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Post by tomcatpc on Dec 24, 2015 22:46:49 GMT -8
Hello Got these brand new Voit Duck Feet/UDT Fins for Christmas. Nothing vintage, other than they look fairly close somewhat to what I have photos of. Funky brown-green colour, looking to looking to diving this coming Summer! They not might be close to the real things, but I like them! Also not vintage, is my cat Dunkirk lurking about in the upper right of the photo. Mark  |
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Dec 24, 2015 23:10:37 GMT -8
 What a lovely new acquisition! The 1955 edition of the Carriers' book "Dive" records that the original Spearfisherman Company Duck Feet fins, made from "true gum rubber, translucent", retailed in four sizes at $8.95, with a fifth, extra large, going for $12.95. Mind you, photographs in early diving manuals suggest that the original Duck Feet weren't always easy on the feet if the following image from Bronson-Howard's "Handbook for Skin Divers" (1956) is anything to go by:  The diver in the above picture may look a bit like Richard Nixon, but he's actually Hope Root, a 52-year-old Miami attorney who met his death attempting a record-breaking dive in the Gulf Stream in 1953. He is wearing his fins over thick socks, over some kind of diving bootie. Swimaster appear to have been aware of this characteristic and to have come up with the idea of what they called "flipper slippers" to protect bare feet:  |
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Post by tomcatpc on Dec 25, 2015 0:44:02 GMT -8
I'm going to have to find some thinner neoprene socks, as my wetsuit boots will be way too big for these fins. Really looking to get these in the water!
They might not be vintage, but they are also my very first piece of Voit kit, I hope more follows.
Mark
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Post by tomcatpc on Dec 25, 2015 0:54:34 GMT -8
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Post by duckbill on Dec 25, 2015 21:34:43 GMT -8
It seems that the plain Duck Feet are a slight bit more "splayed" and the UDT Model/Duck Feet are a bit more narrow?, or at least that is what I'm seeing. Mark I was always under the impression that UDTs were longer than regular "duck feet", not to mention the characteristic natural gum rubber. I'd sure like to find something like those flipper slippers. The problem with booties is usually the size and bulk of the hard soles. |
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Post by tomcatpc on Dec 25, 2015 22:09:17 GMT -8
That makes sense that they are longer. One of these days down the road I'd like to get a set of the standard Duck Feet, just to have a pair.
Mark
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 26, 2015 9:07:31 GMT -8
Mark, you can make your own bootie. We did that a lot in the early 1960s. Take an old sock, as that outline is pretty good for neoprene. Outline two sides to the sock (give yourself about a half inch greater than the sock, so you can get a foot into it easily, and cut it out of the neoprene. Get some 1/8" (3mm) neoprene and cut out the outline of the sock, then glue it together with neoprene cement. Put the first coat on the neoprene, and let it dry completely to the touch. Put a second coat on and do the same. Then put the third coat on, and let it dry until tacky, and put the two sides together. Let this dry overnight, and you have your socks.
John
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Post by nikeajax on Dec 26, 2015 10:06:05 GMT -8
John, I b'leve you mentioned quite a few times that UDT's require VERY strong legs due to their length and stiffness, they can cause bad leg cramping, no?
JB
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Post by luis on Dec 26, 2015 13:47:19 GMT -8
You can get 0.5mm, 2mm, and 3mm neoprene socks from this web site (and a few other types of wet socks). www.nrs.com/category/2559/men/footwearThey also have booties with extremely thin soles. Basically a sock with thin 1.5mm thick waking surface. They are used for whitewater kayaking. Some of the play-boat kayaks are so small that we always talked about wearing them like a pair of pants. That is why they make booties that are not much thicker than a neoprene sock. |
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 26, 2015 16:17:31 GMT -8
The UDT Duck Feet fins, if still made of gum rubber or the same rubber AMF Voit used, have a resilience that is great for power finning. They don't require more leg strength than a Jet Fin. But, and this is a big "but," they have little foot support on the sole of the foot. This means that the top and front of the foot takes all the force, and this requires a fairly strong swimmer for long fin swims. When we had to do 1000, 1500, and 3000 yard swims in the Underwater Swimmers School, these fins could sometimes create cramps in the foot. This is why I wore my original Swimaster Duck Feet upside down, so as to gain some support in the heel for these extended swims. The AMF Voit dyes changed the configuration of the foot pocket, making wearing them upside down not really an option.
The Jet Fin has an extended platform that allows much of this force to be transferred to the heel, instead of the instep of the foot. For extended swims, the Jet Fin is therefore more comfortable.
John
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Post by tomcatpc on Dec 26, 2015 17:13:08 GMT -8
Already ordered a pair of neoprene socks a couple day ago.
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Post by tomcatpc on Oct 29, 2016 23:19:31 GMT -8
These were great to dive with this Summer... Hoping next Summer gets here soon. Looking back on the things I shared on here and making a few updates.
Mark
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