 Viper V-5 Flex (Orange Dot)  Viper V-5 (Yellow Dot) Stiff Blade |
In
the Beginning - Skin Diving Flippers. I started bodysurfing, riding longboards and then
shortboards, and at the same time paipo boarding, while
growing up in Puerto Rico in the 1960s. At that time I used whatever flippers
were around, i.e., mostly scuba diving style fins (e.g., Cressi's). Sometime
during the late-1960s, or certainly beginning in the early-1970s and into
the early-1980s, I used Voit Duck Feet. I was never crazy about the Voits
but they worked and I couldn't afford trying out other brands. Churchills - My Favorite Fins During the 1980s and Into the New Millenium. For the next 20 years I used Churchills almost exclusively. This vintage of Churchills were made of rubber and had flexible blades. These fins did not have as much quick thrust as all the stiff blade swim fins that have since blanketed the market. About 15 yrs ago Churchill changed the materials and manufacturing process which resulted in a rigid blade. I've been buying old style, used Churchills wherever possible but that supply has pretty much run the course. Emergency Replacement - Dec 2003 - Viper V-5 Flex. Mrs. Santa was so kind as to buy me some new Viper V-5 Flex Model (Orange Dot) flippers (swim fins) during our winter trip to PR, as my trusty ol' flexi Churchills lefty cracked below the foot pocket. The V-5 Flex'ers have passed the test as a good replacement for my old-style, flexi Churchills. Actually, I like them even more than the original Churchills. Transitioning to the Orange Dots required some minor adjustments in how I kick paddled but it didn't take long. The Orange Dots provide more thrust during wave catching than my old Churchillls, have a softer foot pocket with the built-in padding strips and the ankle straps are less abrasive. Bottom line: a decent replacement and improvement for fin (flippers) quiver. Caveat: I bought a pair of XL-sized fins for cold water use but the foot pocket did not scale up for 5 to 7 mlm of wetsuit socks. Read more about that experience here. Viper V-5 Yellow Dots Now Part of My Fin Quiver - Fall 2010. Since my first purchase of Viper V-5 Flex (Orange Dot) swim fins I have had to purchase one replacement pair due to cracking in the side ridges. My original pair still worked fine but a replacement pair were prudent for overseas surf trips. For some reason the replacement pair seemed to have a lot more flex in them than my original pair. So, I monitored eBay for the past several months and when a decently priced pair of Yellow Dots became available they became mine. Hauled all three pairs of Vipers down to Cape Hatteras in case my test drive of the new Yellow Dots were unsatisfactory. Not to worry -- the Yellow Dots (short blades) worked like a charm. Caveat on the New Line of Vipers. The formulation and manufacture of Vipers changed about 6 years ago. The ankle strap is hard, rigid and does not stretch at all. The foot entry space into the foot pocket is too small to accomodate my feet. Deal breaker. Swim Fins Epilogue. During the past 10 years or so, I purchased several different fins in pursuit of finding some good replacements for my old Churchills: Redley's Flex, Hydro Techs, Tech2's and Churchill Slashers. None of these fins passed the test for me. They may be good for you depending upon your foot shape and size, your surf paddling and riding style (e.g., bodysurfer, drop-knee, etc.), and other factors. In November 2013, I moved on to using DaFins: the thrust is good, cruise paddling is good, they weigh have as much as Vipers (which means taking two pairs doesn't tip the scales when air traveling), and they float like all the others. Bonus is that the foot pocket is large enough for a range of 1mm to 5mm. Rod Rodgers 2 Jan 2004, updated 6 May 2009, 11 Nov 2010 and 23 Nov 2020. |
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General Description of Viper Fin Models (click on figure to read)  |
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