Kneeboard fins, vipers vs duck feet

pineapple · Post by **pineapple** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 2:36 am

Hi all, I was hoping to get some help from our American cousins with some advice on kneeboarding flippers. I have been using vipers, 5inch yellow dot, for the last 4 years in summertime without any problems. They provide a good balance between power and comfort. My problem [one of many but thats another story] is that in winter I like to wear hard sole booties [cold water coward] and the bigger sizes in vipers [XL] are too narrow to fit. I have emailed them and they recognise this and are planning to fix it just not in the near future. So back to the problem, what will give me the power I need to get this old body out the back? I have tried nearly all the main brands here in Oz but as they are designed for a body board they don't have the power I need. From reading a few threads it seems as though Duck Feet may be the answer but I haven't been able to find any here in Oz. Also what is the difference with the normal duck feet, the UDTs and the new ones made by Greg Deets? Has anyone used these for kneeboarding, and if so can you recommend them and give me a contact where I can buy a pair? Hoping you can help, Regards, Pino.

Mike Fernandez · Post by **Mike Fernandez** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 6:00 am

I also use Vipers at the moment. For a bigger winter foot pocket I wear the Australian Hydro fins with 5mm booties. They are shorter, and shorter is better in my opinion. I don't want a fin hanging off the tail of my board. They also grip the board better.
So if you want more power, get a huge SCUBA fin, or get in better shape!

KenM · Post by **KenM** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:10 am

Pino, try Dafins from Hawaii, the xxl have the biggest foot pocket of any surfing swim fin and will give you much more thrust than the Octoblades. One thing to note is they run smaller than their sizes suggest, I wear size 12 shoes and with 5 mil booties I use the xxl da fins. www.dafin.com

alfredo zavala · Post by **alfredo zavala** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 11:32 am

Another option is to try the Oneill fin booties which are just 3mm of neoprene - no thick hard bottom sole.
http://www.oneill.com/#/men/asiapacific ... air/black/
This way you can still stick with the Vipers?
The main draw back of those booties is that they're not very durable so you shouldn't try to walk on them for long distances without some covering otherwise the bottoms can get holes easily. I have a pair of Crocs that I wear down to the beach over the booties whereever I surf.

kidrock · Post by **kidrock** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 6:24 pm

...or you could try a different set of booties with your existing fins, like Alfredo suggested. I've used the hard sole booties before, until a good friend turned me on to the H2Oddysey (sorry for the poor spelling) booties. Much more comfortable.

Good luck Pino, and welcome to the site.

KenM · Post by **KenM** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 6:31 pm

You can prolong the life of the O'niell or H2O fin booties by coating the soles with a layer of Aquaseal. That way you can throw away those ugly Crocs.

alfredo zavala · Post by **alfredo zavala** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:52 pm

Yeah. can you think of anything that says kook more than a kneeboarder walking down to the water with crocs on?
I guess if I had some of those webbed gloves and colored Zinka"war paint" on I could finish out the look!

You could call me the Mario Battali of kneeboarding!

kidrock · Post by **kidrock** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:35 am

alfredo zavala wrote:Yeah. can you think of anything that says kook more than a kneeboarder walking down to the water with crocs on?:lol:

yes, I can...don't get me started.

KenM · Post by **KenM** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:40 pm

kidrock wrote:
alfredo zavala wrote:Yeah. can you think of anything that says kook more than a kneeboarder walking down to the water with crocs on?:lol:
yes, I can...don't get me started.

Ahh, c'mon, get started. I would soooooo like to see that list.

Mike Fernandez · Post by **Mike Fernandez** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:08 pm

How about my hat/prescription glasses combo that I require to see. I don't think I will be picking up any women in the lineup.

Smokin Rock · Post by **Smokin Rock** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:49 pm

the springsuit/booties combo comes to mind

Mike Fernandez · Post by **Mike Fernandez** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:05 pm

Smokin Rock wrote:the springsuit/booties combo comes to mind

Fark, I can be guilty of that also.

kidrock · Post by **kidrock** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:12 pm

Smokin Rock wrote:the springsuit/booties combo comes to mind

Hilarious

How about a vote for the guy in the fullsuit with his surf trunks on the outside?

KenM · Post by **KenM** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:15 pm

kidrock wrote:
Smokin Rock wrote:the springsuit/booties combo comes to mind
Hilarious

How about a vote for the guy in the fullsuit with his surf trunks on the outside?

You mean Mike Purpus?

kidrock · Post by **kidrock** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:22 pm

KenM wrote:
kidrock wrote:
Smokin Rock wrote:the springsuit/booties combo comes to mind
Hilarious

How about a vote for the guy in the fullsuit with his surf trunks on the outside?
You mean Mike Purpus?

Dude, don't be raking on Purpus, he's my HERO!!!!

And Bunker Spreckles too...except maybe the whole Trust Fund Baby thing...