Fins

I never used fins before this year, and I really like my Zoomers. I especially like to do SDK shooters and fly, but they have helped my freestyle kick a lot, too. Also, either my feet shrank or the Zoomers loosened up a little.

None of my fins have ever stretched. In fact, I think sitting in a hot car may have caused some of them to shrink a little bit. I own five pairs of fins. I'd go for looser rather than tighter. I have one pair that I got when we did fin testing for the magazine a couple of years ago. At first they seemed like a perfect fit but they turned out to be too tight and gave me blisters. I have another pair that I use for open water in the winter. They're a little too big, so I wear the neoprene socks with them and they fit just right. Unfortunately you won't really know whether a specific model will work for you until you've worn it a few times. I just looked at all of mine and here are the sizes I own, along with how they fit me. My shoe size is usually around a women's 7.5 to 8, which is supposedly equivalent to a men's 5.5 to 6. Sporti (Clubswim) www.swimoutlet.com/.../23088.htm Men's 3-5 These are the ones that seemed OK at first but now I think they're too small. I cut some of the rubber out around the big toe area but they still rub. Sprint Floating Fins www.sprintaquatics.com/prodinfo.asp Small, Men's 5-7 These are also too small around the big toe. Again, I cut away some of the rubber from the toe area but they still rub. TYR Burner EBP www.swimoutlet.com/.../22453.htm Small 5-7 (Green) (Men's) These fit just about right. Maybe very slightly loose. But the foot pocket is softer rubber than a lot of other fins, which makes them really comfortable. FINIS Zoomers www.swimoutlet.com/.../1267.htm Size E: 7-1/2 to 8-1/2 Men's These also fit just about right. I used to always wear the size D in Zoomers but the last pair I bought was too tight. I went up to size E which may be very slightly loose but they work fine. Hydro Training Finz www.swimoutlet.com/.../1269.htm S (6-7) Men's These have the largest foot pocket of any of the fins that I own. I can wear them without the neoprene socks, but they're a little loose and in open water I'm afraid I might lose them. With the neoprene socks they're just right. Neoprene socks: I have the Speedo brand but there are other brands that I'm sure are just as good. www.swimoutlet.com/.../3630.htm

You won't necessarily need another set of fins for working on SDK. Personally, my favorite dolphin kick drill is dolphin kick on my back with fins on. Do a few lengths of that, then flip over and do it underwater and see if it's helped. :)

I have these: www.swimoutlet.com/.../4004.htm They have helped me take my swimming to new levels, they also provide me with a fun option in my solo swims (akin to driving a sports-car with abundant horsepower). There is nothing like flutter kicking faster than my peak freestyle speed, and how the water feels. My feet are 10.5, but very wide, so I purchased the large size and they fit fine except for my big toes. I notice most people have big toes shorter than the adjacent toe, and some don't. I am of the latter (minority I believe) and it appears the fin design mold is from the former. So my big toes would be crunched up and eventually became bright red and inflamed from use, I was about to drop a toenail until I took drastic modification action on my fins. The original design has an opening for the middle toes, I cut another opening for the big toe. This was quite an in-depth modification because it created rough edges and structural weakness, as well as a ripping hazard. I remedied this by sanding the rough cut edges smooth, then providing support strips over the top of the modified big toe release sections (used from an old snorkel strap), siliconed in place for torsional strength. It has been two months and they are still trouble free and fun. I can provide a picture of the final product if I can get out of this hammock.

Lots of really good info posted here. My main issue is that I am all arms in freestyle and am one of those leg draggers. When I do put more effort into kicking I get unbalanced in the water. What happens is when I breath my one leg will kick out causing resistance. I read (and viewed some videos) that certain fins help train the legs to maintain proper positioning. Another review mentioned that shorter would be better since they would help maintain the faster cadence of "normal" swimming - (without fins). Of course something else that requires attention is my SDK\underwater kicks, but might need a different set of fins for that. I appreciate everyone's input. Looks like serious kicking drills are in my future. In all honesty, I think you just need to get to work on more kicking, without the arms, or fins for that matter. All strokes, distances and all events now, especially at the upper levels, kicking is a key component of swimming. You can get started with just a kickboard and start out with sets of 25s or 50s, trying to reduce your interval down so that you're trying to hold a "good" pace. I wasn't a big kicker in the past, but I've changed that now. I still consider distance freestyle my best events, but I am much more kick based than before, and when needed can really pour it on with my legs when needed, especially at the end of races when you don't need to lose.

Take a look at the AquaSphere fins that are tapered on the inside edges. They allow me to get my feet close together, in point of fact in what I'd say is the exact foot width I kick w/o fins. Consequently my legs are not forced wider with fins than they would be w/o fins. Follow? I kick with my toes pointed just slightly inward and nearly brushing each other....'tight in a tube'. No way could I ever replicate that with all manner of fins over the years. The Aqua Sphere fins are also fairly flexible so for a guy who has had a bum knee redone x 2 this is nice. If you ever look at the GoSwim vids quite a few of the folks on the vids use them...the bright blue ones that are very sleek looking. Highly recommend a try. In point of fact I believe using all the other fins for dolphin drills actually impeded my progress for a long time due to the forced width. Once I started using the narrower fin everything seemed to translate very well to my regular dolphin kick w/o fins. Here is a clip of them in use: www.youtube.com/watch

Lots of really good info posted here. My main issue is that I am all arms in freestyle and am one of those leg draggers. When I do put more effort into kicking I get unbalanced in the water. What happens is when I breath my one leg will kick out causing resistance. I read (and viewed some videos) that certain fins help train the legs to maintain proper positioning. Another review mentioned that shorter would be better since they would help maintain the faster cadence of "normal" swimming - (without fins). Of course something else that requires attention is my SDK\underwater kicks, but might need a different set of fins for that. I appreciate everyone's input. Looks like serious kicking drills are in my future.

In all honesty, I think you just need to get to work on more kicking, without the arms, or fins for that matter. All strokes, distances and all events now, especially at the upper levels, kicking is a key component of swimming. You can get started with just a kickboard and start out with sets of 25s or 50s, trying to reduce your interval down so that you're trying to hold a "good" pace. I wasn't a big kicker in the past, but I've changed that now. I still consider distance freestyle my best events, but I am much more kick based than before, and when needed can really pour it on with my legs when needed, especially at the end of races when you don't need to lose. Agreed, I do need more kicking sets - no arms. It is a tricky balance as I have limited pool time. Back in my high school swim days the coach was not a fan of swim toys and subsequently neither was I. However now almost 30 years later I need a little help. I'm hoping the fins will give me a better feel for the water as a kick set without just isn't working for me. So need to rethink the way I do things. _Steve_ good job on the modifications. I hope I won't need to take such measures.