Pegleg Jack, a bilateral below knee amputee, has been very happy swimming with his shinfinTM fins for many years, for exercise and weight loss.
Pegleg Jack’s review from Jacksonville, USA
“Being a bilateral bka, it sure has increased my level of exercise and I am loosing the weight that I need to. I am just glad that I found your wonderful product, that has helped me in many ways.” And 5 years later: “They are the greatest thing that I have found so far for swimming.”
Pegleg Jack’s review: Exercise & weight loss fins for bilateral below knee amputee
“Fins for bilateral BKA. I have a question. My legs are only about 6 inches below knee. How do your fins stay on?”
“Also, I am passing the website onto my other groups that are amputees.”
Reply
Thank you for your interest in shinfinTM fins. Yes, we have many customers with disabilities using our fins, including below the knee amputees, and have had very good feedback. The fins are quite new, but already British and Canadian Swimming for the Disabled are using them, as well as individual disabled swimmers around the world.
You can try fitting the fins on your lower leg stump, or on your thigh with the straps just above your knee. We have amputee customers doing both. So it depends on your body flexibility and joint movements as to which is best for you. You can experiment with this, and also with the angle of the fins around your legs.
The fins can be positioned at different heights on the lower legs or thighs. You can experiment to find the best position. The fins flex to fit around the leg and the straps are adjustable. The fins help to lift your legs horizontal to reduce drag and also give extra kick power for swimming.
It is best to wear both fins, even if they are in different positions on each leg. This is to balance the down kick of one leg with the upkick of the other, and so balance your whole stroke (arms too). They help you to get more power from your arm stroke because the left fin balances the forces from the right arm pull, and vice versa.
Pegleg Jack
“I bought two pairs of your fins for handicapped persons, and they live up to everything that you have told me. They would use them every other day, and being a bilateral bka, it sure has increased my level of exercise and I am loosing the weight that I need to.”
“Have recommended them to all of my friends and have posted your website on all the sites that I am connected to and also have passed the information on to Amputee Coalition of America, and they have passed it on to their In-Motion magazine editor for a possible article.”
“You have my personal permission to use this in any way you choose. I am just glad that I found your wonderful product, that has helped me in many ways.”
Reply
That is great news that they are working so well for you.
Thank you for your kind permission to use your testimonials and for telling so many others about the fins, including your continued postings on the Amputee Treatment Centre forum.
Pegleg Jack
“I will highly recommend your product to anyone that is interested.”
Pegleg Jack (~5 years later)
“They are the greatest thing that I have found so far for swimming as me being a bilateral amputee. I have passed your website on to anyone that seemed interested in the fins. So don’t know how many sales you got out of it. Sure hope that they did wind up ordering from you.”
Reply
Great to hear that you are still getting on so well with your fins.
And thank you very much for spreading the shinfinTM word. Personal recommendation is the best thing for helping a new idea like this along, so I really appreciate it. And the shinfinTM word is spreading well, thanks to people like you. There are many thousands of pairs out in the world now.
Conclusion
shinfinTM fins adjust to fit single and bilateral below knee amputees, above knee amputees and quad amputees too. So they help you swim for exercise and weight loss, without back problems. They also fit on prosthetic legs. So you may be interested in this review of an above knee amputee fitting a fin on his prosthetic leg for snorkeling.