Slyde Handboards Q & A: Do You Need To Use Swim Fins?
Channel: Slyde Handboards
Date: 2016-09-22

Do you need fins to handboard?

This is a commonly asked question at Slyde Handboards.

We always suggest and recommend YES you should have fins, mainly for a safety precaution, as the ocean is unpredictable. 

However, peek performance is also a great reason to use fins. With fins you get a lot of propulsion and speed, which allows you to not get stuck in rips and waves you don’t want to be stuck in,  plus fins give you a lot more control 

Do you need them in small surf? Not as long as you’re comfortable in the ocean, and you can touch the ground.  

When it comes to handboarding, the board is like a surfboard (especially the Wedge board & the Gromboard) it has significant float. The board will keep you buoyant in the break.

Fins can be a tricky thing if you weren't born with webbed toes. They an odd feeling that take some getting use to, but will bring your swim, bodysurfing, handboarding game to the next level.

Here's How to Bodysurf with Fins and everything else you might need to know to experience the most out of your swim fins.

We got our fins. We got our leashes. We got the Wedge by Slyde Handboards and we're gonna jump in the pool. 

All right. So now, we're gonna go ahead and have Sam show you the improper way to walk. You see he's got the wide duck stance and if you trip one time, it's over. So the proper way to walk with your fins on is to slide backwards and drag your feet across the ground. This is gonna ensure that you're not gonna trip and fall and hurt yourself or anyone around you. 

So Sam here just showed you the proper way to walk with your fins. It sounds silly but it's really important. You will fall if you walk forward. You're gonna trip and go down. So next thing we're gonna do is get into the water and show you guys some proper swimming, some proper kicking, and some proper diving techniques. Because when you're in the water, you need to duck dive under the waves to get out. So if you guys are ready, we're gonna get in the water and get it started. All right. 

Hi guys. So we're in the pool and now Sam is gonna show you the proper kicking techniques. It's pretty simple. You're gonna just do like a regular swim in the pool, up and down, but your feet are gonna be a little bit more loose. You wanna have this fluid movement like this so your feet are naturally kind of going on a wave almost and you just go back and forth, left and right. And we have the GoPro so we're gonna get in the water and show you guys exactly what it looks like underwater.

Okay guys, so Sam just kicked without paddling so you guys can really focus on the kick. Next, we're gonna have him paddle because that's, you know, equally important to catch the wave. We're both right-handed. I put the board on my left hand, Sam puts it on his right hand and that's totally preference. So for me, my right arm is my stronger paddle arm so that's why I put on the left. Sam likes to have his on his right arm because that's his stronger, you know, body surfing arm. So try both and see what works for you.

On this next, one pay attention. We're gonna have him kick but we're gonna focus on that stroke. He's gonna paddle really hard, kick really hard and we'll show you guys some footage. There's that moment where that wave picks you up where you have literally caught the wave and you are moving forward. So you need to kick and paddle as hard as you can until you feel that moment. Bottom line is you need to stroke hard and make sure that you're following through. Some people will like hit the water and halfway pull and you just think about the next stroke. When you hit the water, pull all the way through. Pull all the way through and kick at the same time and one you catch the wave, don't stop kicking. Some people catch the wave and they give up on the kicking. You'll hit flat spots, you'll hit parts of the wave kinda dies out. If you keep kicking, you'll make it, you'll keep going through.

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