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I have been using Dafins for a couple of months now and as an experiment, switched back to my old duckfeet----what a difference! While the DaFins are more comfortable and easier to use, I felt much less drag using the duckfeet. I am riding a t-belly 3 and its performance, while already really good, improved tremendously while I was wearing the duckfeet--much faster---goodby Dafins

What size of DaFin and are you selling them? I take it you are giving them away!?

they are xl's but i am not quite ready to get rid of them yet--I don't notice the drag when body or hand boarding so I will keep them

surfing on the net for new shapes and fin products I stumbled on this product http://shinfin.com
has anyone given a go at this?? and what was the feed back from using them

Some years ago someone on kneeboard forum got some. There report was that they did not provide much in the way of actual effects. Super comfortable but only a bit more speed and acceleration than barefoot kicking!

After moving to Oregon 27 years ago I switched to the largest foot size UDT's with 2mm booties for my size 13 feet. The booty soles can get shredded after one walk on a rock bottom but nothing can match the power of full size UDTs. With a strong kick from the hips they can handle getting into big surf and getting out of strong currents. If you have a smaller build cutting them shorter can help. I prefer training at the gym on machines doing leg extensions, leg curls, and the sled to build up thigh muscles in the off season. I can actually stay outside of the mob of thrusters (and inside of the long boarders) and get up to pretty good speed holding my HPD out in front of me in green water using full size UDTs.

I started off as a teenager using soft green Churchills for smaller warm water conditions but I really like the comfort and power of Vipers with bare feet for shoulder high and lower waves in warm water. Vipers are also good at a critical takeoff spot for a reef break where you only need to take two or three kicks to drop in.

I had Da Fins for awhile and they are probably my third choice nowadays and might be ideal for folks that find UDTs too big and heavy.

PaipoJim,

Have you tried Duckfeet? Were you riding a paipo board before the HPD?

Bob

bgreen wrote: Have you tried Duckfeet?

I had a pair of Voits back in high school but they hurt my bare feet so I switched to green Churchill's for the comfort. Even those wore holes all the way through my skin after a long day in the water. I still have the scars.

Were you riding a paipo board before the HPD?

Bob, I had pix of some of these on Rod's old site so I'm pretty sure you have seen them. In roughly descending chronological order.

Homebuilt Divyncell trad guitar pick spoon nose.

A homebuilt plywood kick-nose built for a Bodygun harness.

52" very thin John Mel Freeline Design foam twin-fin fishtail.

A Dale Solomonson mat.

42" Ron Romanosky slightly bat square tail twin fin.

A load of boogers going back from a hard bottom big ass Turbo to an original green 1973 Morey built from the kit.

1973 5' 4" Freeline Design tri-fin kneeboard.

1971 38" Freeline round tail tri-fin.

A 1969 Greenough type spoon built by some Aussie at a shack right across the highway from Cardiff reef.

A 1967 Newport Paipo (I would call it a bellyboard but whatever.)

A bunch of hand planes, A Hand Gun, various skim boards and serving trays etc...

40 inch? bellyboard made out of the tail of my old 10' 4" Greg Noll Slot.

Old school canvas mat replete with perimeter rope.

That's all that I can remember but I'm sure I am leaving some stuff out:

flojo wrote:I have been using Dafins for a couple of months now and as an experiment, switched back to my old duckfeet----what a difference! While the DaFins are more comfortable and easier to use, I felt much less drag using the duckfeet. I am riding a t-belly 3 and its performance, while already really good, improved tremendously while I was wearing the duckfeet--much faster---goodby Dafins

I agree that the DaFins can create more drag than many other fin designs. I part this can be mitigated by lifting the fin out of the water (more speed than a fin(s) in the water under normal riding conditions). But, when using a fin to elongate your planning surface the DaFin does create drag due to its downward curve shape. My comments relative to the Viper shape: http://mypaipoboards.org/flippers/flipp ... vs._DaFins

The new Duckfeet Custom model has a much softer foot pocket then the original. Not as soft as DaFin but way more comfortable than the original, while still maintaining good thrust. Can't have max thrust with an ultra soft foot pocket. Blade will bend at the toe under stress.

Bob, I had pix of some of these on Rod's old site so I'm pretty sure you have seen them. In roughly descending chronological order.

Jim,

Thanks. I've sent you a PM.

Bob