on those - might have to get some myself for spearfishing) with a much longer blade. Though for, say, working in a harbor where maneuverability was more important than straight-line speed and power, I’d give 'em a shot.
I have tried lots of different fins for kneeriding over the years, ranging from US Divers Professional fins ( similar to a UDT blade, full-foot type, blade too stiff and the footpocket too soft ) to churchills, regular Duck Feet ( too small ) and up til now the US Divers Otaries were about the best. The UDTs beat them. considerably.
Now, for somebody coming to these from smaller fins, a few tips-
Keep 'em in the water, not that splashing kick you see with other fins right at the surface.
Let your legs do the work, Think of how a fish ( the kind you get fish and chips from, not a board with a double tail ) moves - his whole body is making an S-curve. Same deal with the UDTs - your whole leg should be getting into the act, not just calves and ankles. Kinda like riding a bicycle with toe clips, maybe.
Fin socks are a Good Thing. So are fin tethers.
Conditioning- you do need reasonably well-conditioned legs. I typically walk a few miles every day, between work and errands, ride a bike rather than drive whenever I can. At 50 and working at fishing, boat stuff and construction, I have to stay in shape - yesterday I was up and down a staircase an easy 30+ times on the job. I have no problems with the UDTs at all.
Anyhow- hope that’s of use
doc…
great, that’s exactly the info I needed.
BTW, I swim masters, run a bit, ad am in reasonably good shape for a 50 year old. Got my UDT’s and went to the pool. I did vertical kicking in the deep end just to get a feel for them. In 2 minutes, both legs hamstrings cramped and I was dying with pain. Those babies will give you a work out.
Hi Greg,
‘reasonably good shape for a 50-year-old’ - hee, yeah I know exactly what you mean there. Hell, just to be 40 again…
That hamstring situation sounds exactly like what I went through the first time I tried running. Went out for a run with my brother-in-law, who never stretched ( one of natures physiological oddities, I guess) and after that my calves and such were so tweaked that I was walking on tip-toe for a week.
Going down stairs was kinda spooky - I had to turn around and go down backwards. And I learned to stretch.
Something you might try is this: use a bike or exercise bike with toe clips and the seat set as high as possible so that at the bottom of the pedal rotation your toes are barely able to add power and your ankle is flexed about as far as it’ll go.
That will maybe get your legs used to delivering power at that angle, as it were, and maybe a few stretches - what are they, hurdler’s stretches? - to get the range of motion established.
For what it’s worth, I dunno if I could get my ankle to flex too much forward ( as when ya squat down on your haunches -see below ) but getting the foot lined up straight down isn’t a problem. You might want to do a quick check of your range of motion in the ankles and see what you come up with- it may help.
hope that’s of use
doc…
Hey Doc…
You’re the only person besides my brother who has tried all those fins! Me, of course.
But Otaries were super soft full foot scuba cruisers for weak legged divers.
Pros were like stuff UDT’s, but with soft foot bed.
Jet fins are usually more a compromise so good for scuba.
I liked UDT’s because I could surface dive and with just the scissors kick, get down around 12’ with momentum downward to spare. Saves lots to air.
Don’t need muscle, just conditioning, as I was about 5’4" and 100lbs when I used them…yes, and size L because of 10 feet and 5mm booties we need up here.
Has anybody used the split fins? The website above shows Scubapro twins. I had a salesperson at a scuba shop really give me the sales pitch yesterday about how great this patented technology is and how she is now out swimming everybody now, yada, yada, yada. The split directs the water out the middle of the fin so you don’t get any flutter and your ankles don’t want to twist to the side. Supposedly allows a quicker kick but still very powerful. If it works so well I’m wondering why body surfer/boarder companies haven’t jumped on it. Any experiences?
Hey Doc…
You’re the only person besides my brother who has tried all those fins! Me, of course.
Ya know how it goes,man, so many fins, so little time…
But Otaries were super soft full foot scuba cruisers for weak legged divers.
Yep, kick hard and there was nothing there. You could cruise the lineup nicely though. And the rubber foot-pocket had this weird way of splitting lengthwise on top, something I haven’t seen on any other fin, but it happened to about 3 pairs of those.
Pros were like stiff UDT’s, but with soft foot bed.
YESSS!!! EXACTLY!!! - the damn things were like bolting pieces of 3/4" ply to a cheap pair of flip flops - the blade pretty much did what it wanted to with no real reference to what you tried to do with your feet! Lost mine on a big day and was glad I did. They had it right on blade size but they blew it on what kinda rubber and where they used it.
Jet fins are usually more a compromise so good for scuba.
Yeah, and I never really trusted an adjustable strap fin in the ocean. And when they came out they were awful expensive.
I liked UDT’s because I could surface dive and with just the scissors kick, get down around 12’ with momentum downward to spare. Saves lots to air.
Don’t need muscle, just conditioning, as I was about 5’4" and 100lbs when I used them…yes, and size L because of 10 feet and 5mm booties we need up here.
Yeah, and they feel substantial without being bloody hardwood on a sandal like the US Divers Pros.It’s like the weight of the fins themselves would push ya down eight-ten feet anyhow. And that feeling of a slow kick, cruising just over the bottom - that was kinda cool.
And yes, mine are size L too- 8 1/2 to 9 feet but EEE or better, plus boots. In fact, no matter how asinine it looks, I kinda like a pair of 3mm split toe boots with 'em, even when using a spring suit or just trunks. The kind with a velcro strap around the top so you don’t suddenly find 'em inside out around your ankles. Though I do kinda start to feel like part of the sandals and black socks crowd…
Oh, lets not forget the Healthways and all the other cheezy diving fins, like those churchill-like Nemrods that were out around 30 years ago. Was looking through my garage and ran across my old regulator, which is probably Smithsonian material by now.
before I forget, have you tried the real long-blade free-diving fins? Been curious about 'em, figure I might like to try 'em before I get too damned old and decrepit to take advantage of what they can do…
greg,
its definitely a good idea to stretch your hamstrings and calves
How do the UDT’s compare to Vipers?
hey KeepOnKeepnOn,
I had a pair of the ScubaPro black split fins and used them alot,but they got to be a bit too bulky for me to carry around and walk in.Too much hardware for my liking but very efficient in the water.You just kick a little and you move all over the place.I do like them,but they just got too cumbersome to carry around.UDT's will replace them when I get some spare change.
Shawn
UDT’s are about 4" longer than Vipers, maybe even longer…
But US Pro’s were precurved, like a samurai sword, and LOOKED like it would really propel great.
I suspect the deep free diver’s fins are made for pure efficientcy and GLIDE, and multiple kicks would ruin the aquadynamics. They’re made for least amount of energy, as acending divers don’t have much extra air. They seem to use long slow strokes, all underwater of course (like 180’ underwater on the first kick).
ScubaPro is all about innovation. They make tons of stuff that’s really innovative, and work OK. Some companies are like that, all hype, pretty good performance, but not enough to justify the hype.
My brother and I did a writeup for Skindiver mag in 1965, testing the original JetFins in Pacific Grove. We got the idea from a cousin, a CenCal Spearfishing Champ.
I was searching through the old posts to see if there was anything on size comparisons between fins.My right foot is 27.5 cm and the left is 27 cm and 11 cm across at the widest point. I wear medium large blue/yellow Churchills but can fit into the medium and wear Large Vipers. I have tried the XL UDT which seemed a bit big, am unsure if the Large will be too small.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who wears large UDTs and has worn Vipers/Churchill fins, or knows a bit about the sizing of fins. I mostly surf in warm water so don't need to wear booties, which could compensate for a too big sizing.
Bob
To prevent fin sores with UDTs you'll need light booties or neoprene glued to top of foot pocket.
GTFD,
I usually wear the lycra style fin socks - have seen the neoprene addition you noted. Seems like most of the posts I have seen from the US, guys wear 3mm booties. Still looking for someone who wears Large so I can get a size comparison.
Bob