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[HIpaipo]

Anyone try Da Fin? http://www.dafin.com/v/index.html
or Kicks http://www.kicksfins.com/

My parents both have pairs of Da Fin, which they both don't really like (but they used duck feet alot in the past,and like them accordingly). The blades on the Da Fin are stiff and rigid, but the foot pockets are soft. Tempted to buy a pair of either and try them.

Interested in short fins now because of maneuverability issues near the shore, and after trying my Viper V5 (which gave me an bad cramp/pain above my second toe, so there gonna get sold) after catching some head high-overhead high waves this past friday.
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" NO SCARED UM, GO GET UM! "

[rodndtube]

[surfnturf]

hey, this is my first post, but have been viewing for awhile. yeah, i recently purchased a couple o' pair of dafin for me and my girlfriend. i love em! i've always had churchhills, for kneeboarding n bodysurfn, been wearing flips for over 25yrs. my latest pair of ch's just felt stiff and bulky. good acceleration, but fatigueing on da muscles. dafins are light, with thin, snappy blades. very comfortable foot pocket. i've always used a neoprene foot sock, but have not needed to so far. no 'hotspots' on my toes, yeeha! i've never had a fin blown off my foot before, but during the 'bill' swell i had one swiped during a duck dive, so i'll be gettin some tethers. and it did'nt hurt that they are endorsed by H.L.A., U.S.L.A.,brian kealana, n mark cunningham. heavy hitters, no dought!! oh, yeah, my 'swiped' fin was FLOATING near by...whew!

[kage]

Welcome surfnturf!
So HiPaipo, you're getting rid of those awful Vipers? Hmmm. What size are they?
No wait! I meant, how sad, how awful for you. I just might be able to help you dispose of them...

[rodndtube]

[HIpaipo]

Sorry Kage, already sold them to a friend, and thank you surfnturf for the review.
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" NO SCARED UM, GO GET UM! "

[Uncle Grumpy]

I bought a pair of Da Fin's at the beginning of the summer. I wanted a smaller fin I could wear bare foot in warmer water.
Jay Reale's place is here in town and he'd recommended them to me some time back; I've got wide "luau feet" and Da Fin's are one of the most comfortable fins I've ever worn with thrust as good as just about any popular surf fins excluding the UDT's.
They don't have anywhere near the umph of UDT's but for small days or body surfing close to shore or spots where it's tough managing the long blades they are a very good choice. My only concern is the narrowness of the ankle strap but it certainly contributes to their comfort..........
I got the red ones.

[HIpaipo]

This is interesting, I put a post on
http://www.bodyboarder.com/mag/forum_view.php?forum_id=5
asking about Da Fin, and have gotten mostly bad reps about Da Fin.

Relating to Uncle Grumpy's concern, I have heard storie of the straps snapping when the fins are being put on. But, I think that's the result of not washing them off with fresh water after a session and treating the straps like they're elastic excercise bands.
_________________
" NO SCARED UM, GO GET UM! "

[rodndtube]

It is really challenging to get good feedback on fins. One reason is that fins are very personalized due to fit and body types so there tends to be a lot of subjective emotional feelings about the fins and very little objective evaluation. This drove me nuts when scanning the forums in search of reviews of the MS (Mike Stewart) Vipers... way too many comments were like, "really cool colors" or "really rad shape." All-n-all, the bodyboarding.com comments were fairly reasonable. Nonetheless, objective reviews and evaluation of fins are extremely lacking in the bodysurfing, prone riding and kneeboarding worlds.
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rodNDtube
"Prone to ride"
I love my papa li`ili`i

[surfnturf]

[Soulglider]

i have some DaFin xl size for sale. i only wore them on 2 go outs. i love my churchills but never opposed to trying something dif. i'll let them go for 35 including shipping.
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soulglider
http://soulgliderpaipo.blogspot.com

[HIpaipo]

sorry, gonna have to let you down of that offer SoulGlider, I went to T&C today and tried a pair of Kicks (Found out I'm a size Large) because they didn't have Da Fin. The Kicks seem to be slightly rigid, but still a little flexible like the Da Fin. They are also kinda wide like the Da Fin, but looking on the Da Fin and Kicks on the website, it looks like the Kicks are pretty much a rounded cut down Da Fin.
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" NO SCARED UM, GO GET UM! "

[mrmike]

The great ocean god ate one of my t2s fins today so I got a pair of green MEDLARGE kicks today feel good on my feet now I will try them in the water tomorrow that were the test will be MRMIKE
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PAIPO ON
blog http://mrmikespaipos.blogspot.com

[HIpaipo]

That sucks hopefully the Kicks will be good substitutes....

Just got back from trying my mom's pair (sz Medium Large 9-10) of Da Fin in the community pool... My verdict- They're great! In the 10 minutes I had them on, even though my feet were crammed into the fins, they were comfortable. Good trust, I can see why they're endorsed by many people, thrust is comparable to a pair of yellow dot Viper V5's or maybe even Duckfeet(not UDT Duckfeet though). The only thing that I kind of did'nt like was that they slide from side to side when you kick. I think this is because they don't have the side rails running down the entire length of the fin, but they don't make the fin uncomfortable to use, just feels odd, and yes, despite this you still travel straight forward.
I think you will like these Rod!
_________________
" NO SCARED UM, GO GET UM! "

[mrmike]

swam about 1 mile with my new kicks today (no surf) felt realy good no piniching or hot spots I am lucky I have a small and narrow foot. I think a person with an exter wide foot they would not fit. they have more thrust than my old t2s with the same amount of comfort. the kicks kick ass I like them but that is just my feet
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PAIPO ON
blog http://mrmikespaipos.blogspot.com