Folding Fins

THE WORLD’S FIRST BIOMIMETIC DESIGN

FEATURE AHMED NABIL PHOTOGRAPHY MAX SZYMANSKI

As a professional diver and PADI Equipment Specialist Speciality Instructor, my passion has always been to pursue the latest releases in innovative scuba diving gear. New materials, new designs, and new suppliers are just some of the points I look for.

One of the benefits of attending this year’s Dive MENA Expo co-located at the Dubai International Boat Show, was meeting one of the Co-founders of Exotech’s new Folding Fins. The exhibition was a great opportunity for him to present and demonstrate his new product while it gave me the chance to have a close look and inquire about the design details. When I was invited to try these new folding fins, I couldn’t decline his generous offer.

At first glance, the fins don’t look traditional or conventional. As a scuba diver who has tried almost all scuba diving and free diving fins in the field, these new folding fins surprised me.

These fins were folded and stored in a very handy and light weight compact cylindrical container. Taking the fins out and unfolding them immediately put me in dive mode. The fins come in one size which is an exceptional feature for suppliers as divers will always have their correct size available.

The foot pocket is made from a robust synthetic material mesh. Using a key that is stored inside the fins, you can adjust the pocket to exactly match your foot size. It must be adjusted to a snug fit.The adjustment took me around 5 minutes to find the perfect fit to my foot. There is a bungee cord to keep the fins attached around the ankle.The blade consists of a PVC fabric material, similar to the one used in Zodiacs. The blade is softer than that of standard fins. I was not entirely confident these fins would perform well.

Mariusz Szymanski jumped into the water, and I started the test. Swimming at the surface with full scuba dive gear has always been an exhausting exercise. Nevertheless a good pair of fins should make for an effective swim. Surprisingly, the fins had good thrust and kept pushing us forward in the water. There was a mild side current at the time, but regardless we were still moving forward. The fins are light and don’t feel resistant as some other fins do. I believe many divers will appreciate these new fins with less effort and hardly any fatigue to the legs.

I had prepared a list of checks I wanted to do, starting with swimming underwater via flutter kicks, frog kicks and backwards finning. The fins were active and gave a satisfactory performance for flutter and backwards finning! Frog kicking was however, not effective. I stretched out my legs to practice cramp removal exercises and it turned out to be very simple!

I was encouraged to proceed with more rigorous tests.The most encountered “wrong move” made by new divers, is standing on the fins’ blades. Fins are made for swimming and propelling water, not to withstand a diver’s weight and this is one of the most common reasons for them breaking. These fins’ blades with their synthetic support, held strong and were not damaged in the process.

With a good extra 35 minute dive between swimming at the surface and underwater, the fins continued to give a satisfactorily good performance throughout. It was in general a good experience and test. I can proudly say, scuba divers have a new option available in the field!

The fins are priced at $199 excluding delivery. They can be purchased through Alpha Shop Commercial Mediation who is one of the UAE local suppliers.Email: alphadivinguae@gmail.com

www.foldingfins.com