Bodyboarding with shinfinTM fins lets Diego keep up with other surfers in comfort, without hurting his ankle injuries. This is because they attach just above his ankles. So his hip power and thigh strength is channeled directly to just below his calves, not through his ankles. He can’t use regular fins due to his ankle injuries.
Diego’s review from Lima, Peru
“Hello Marc! I’m only taking the time to reply back because… the shinfinTM fins are GREAT!!! They work MUCH better than I could’ve imagined!! With these I can keep up with the other surfers, and I can even swim faster than some, which is a scenario that SIMPLY would NOT happen before! I can’t put into words how happy I am!! Best regards, and congratulations on a remarkably well-engineered product.”
Diego’s review: Faster bodyboarding fins that don’t hurt ankle injuries
“I’m going to use the fins for bodyboarding. I’ve got injured ankles and I can’t use regular fins. Despite the fact that I’m using swim gloves and paddling a lot, I’m at a clear disadvantage with respect to other surfers. The shinfinTM fins are the only ones I could find in the market that don’t rely on the ankles!”
Reply
I think you’ll like them for your bodyboarding, especially without the ankle aggravation. We have many happy bodyboarding customers. They work well on a board and give you good thrust, if you do a streamlined kick.
The best way to get the correct streamlined kick is to practice swimming freestyle with the fins in a pool. Then transfer the same streamlined kick to your board. Keep your legs horizontal without bending your knees too much. You will probably move your body forward to a new balance position on your board. A bit of wax on your board will help keep the board in position. Lie horizontal on your board, and kick and hand paddle at the same time. Just like swimming freestyle but lying on your board. Then you can go faster to catch the waves. (If you are too far back on your board, the board buoyancy lifts the top half of your body and slopes your legs down in the water. Then your knees bend too much, like a foot flipper kick, and the fins lose power and feel too floppy.)
Diego
“Hello Marc! I’m only taking the time to reply back because… the shinfinTM fins are GREAT!!! They work MUCH better than I could’ve imagined!! With these I can keep up with the other surfers, and I can even swim faster than some, which is a scenario that SIMPLY would NOT happen before! I can’t put into words how happy I am!!”
“Besides, they draw a lot of attention on the beach, and a lot of people come up to ask me what these weird contraptions are. Of course I proudly tell them that they’re made by a start-up in Australia. Just one click away! Cheers to making GREAT products! Diego.”
Reply
Many thanks for your kind reply from Lima. That is wonderful to hear you find the fins great and you are so happy with them. From what you said before, I understand you are bodyboarding with your fins and you have injured ankles which I presume the fins are not hurting. Is that right?
Thank you as well for helping to spread the shinfinTM word too. That is really good of you and I do appreciate it. Can I ask a favour please? Would you mind if I put some extracts from your emails on the website?
Diego
“Regarding the use of my comments; sure, Marc, knock yourself out!”
“Yes, the fins are not hurting AT ALL (which is kind of the point; otherwise I wouldn’t use them).”
“Before I was not using fins at all, and I was only paddling with swimming mittens. Now I paddle AND kick at the same time. I estimate that, in general, ~80% of overall thrust comes from the kick (when you wear fins). So, if this estimate is correct, my swimming speed has increased five-fold. Now, I don’t think the increase has been that dramatic, probably two- or three-fold-ish, but that is still the result of an engineering marvel.”
“I came across your fins after thinking deeply about HOW I could tap the strength of my thigh muscles without channeling that strength through my ankles. And it took me months to realize that the perfect ‘exit point’ for all the thigh strength were the lower calves. So I realized I would need probably a bit more than matches and tape to put this sort of thing together. So I googled for something like this and BAM, I found the shinfinTM fins. Funnily enough, when I googled for ‘therapeutic fins’ or related things, I didn’t come across anything like what I had envisioned in my mind.”
“Best regards, and congratulations on a remarkably well-engineered product, Diego.”
Reply
Thank you for your kind permission Diego. I think it can be useful to consider the arms and legs working in unison. The legs help you to get more power from your arms and vice versa, even on a bodyboard like you are experiencing. All the best.
Conclusion
Bodyboarding with shinfinTM fins lets you go faster to keep up with other surfers in comfort, without hurting any ankle injuries. Because they attach just above your ankles, your hip power and thigh strength is channeled directly to just below your calves, not through your ankles. This other review illustrates how they don’t hurt your calves either.
These further reviews show how shinfinTM fins give you faster paddling to catch more waves bodyboarding, how well they work in big surf and beach breaks and using them for multiple sports including bodyboarding, body surfing and snorkeling.