By converting his training sessions from foot fins to shinfinTM fins, Isarez significantly improves his butterfly technique. He feels them enhancing his body hydrodynamics by giving him the correct tension distribution in his lower body, legs and feet. This is because they give him the correct power from his hips. Furthermore, his body remembers his new shinfinTM enhanced butterfly technique, even after he takes them off for training sessions without fins. He gets good training from going into flip-turns a bit harder until the fins lift out of the water, and pushing off with both feet contacting the wall.
Isarez’s review from London, UK
“I am a butterfly enthusiast. Your shinfinTM fins are worth the extra money, especially for swimmers who are technique-focused. I usually felt I learnt nothing technically from foot fins. In contrast, the shinfinTM fins make me feel true to my body. They give the correct tension distribution throughout the lower-body, legs and feet. This, therefore, enhances the body’s hydrodynamics properly while focusing on and maintaining technique. Taking off the fins, I already feel that I learned to lift up more efficiently in the butterfly (clearing the water surface less vertically for breathing). I must thank you for inventing the shinfinTM fins.”
Isarez’s review: Training session fins for butterfly technique enthusiast
“For butterfly swimming, the left and right legs/feet are kept close together. The shinfinTM fins look quite wide. Would the wings not get into each other’s way (i.e. the inner side of the left and right fins overlapping)?”
Reply
The sides of the fins overlap very nicely when you swim butterfly, so the two fins effectively operate as a unit. This happens because the side edges of the fins are tapered thin, with no side rails. So they overlap without you really noticing. So, in fact, shinfinTM fins are very good for butterfly. Are you a competitive swimmer?
Isarez
“I am a butterfly enthusiast, not at all competitive. My focus in swimming is to get the techniques right and to enjoy the feel when all parts sync up.”
“It must be said however that they are rather expensive (relative to other training fins). Thank you for inventing an interesting product.”
Reply
I think you will really enjoy them and benefit from them for your butterfly enthusiasm. You can also adjust the height and angle of the fins on your shins to match your butterfly kick.
We have a lot of customers using shinfinTM fins for swim technique. They are designed to work best with, and gently guide you into, a good streamlined kick like swimmers use for freestyle, backstroke or fly (not breaststroke). We get a lot of great feedback from swimmers saying that swimming with shinfinTM fins (especially full stroke swimming) mproves their horizontal body position, breathing, speed and overall swimming technique (arms too). The shinfinTM kick does more than just add leg power. It balances your arm pull and supports good breathing technique. For example, in freestyle, there is often a larger kick down with the left leg when the right arm pulls (and with the right leg when the left arm pulls), with a diagonal force balance across your body.
I have a suggestion for you with your butterfly. Immediately after swimming with the shinfinTM fins for a while, take them off and swim a bit more. You should find that your body remembers the shinfinTM kick pattern, so your “no-fins” swimming improves too. If you keep doing this each time in your fin training sessions, then you should notice continual improvements in your butterfly swimming technique.
A note on cost
The fins are polyurethane to give excellent strength, flex, long life and a flexible, comfortable fit. But these benefits come at a price because polyurethane is many times the price of the cheap rubber used for foot flippers. They fit more comfortably because one size fits people from about age 8 upwards (with or without a wetsuit). Also, people can share the fins and children don’t grow out of them, so this saves some customers a lot of money.
Isarez
“I have received the shinfinTM fins and given them the first test run. First, let me apologise for prejudging them to be expensive in comparison to other foot fins available in the market. I now realise that your shinfinTM fins are worth the extra money, especially for swimmers who are technique-focused.”
“If you do not mind me elaborating, I have always thought that the typical foot fins lengthen and widen my feet. Swimming with them enabled me to imagine what Olympians might feel like swimming with their physique. I did so occasionally for fun. Taking off the foot fins is much a reality-check. I usually felt I learnt nothing technically from foot fins.”
“In contrast, the shinfinTM fins make me feel true to my body. They give the correct tension distribution throughout the lower-body, legs and feet. This, therefore, enhances the body’s hydrodynamics properly while focusing on and maintaining technique. Taking off the fins, I already feel that I learned to lift up more efficiently in the butterfly (clearing the water surface less vertically for breathing). Moreover, it is also just as fun swimming with the shinfinTM fins as the foot fins.”
“Lastly, I must thank you for inventing the shinfinTM fins. I look forward to the next sessions putting them on and learning more with them.”
Reply
It is great to hear how you are appreciating them and the way they benefit your technique. Please, I’d love to hear how you progress over the next few sessions whenever you get a moment to email me. I hope you will come to feel that it is actually more fun swimming with shinfinTM fins compared to regular foot fins!
Isarez
“I will inform you of how I progress over the next few sessions. I am currently intending to use shinfinTM fins once a week in my longer swimming session (I am slightly pressed with time in the other 2-3 short swimming sessions of the week due to yoga classes I attend right afterwards).”
“Of course, if my comments could be of any use, please go ahead. Thanks again for shinfinTM fins and your follow-up care for customers.”
Reply
Thank you for your kind permission Isarez. Personal recommendation is very important to help a new product like this along, so I really appreciate it. All the best with your training and I look forward to hearing from you later.
Isarez (one month later)
“As promised, I would like to give additional feedback for shinfinTM fins with my butterfly training.”
“First, wearing shinfinTM fins, my mind automatically focuses on the core-leg-foot movement. Keeping the dolphin kicks consistent puts my upper-parts (shoulder-arm-neck) at ease, while the lower-parts are felt to be working relatively harder and yet kept close to the water surface.”
“The result of this is very pleasing to me, because, currently I am finding butterfly easier in general.”
“The only thing that I find shinfinTM fins hindering is the flip-turn. Too much resistance comes into the blades while rotating. However, the benefit outweighs this small point. I can always do extra flip-turn practice with the fins off.”
Reply
I’m glad to hear that you are pleased with them for your butterfly training. Do you mean resistance from the fins for the rotation going into the turn until you lift the fins clear of the water? With flip turns, do you find you need to go into the flip a little harder to lift the fins clear of the water? Coaches tell me this is a training benefit.
With all turns the actual push-off is better with your feet directly contacting the wall (rather than being inside foot flippers). Do you find this?
Isarez
“Yes, indeed, the resistance for the rotation going into the turn until lifting the fins clear of the water. I agree that can be good training too.”
“Yes, being able to push off both feet contacting the wall is better.”
Reply
Thanks for your further comments Isarez. All the best.
Conclusion
If you convert your training sessions from foot fins to shinfinTM fins, you can significantly improve your technique for butterfly (and freestyle and backstroke too). This is because they give you the correct hip power to enhance your body hydrodynamics through the correct tension distribution in your lower body, legs and feet. Furthermore, after you take them off for training sessions without fins, your body remembers this shinfinTM enhanced technique. They also give you good training from going into flip-turns a bit harder until the fins lift out of the water. Unlike foot fins, they let you push off with both feet contacting the wall.
These related reviews show the fins used for enhanced swimming sessions, freestyle, butterfly and backstroke workouts and swim training kick improvement. Further reviews demonstrate shinfinTM fins used for freestyle and butterfly with a below knee amputation and rehabilitation training.