Hyperfin from Triton equipment

[Fondueset]

Presumably everybody knows a 'Hyperfin' is a type of fin and that there is also a company caled 'Hyperfins'. After reading Salibandy's review I contacted Max Moroz at Triton and gave him my specs for one of his Hyperfins. I also asked that he make the footpockets to accommodate 5 mil socks, ordered the fin, which at 300e is a great deal, and got it less than two weeks later.

First impressions - The fin came packed as monofins seem to in general - wrapped up in layers of postal stuff, but not boxed. I ordered the fin bag as well so that was part of the packaging. The difference is that Max build a blade protector from wood paneling. Very good protection - I plan to keep it for plane travel. The fin is very solidly built too.

The fin is HEAVY! Way heftier than my waterway or even Laminar's Chen Bin. I figured the mass must help. It is also about 2 or 3 cm wider than my waterway.

The fin is not possible to put on - even barefoot! Couldn't get into it at work. However - when I got it home I was able to put it on with 5 mil socks - no problem.

Open Water test: First - getting the fin on. I used a pair of 5 mil smooth-in nylon out socks. The best method seems to be getting the sock in place inside the footpocket then sliding in the foot with a little lube. Worked like a charm. The first impression of the foot pockets is very comfortable. They are snug around the foot but with good toe room and no points of friction or painful pressure - just a nice, symmetrical snugness.

Swimming: The first thing that struck me is the lack of friction. Compared with my Nemo this fin slides through the water. Much better glide. It also seems to go with way less effort - I don't feel the resistance of the blade as much, no doubt in part because of the mass of the pockets, but there is plenty of thrust. The angle means I do not have to arch my back as much to keep the legs straight on the backstroke - another factor in better glide. It is possible to swim with less overall amplitude. There is no sloshing in the footpocket - even with the slippery smooth neoprene inside socks with lube - very clean transmission of force.

Foot Pain: Picture one of those huge syringes they use to punch through peoples rib cage in order to inject adrenalin directly into the heart. Now, fill it with something viscous - some kind of Oil. Now Jam it right through the sole of your foot just ahead of the ankle - get it right in to about the middle then bear down and inject your foot till it feels like it'll explode. Same pain I had when I first got my Waterway Nemo. BUT!! No numbness - no localized friction or joint pain - and symmetrical in both feet. The pain is much worse when not moving - again; same as when I first used a mono. I was able to last about a half an hour - the pain was immediately gone when I took the fin off. To my mind this is good - no localized chaffing, no joint problems - basically I just need to get used to it. Very good odds that this will be a fin I can use for several hours at a time - my feet just need to get used to the different shape and load - same as the waterway which, after several months of torture, became completely painless.

Summary: This is an extremely well and skillfully made fin. The footpockets feel like they were made from molds of my feet. The efficiency of this fin, even at this very early stage, is remarkable. The Waterway Nemo is a great recreational fin - but the hyperfin is easily an order of magnitude more efficient. It seems almost frictionless by comparison - and moves me through the water with much less effort. The comfort of the footpockets is a real surprise and, while I was diving alone - which makes it difficult to tell, I saw no V-bend in the blade.

I haven't tried any other fins of the Hyperfin type design - but this one rocks!
I can't wait to get more time in with it.

Triton Underwater Sport Equipment

[salibandy]

Ah, you guys make me feel like some sort of adventurer. It's like I made a magnificent discovery about some previously unknown tribe. Well it feels that way. Thanks for crediting me Mr Fondueset.

[Kars]

Fonduset can you tell us what the footpocket angle in relation to the blade is?

Are the rubber compressing at depth?
- personally I've used my Hyperfins with old plastic bags instead of socks, to keep my feet from moving in the space the compressed socks may provide. It was warm enough in 17c water.

Nice tip to put in the socks first!

Thanks for the nice review.

Kars

[Fondueset]

I'm guessing around 30 degrees - the foot pocket is built up internally so your foot really angles upward relative to the blade. I'm getting a very snug fit with 5 mils. I think it would be interesting to try socks that are smoothskin on the outside - these would probably slip in more easily and be possible to use in colder conditions. As it is I found if I tried to slide the sock in with my feet in them I could do it, but my toes got scrunched - this way its pretty comfortable.

[salibandy]

From my measurements of my footpocket, I'm saying more like 25 degrees. I could be missing out on something though, but I believe I've seen pictures of other hyperfin footpockets that look higher.

[DivingDane]

As if i wasnt excited enough!!!

fondueset you have officially made it unbearable, i ordered my fin from max a couple of days after you i think and it was sent last week so should be here soon but until then i'm not sure i'll be abe to concentrate at work.

very glad to hear you really like the fin it puts me some what at ease!

ans saliandy you should be credited for the find because i dont think anybody else on here as used the fin? so thanks for the contact now time to find some deep water.

DD

[DivingDane]

Fondueset,

i just noticed that your fin and salibandy's fin differ in shape? if i remember correctly Salibandy's fin had a wave like trailing edge where as yours is straight?

is the blade layerng still in the mre wave style or is it more tradionallike a waterway?

did you order it straight specifically or did salibandy order it specially with the wave edge?

probably doesnt make much difference performance wise was just curious.

DD

[Fondueset]

I don't know the reason for the diff. Salibandy's wave lamination is really cool looking and I was hoping for a similar blade. Interestingly I looked on the Leaderfins site and their 'Free Flyer' has the same wave style of lamination as Salibandy's - whereas their hyper and other blades are more like mine.

We took the fin out to Lake Michigan today - beautiful out there. Mediocre visibility but lots of wide open spaces with barely a human in sight.

My dive buddy observed that this fin does have definite V-bend - though I think it is not extreme and am not sure its a bad thing. We'll get some video at some point. However the performance difference between this and my waterway is simply stunning. My technique improves immediately with the hyperfin. It is very fast, with excellent glide and low speed performance as well. I did two sessions with the Hyper and my feet hurt both times - but less than the first time.

The footpockets distribute force on the foot differently - The toes really don't seem to get any of the load - instead it is concentrated along the arch. After removing the fin I found I could get my feet to recover very quickly by flexing my toes upward and breathing into the arch. To some extent I was even able to do this while wearing the fin.

My technique of inserting the foot pockets first worked well. I'd like to add that it is dependent on having smooth neoprene on the inside of the socks - and a little lube.

I can't overstate what a difference this fin makes - I'm moving through the water so quickly, with much less energy expended. Surface swimming is way easier too.

[chrismar]

Any chance you could post some pics of the v-bend at its worst? A good fin is hard to find, as I'm sure you know!

[laminar]

Hey Fondue-
Try 3 mm socks. Not much cooler and much relieve a little pressure on yer tootsies!

I told you you'd like da fin!

Petrovsky

[Fondueset]

As you know, Petrovsky, the pain only increases my manful power.

Will get pics of the bend. We're hitting the small lake across the street today. This place is nuts with tourists right now and getting to the water requires stealth and cunning!

[Fondueset]

Well, we got into the bay near one of the harbors (elmwood, pete) and managed to cross the mouth of the marina to get into some nicer water. Visibility was not good so the Videos are nothing special. We definitely confirmed the fin has some V bend - more pronounced, interestingly, on the backstroke. It is not the huge sort of fold we've seen on some pics posted here. I'm also discovering I need to adapt my undulation to this softer fin - I think both my waterways are harder - certainly the hard one is. With it I tend to use a high frequency undulation - I think this fin may benefit from a longer, slower stroke.

I had almost no foot pain this time - though my toes got a little numb - probably because my 3 mil socks are too short and leak. We had to cross a very busy harbor entrance to get to open water - theres a big air show and boat traffic is insane. Crossing the harbor mouth on the surface was amazing - This fin absolutely rocks for surface swimming and I just flew across!

Once again I was amazed how easily and quickly I cover distance underwater . I can barely move and just zoom along the bottom - hardly disturbing the fish (other than being a huge, fast moving object that is).

This beauty is definitely getting easiar each time I take it out. I expect I'll be able to wear it at least a couple of hours at a shot for temps above 50F.

Just to be clear - I told Max I wanted a hi performance fin for recreational freediving - It would be interesting to see what Salibandy ordered for comparison.

[Fondueset]

PS - my Waterways are for sale - one hard, one soft. These are absolutely excellent recreational diving fins - I don't think there is a sturdier or more comfortable fin on the market. My soft one has an amateur fiberglass repair on the edge - looks crappy, works great.

[Jon]

Not to highjack your thread, but this one is still for sale as well.

http://forums.deeperblue.net/goods-s...er-custom.html


Jon

[Fondueset]

this'll be the 'all your monofin needs' thread

Heres a video of the Triton fin:

ftp://michiganfreediving.com/TritonFin.AVI

Please forgive the crap technique - it was A: pretty shallow, B: poor viz so I was trying to kick alot in a short space and C: I need to get used to the fin (not to mention D: - my monofin technique needs work)

Also - for those who may be interested - this one has me with my Waterway.

ftp://michiganfreediving.com/undulation.AVI