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are force fins worth it?

4K views 32 replies 28 participants last post by  David Loy 
FrankenFins!! About 4 years ago I was looking for new fins and was just aghast at the price of Force Fins. They are a wonderful product but in light of the fact that they have been around forever, their tooling is completely amortized and they are doing no R&D to improve the product or reduce cost, they are simply price gouging because they can. They are riding a gravy train fueled by fly fishermen and our desire to have a decent product. Notice I didn't say a decent product at a fair price. There is far less rubber and technology in a force fin than there is in a radial tire for my truck yet the cost is about the same. Just to be contrary I decided I wouldn't help fuel their gravy train.

Enter FrankenFins. I bought a pair of Montana fins for under 40 bucks(the same fin is sold under several other names I believe) because the had excellent 1-strap attachment and were easier than most to get in and out of. I also bought a pair of those cheapo plastic backpacking fins which are only adequate for about a 5 acre lake with no wind. As you can see I cut the cheap fins down and attached them to the Montana fins with pop rivets. The result was a fin that is powerful but relatively soft to kick, attaches easily and is pretty lightweight. The wear represents about 4 seasons of hard use and not even a loose rivet to this point. And they have never loosened once while in the water. Total cost was probably around $60 for what has proven to be a very nice fin. Best of all I probably have the only pair of FrankenFins in existence!

The name is courtesy of Roper. He took one look at them and said:"You have FrankenFins!" And so I do.

Ive
 
Jim, Thanks for the kind words. Having been an R&D tool maker working in product development for much of my career I certainly see products in a far different light than most consumers. I will always have that "What if.....?" mentality and enjoy making something good even better.

I hope to take you up on the offer of those fins next spring. My wife has decided she wants to fish with me next year and will need a new set of fins to use in the pontoon boat. Needless to say I will take her to my most cherished spots and get her into some really big fish. It should be amusing. Even if I don't get over to fish I will be putting new tires on my car next spring and a trip to your place should be a good drive to bed in the tread.

As for the winter I am active in the kitchen and on the grills. I did a chicken on the spit that I had dry brined for several days and it was just outstanding. Not near as messy as wet brining but even more delicious. I have also been researching No-Knead bread baked in a Dutch Oven and my first attempt at that was a huge success. I am baking outdoors on my big gas grill in 20 degree temps. I'll go buy a smaller Dutch Oven and start doing this at least once a week, it is just sooo simple. And I am tying lots of flys. I bought about $100 worth of tying materials on line to add to what was already too much stuff and am trying to convert as much of it as I can into flys.

My main winter project is to build some more Adirondack furniture but I am having trouble finding wood. I am living on 20 wooded acres and own thousands of trees but I can't find wood! Sounds crazy doesn't it?

Hopefully we will both survive another winter and I'll get over to see you in March or April. Take good care and have a wonderful holiday season.

Ive
 
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