Andy, a below knee amputee who does triathlon swim training four times a week and is losing weight, finds his shinfinTM fins work really well. With one fin comfortable and secure on his stump and the other fin on his other leg, he finds moving around the pool much easier than with a conventional fin. He feels shinfinTM fins give him real propulsion from both legs, lifting his back end to make him more streamlined and faster. He also feels the fins encourage him to kick naturally from his hips using the stronger muscles in his stomach. What’s more, the fins help him swim much faster with a kickboard too.
Dawn, a quad amputee, felt like a mermaid wearing her shinfinTM fins on her legs for snorkeling, and also on her arms for paddling her surfboard. Dawn has one leg amputated just below the knee and the other leg amputated just above the knee. Her arms are amputated just below her elbows. When she wears the shinfinTM fins on her arms, she wears them on the underside of her arms with the fin tips pointing away from her shoulders. The fins can fit in all these different positions on Dawn’s arms and legs because the fins are made from flexible polyurethane and the rubber straps are highly adjustable.
Cindy’s/Dawn’s review from Florida, USA
“Cindy: I am so excited to find your invention. I have a girlfriend, Dawn, who was a very active athlete before losing all 4 limbs to amputation. Her legs were amputed one just below the knee and one just above the knee. Her arms are amputated just below the elbow. I wanted to let you know that she liked your fins. She wore them on her arms and was able to paddle on a surfboard as well as turn the board around (which she couldn’t do without the fins). She also wore the fins on her legs, and they worked pretty good to give her some additional propulsion.”
“Dawn: Thanks for creating the fins. I felt like a mermaid :)!”
Cynthia finds her shinfinTM fins much lighter and great for snorkeling, better for walking, and better for her workouts too. What’s more, they fit easier into her suitcase for snorkeling trips. Also, they don’t bother her ankles like regular foot fins. This is because shinfinTM fins are lightweight and made from tough polyurethane. They strap above her ankles, so they leave her feet free to snorkel, swim and walk easier. So she bought two more pairs, for her husband snorkeling and for a friend for resistance workouts.
Cynthia’s review from Kansas City, Missouri
“They are great. I am using the shinfinTM fins for snorkeling whenever I travel. They fit in my suitcase easily and are much lighter than my other fins. I find that they work very well for me. I like that I can walk around, and they don’t bother my ankles like regular fins can. Plus they are a better workout. My friend needs to work out every day. Once he tried my shinfinTM fins, he was using them every day. He said they were a great workout. He didn’t have to swim as much. And he liked to walk in the water for the resistance training too. I just ordered 2 more pairs. Thanks.”
Megan loves her shinfinTM fins for her daily exercise including freestyle swimming, kicking practice and deep water running with a float around her waist. They don’t hurt her back, hips, knees and ankles like normal foot fins. This is because they encourage her to kick from her hips with a smooth kick thrust. Overall she finds they give her good workouts and help her to get more out of her exercise.
Megan’s review from Townsville, Australia
“I love my shinfinTM fins. I find them easier on my body (ankles, knees, hips, back) than normal fins and I swim every day. Mostly freestyle and lots of kicking practice. shinfinTM fins help me get more out of the exercies. I use a float around my waist for deep water running. It is a good workout.”
Don is a below knee amputee and his prosthetist recommended wearing shinfinTM fins on his prosthetic leg for snorkeling, which worked well for him. This is because shinfinTM fins are highly adjustable to fit comfortably on all sorts of prosthetic legs, from thin legs with narrow calves through to large legs with broad calves. He wears the other fin on his non-amputated leg in the normal position to give him a better kick.
Don’s review from North Andover, USA
“I am a below-knee amputee. Your product was recommended by my prosthetist. I strapped the right fin onto the prosthetic and it seemed to work well. So I imagine I could remove the prosthetic and strap the fin to my residual limb.”
Loving her shinfinTM fins, usually daily, for nine years and more, Gillian uses them for pool swimming with tumble turns and a tougher aqua aerobics workout too. It only took her a short while to become comfortable swimming, doing tumble turns and adjusting her fins without much strength in her hands. She “motors down the pool” with great swimming style doing freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke arms with butterfly legs. The fins guide her into a streamlined kicking technique from her hips. This review shows Gillian’s progression with her fins over her first few days and then at 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 2 years, 5 years and 9 years. shinfinTM fins are strong and long-lasting!
Gillian’s review from Blakeview, Australia
“I found them terrific for backstroke. Wow! I swim from the hips anyway, so had no problems adjusting to this type of swimming. Foot flippers always made my shins, ankles and knees ache. My program consists of 50m freestyle, 50m reverse fly kick, 50m fly with breaststroke arms, 50m backstroke, repeated until I run out of time. Generally between 1000m and 1600m. I feel as though I am “motoring” down the pool. I can now do tumble turns at both ends of the pool. Using them to keep me mobile. Love the fins. I’ve shown them to a lot of people at the pool, usually the older generation, like me. I’m happy that my fins have outlasted five pairs of foot flippers. Two years of discomfort before foot flippers snap across the middle!”
Joan is not a good swimmer, so she practised with her shinfinTM fins in a pool first before using them for snorkeling on her vacation. She found pool practice helpful because shinfinTM fins guide her to learn to swim with a better swimming style. Her smooth swimming kick then transferred across to work great for her snorkeling too.
Joan’s review from Vancouver, Canada
“I practised first in the pool, and then used them snorkeling. They worked great! I am not a good swimmer. So it was really good to pool practise first.”
Rob, a below knee amputee, finds shinfinTM fins work really well for strengthening his leg and giving better propulsion. He finds the resistance and extra propulsion from just one fin on his stump helps him strengthen that leg. However, wearing both fins gives him better overall swimming and more propulsion. This is because shinfinTM fins encourage a streamlined kick with minimal knee bend, for amputees and non-amputees. So this gives him kick power from his hips which strengthens the larger muscles in his core body, buttocks and thighs.
Rob’s review from Whitethorn, USA
“I’m doing really well with my shinfinTM fins. You might like to know I am an amputee (left, below the knee). I find that it’s best for me to just use one fin on my residual limb. Without the fin there’s not enough resistance and with it I get more propulsion than the other leg. It works really well for me. I did try it with two fins and it works good. It’s better with two. But for now I need to strengthen my one leg, so I’ll continue to use just one. It’s a great product.”
shinfinTM fins lift Stuart’s legs horizontal to give him an effective streamlined kick with more flotation, for his aquatic therapy after extensive osteosarcoma surgery to his left leg. This is because his forward swimming motion gently pushes the fins upwards. This lifts his knees, legs, hips and upper body horizontal, for less drag and smooth swimming. Without shinfinTM fins, his legs sink. He can’t use standard foot fins.
Stuart’s review from Dapto, Australia
“I have found the shinfinTM fins very useful for me as I couldn’t use standard fins. I was unable to use my left leg for effective kicking, prior to using the shinfinTM fins, due to the effect of extensive surgery to remove an osteogenic sarcoma. The leg also tended to drag and sink. The shinfinTM fins have allowed me to more or less have a normal kicking action and have also provided a degree of flotation. I am very impressed with the shinfinTM fins.”
Leanne loves her shinfinTM fins for lap swimming in tidal ocean pools and council pools. She finds them comfortable to wear whenever she swims because they give her the best swim styles. They are comfortable because they flex to fit her legs and the straps are adjustable to suit most leg sizes and shapes. They give many benefits over foot flippers, which she cannot wear.
Leanne’s review from Central Coast, Australia
“I love my shinfinTM fins. I was unable to wear flippers so now I wear shinfinTM fins every time I go swimming. They are comfortable. I do lap swimming in a tidal pool or I use local council pools. I average 10 kilometres a week.”