I recently had an ankle fusion ( look it up) and when I'm healed i will be unable to bend or flex my left foot. When I get back in water I will only be able to use one flipper (I will paddle with the flipper). Can anyone offer suggestions on a good flipper that will give me enough thrust and comfort that can be used by itself? Thanks
If you could somehow fuse to Churchills together w/ one foot pocket, so it looked like a dolphin tail, I think that would be ideal...there might be fin out there like that...I will look at some point today.
Thanks . I just looked it up. They do make SCUBA flippers like that but I think they may be too big. But if that's all there is out there...
You could always go w/ one fin and paddling gloves...might feel weird at first but I bet you'd get used to it.
I would think having an ankle fixed in place might cause problems with drag, etc. on the wave too? Maybe not, though. The paddling glove idea is a good one, but if I were in your situation, I might reconsider my choice of surfcraft, and go with something that I could easily arm paddle into waves. Have a look at this link: http://mypaipoboards.org/interviews/PaulGross/PGross_Interview.shtml and scroll down to question 6. If you didn't want to go all out at first, I'm sure you could have plenty of fun riding an 8 foot or so soft board prone.
Dude, I can't wait to read that paipo article...gonna save that for the afternoon...but good call. That was in the back of my mind too...might not even need that much length if you have say a 48" to 60" paipo but made like a surfboard...kinda like the one Mitchell made..
Would I still be able to hold the board with the gloves? They still have fingers but they're just webbed, right?
Exactly, and you'd be able to hold on no probs...there was actually a funny thread about them a while back, think they're called 'Dark Fin' or something...I had ones called WEBS as a kid.
I'm actually looking to get a paipo. Looking into getting w custom one made. I talked to the guy and he said he might make the board a bit bigger than normal
Was the original ankle injury bodyboarding-related? I like Seldom's idea re: one fin (IMO going bigger isn't really helpful, if you've ever tried to use full-size dive/snorkel fins bodyboarding, well, it's possible but MUCH harder to control) and paddling gloves. Maybe start doing an extra-thick layer of wax on the board so you can do no-hands-on-the-board launches without it flying out from under you.
I hope to. I finally got my balls back bad want to go back out after almost drowning years ago. I'm sure the paipo will ride a lot differently. I'm looking forward to the speed and messing around with fin set-ups
Yeah, you totally could go smaller, like mini simmons dimensions and it would be completely arm paddle-able. I was just thinking that if I had an injury like that, I would use it as an excuse to be that crazy guy out in the lineup prone riding a longboard. But that's just me.
There is a guy in VA that shapes paipos-- going to check him out when I get the scratch. When I used my bodyboard I kicked and paddled.
Those darkfin gloves are cheaper than i thought they would be. You think I could just use my regular Churchill fin
Austin Surfboards. I don't know who the shaper is, but he makes some great paipos. Very popular with the paipo riders throughout the U.S., here's a link: http://www.austinsurfboards.com/boards_html/paipo.htm There was a guy who used to post on SI quite a bit, but I haven't seen anything from him in a while. Very knowledgeable about paipos, mats and all types of wave riding tools. His handle was "Rodnd2ube" or something like that. A close friend of mine on the west coast is huge into paipos and alternative surf craft. This is his blog: http://paipopaipo.blogspot.com/?zx=b1f19cb6813ac8bf
Nah man that makes total sense...many paths good sir. And that article was awesome. I think it's definitely worth a shot!
