Leg fins give a smooth streamlined kick, for constant thrust within each stroke. Your kick feels very similar to a good swimming kick without fins, but with more power. They suit freestyle, backstroke and fly.
When you swim with regular foot fins, you can feel the pulsing surge of water past your ears each time you kick down. This tells you that your kick thrust is fluctuating within each kick, giving you lower swimming efficiency. So you can actually feel that foot flippers give this pulsating kick. Their thrust comes in bursts. So, they do not give the more constant thrust of natural swimming without fins that you want. Their pulsating thrust is a real problem. It ruins your natural, streamlined kick.
Leg fins don’t have this problem because they are connected to your legs. So they encourage smooth kicks from your hips with only a little bending of your knees. Also, they flex in a way that smoothly delivers constant thrust throughout your entire stroke. You won’t feel the pulsating surges past your ears like you do with foot flippers.
So leg fins match your swimming without fins. They help you to keep your thrust constant within each stroke for maximum efficiency. Their smooth streamlined kicks encourage smooth arm pulls too. This all helps your entire swimming stroke to feel good and gives you your fastest times.
Now you can have new fins for extra speed and smooth, streamlined kicks for constant thrust within each stroke.
See related FAQ about improving your kick by aligning leg fins to match your kick direction.
See all FAQ about why leg fins are the best swim style fins.