Amphibian Navigator fins

[IveofIone]

I saw the ad for these on the current WFF web page and wonder if anyone is using them. For the past few years I have been using a pair of Montana Kickers that are easy to get in and out of but too short. I bought a pair of Cabelas lightweight flat plastic fins that I cut down and pop riveted on to the end of the Montana fins. The resultant fins are 4'' longer and look a little cobbled up but work very well. Roper immediately dubbed these "FrankenFins"-no doubt a reference to Mary Godwin Shelley's legendary monster famous for his course stitching and 1/2-13 head bolts. I have called them FrankenFins ever since.

The Amphibians are very techie and pretty expensive but they offer better propulsion and easy walk around-two things that would serve me well if true. My question is are these claims true? Are the fins easy to use, dependable and is walking around in them the snap it is supposed to be? If you have experience with these I would like to hear some pros and cons before I drop $150-$170 on them.

(Speaking of Frankenstein, if you are currently getting a little weary of gill nets, politics and the deflation of your 401K, this might be a good week to rent "Young Frankenstein again and enjoy the madness of Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, teri garr, Peter Broyle, Gene Hackman, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman and others. The chuckles are still good after all these years. What a cast)

Thanks for any help, Ive

[Mumbles]

Mine should arrive today. I will give a report as soon as I can get out and fish with them.

[Taxon]

Ive-

Have never heard of them before, but based on looking at the photos and descriptions of them, I would expect them to have a lot more in common with traditional scuba fins than with ForceFins in regard to ease and comfort of use. I would also tend to wonder about their durability based on their moving parts, springs, latches, etc. However, I must confess to being a ForceFins enthusiast, so I'm probably not being particularly open-minded in my observations.

[Old Man]

I had those fins make by the Creek Co. They were about 16" to 18" long and had openings in the feet to let water thru. I think I paid $20.00 for them and list is about $35.00. They don't fit over a wading shoe so I wore a pair of those Aqua socks. They really propelled me thru the water. But the moving parts, Buckles and straps couldn't stand up to the wear. The fins are good, but the moving parts suck. But still a good buy.

Jim

[Mumbles]

They arrived today, I've not had a chance to use them yet. I immediately am impressed by the following things: My size 11 wading boot fits nice and snug into its very large molded foot compartment. The contact area between boot and fin is at least double, maybe more than my Creek Company fins (which I must admit have been very very good to me so far, but I'm a bit of a gear geek). The bottom side of the foot cup is somewhat treaded and will allow good contact area for walking with the flipper in the up position. The heel strap is a very beefy looking design with a long stainless steel spring inside it, this does concern me when used in the salt, but rising and being stainless should make it a non factor. The flip up and latch mechanism is very interesting, pretty easy to engage with my fingers and I'm excited to give them a flap. The flipper looks nice and sturdy with some molded vertical reinforcements that I think will add to their durability and performance.

I have never used force fins, but would love someone local to let me use theirs once. My standard Creek Company ones propel me just fine, I'd like a point of reference. I've never seen any of the force fins that will accomodate my 11 wading boots and I don't want to go with them over my stockingfoot waders only, because then I can't beach and wade in a lake, river or estuary if there is somewhere I want to work repeatedly.

More to follow after I use them.

[Ford_Fenders]

I have never used force fins, but would love someone local to let me use theirs once. My standard Creek Company ones propel me just fine, I'd like a point of reference. I've never seen any of the force fins that will accomodate my 11 wading boots and I don't want to go with them over my stockingfoot waders only, because then I can't beach and wade in a lake, river or estuary if there is somewhere I want to work repeatedly.

More to follow after I use them.

Can't speak for the new ones you have but anyone w/ force fins would say you'd never go back. Sticker shock, yes, and they got more expensive about a year ago but I'd still pay double given the added value. It's like a lot of stuff...if you don't fish much, don't spend the extra money...if you do, it's a no-brainer.

At the very least, I can make the FF vs. standard fin comparison. My neighbor upgraded to FF's and let me borrow his old fins. We got in the water and he told me to kick my hardest, so I did. Figured I'd blow his doors off, runner/ex-trackguy that I am. Nope. Wheezing, I looked over in time to see him coasting past, not breathing hard, while laughing his ass off. Next day I was proud owner of my own force fins.

Anyhow, best of all worlds IMO is the original force fin and these. Not the cheapest option but we're not talking rod/reel money either. Well spent if you fish a lot of stillwater.

But I'm still curious about those amphibian ones...Mumbles, that's your weekend assignment

[Mumbles]

Alright, for those that need to know. Here is my brief report on the Omega Navigators, remember I've never used force fins and so far I've only used Creek Company fins that cost me about $75 two years ago.

Boot fit: Excellent fit over the boot and the bottom of the fin cup went at least 3/4 up my boot leaving only the sole around the heel exposed. The fin cup went comfortably over my size 11 boots and covered the entire top portion right up to the upward turn of the boot and my ankle.

Heel spring: Stretched pretty easily over the heel cup of my boot and stayed in place all day long, this is a rubber type tube surrounding a stainless steel spring that is designed to hold it on witout pinching your heel (remember divers often wear them over skin or just thin neoprene)

Flipper spring and lock: Spring lifted the flipper up to my shin and kept it there. Although the ads say they will lock down with a standard kick of the fin I found that a little push was needed to engage the latch to lock the flipper in place. They are brand new, and this was oh so easy to do.

Walkability: Have you ever walked around in your fins? Well, I can walk a long way in these if necessary. I put them on in the parking lot, hiked with all my gear down the hill to the lake, then there was no fussing around like I normally have to do...sit, fins on, straps on, turn all around then get out. I walked down, set my gear down, sat in my tube and was off. Very efficient. I even took a break at mid day, flipped the latch open (with my opposing heel, quite easily too) the spring brought the flipper up along my shin and I was able to walk about, water the woods, get my lunch from the truck and walk back down and then off I went, again a time saving over my other fins.

Propulsion: Noticably better than my Creek Company fins, which I must admit I've liked quite a lot. I have no benchmark for comparing to force fins and what I've read still make me think these are better for our float tubing. These are designed as dive fins with the walkability latch that reaches our float tuber market and I think they do that quite well.

Overall: I'm giving these a solid A from today's review. They move more water than my previous fins with the same effort. If you are needing new fins and can find a pair cheaper than force fins they might be a good compromise. I'd still enjoy demoing someone's force fins, but I would still insist on force fins that fit over my wading boots, I've seen guys using them over their neoprene stockingfeet and that is just not what I'm looking for.

Assignment complete. Trick or Treating accomplished on time. Weekend chaos will likely ensue early tomorrow. Is anyone going fishing?

[doublespey]

Hey Mumbles, I'm thinking of purchasing the Amphib's but wonder what size you bought to fit over your size 11 boot. I've got a size 13 and need to figure what size (if any) will fit over my big feet.

TIA,

Brian / Doublespey

[Mumbles]

Doublespey, I got Amphibian Omegas in XL and Force Fins in XXL. Both fit over my boots with a little more room. I'm not sure how they would be for 13 boots. My recommendations are: Contact the company and ask or coordinate a try them before you buy them fitting with Mumbles. I'm pretty sure the XXL Force Fins will accomodate a larger boot than mine they just don't fit my high forefoot well...so they are available if someone wants to buy them. I had them listed for some time in the classifieds, but no one really seemed interested.

[Preston]

I just received a pair for a product review. Not having used them yet I can't comment on anything except my initial impressions. They are quite a bit longer than any of my other fins though, surprisingly enough, they don't seem to be particularly heavy. I guess this means I've got to get out to some damned cold lake somewhere to try them out.

[Mumbles]

Preston, you are not complaining about having to get out, rig up a rod, get on the water and test something that someone sent you for your opinion are you? Perhaps you need a motivated apprentice?

[Michael Nelson]

Mumbles, after having these Navigator fins for a while now, do you still like them? Have anything to add to make this a long-term report?

[Mumbles]

Michael, I'm happy to report that I am still happy with them. I sold my standard force fins which I found less comfortable, but did get a set of the adjustable force fins to replace the standards. I still prefer the Navigators to the Force fins for most of my use. They have more surface area, are longer and do take a bit more power to kick than the force fins. I've done pretty well fishing one set a while then switching over and I believe that the navigators are every bit as powerful for moving me as the force fins and no more tiring. Since they are longer, if you are shorter (which I think I recall you being a shorter guy from another post) one thing to consider is stroke length and bringing the tip to the waters surface. If the length of the blade reaches the surface you'll be making more noise and distrubance on the surface. The force fins are shorter and unless your kick stroke is really long they will disturb the surface less. When i'm sitting upright in my toon or tube this has not been a problem. When the skunk is brewing and I'm down to just kick trolling as I lean back and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine I've noticed the tips closer to the surface and making more noise.

Normally when just working lake edges slowly I only kick using my calf muscles and ankle and find the stroke and control of my movements very nice.

I will admit to liking the adjustable force fins better than the origionals, but I'm still a fan of the navigators and other than some gravel gouge marks from walking in parking lots with them they have really held up great.

Edit: Walking in the Navigators when the fin is flipped up along your shin is way better than walking in force fins (which in turn are way better than standard fins). I'm not saying you can hike in them as only 50-75% of your boot bottom are covered by the treaded bottom sole, but for a short trip to the bathroom or walking down to the launch from your rig or the picnic table where you finished gearing up these are also a bit superior to the force fins IMHO. As far as the flip engagement, once I got used to them it is so simple. When up you can either push them down into place and latch them by stepping on them with your other foot, pretty easy. To unlatch them you can use the heel of one foot to pull back on the latch and up comes the flipper. You can also use the kicking motion and the pressure of the blade in the water to lock them into place. Right out of the box this takes some time but after you've latched and unlatched the mechanism a few times you get a good feel to how much pressure it takes to latch or unlatch them. Best of luck no matter which direction you go.

[Michael Nelson]

Michael, I'm happy to report that I am still happy with them.

Good to hear that. I ordered a pair this morning.

I sold my standard force fins which I found less comfortable, but did get a set of the adjustable force fins to replace the standards

Haha... I also had standards and sold them after buying the adjustable ForceFins.

I liked my ForceFins just fine after I got the darn things on my feet. But they fought me every inch of the way. Sometimes it would take me 10-20 minutes to get both of them on, and then I'd fall down by stepping on one of them before I got to the tube. They drove me NUTS. They are probably the main reason I quit float tubing and bought a pram. Now I have a 'toon too, so needed fins again and remembered the problems I had with the ForceFins, so decided to go with the Omega Navigators this time around. Your report was a big influence, seeing how you had used the standard and adjustable Force Fins too.

[Mumbles]

If you have leashes for your fins, put the leash around the entire back heel strap, not just on the little rubber loop. Depending on your boot size and the bulkiness you should be able to kick your toe box into the fin then pull the leash and that heel strap will pop into place. I do hope you like them and they serve you well. Do you still use the adjustable force fins? I found them much more comfortable on my foot (high instep) than the origionals.