Editing Swimfin (section)

{{Short description|Footwear used for personal propulsion through water}}
{{Infobox diving equipment
|name         = Swimfin
|image        = SwimFins 02.jpg
|alt          = <!-- Wikipedia:Alternative text for images -->
|caption      = Full foot fins
|acronym      = 
|other_names  = Fins, flippers
|uses         = Diver and swimmer propulsion
|inventor     = 
|manufacturer = 
|model        = 
|related      = 
}}

'''Swimfins''', '''swim fins''', '''diving fins''', or '''flippers''' are [[fin]]like accessories worn on the feet, legs or hands<ref name="AlainPerrier" />  and made from [[rubber]], [[plastic]], [[carbon fiber]] or combinations of these materials, to aid movement through the water in [[Water sport (recreation)|water sports]] activities such as [[human swimming|swimming]], [[bodyboarding]], [[bodysurfing]], [[Float tube|float-tube fishing]], [[kneeboarding (surfsport)|kneeboarding]], [[riverboarding]], [[scuba diving]], [[snorkeling]], [[spearfishing]], [[underwater hockey]], [[underwater rugby]] and various other types of [[underwater diving]].

Swimfins help the wearer to move through [[water]] more efficiently, as [[Foot|human feet]] are too small and inappropriately shaped to provide much [[thrust]], especially when the wearer is carrying equipment that increases hydrodynamic [[Drag (physics)|drag]].<ref name="pendergast2003">{{cite journal |last1=Pendergast |first1=DR |last2=Mollendorf |first2=J |last3=Logue |first3=C |last4=Samimy |first4=S |title=Evaluation of fins used in underwater swimming |journal=Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=57–73 |year=2003 |publisher=Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society |pmid=12841609 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3936 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709194410/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3936 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 9, 2009 |access-date=11 February 2010}}</ref><ref name="pmid15796314">{{cite journal |vauthors=Pendergast D, Mollendorf J, Zamparo P, Termin A, Bushnell D, Paschke D |title=The influence of drag on human locomotion in water |journal=Undersea Hyperb Med |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=45–57 |year=2005 |pmid=15796314 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/4037 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709194415/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/4037 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 9, 2009 |access-date=2008-08-25}}</ref><ref name="pmid9148086">{{cite journal |vauthors=Pendergast DR, Tedesco M, Nawrocki DM, Fisher NM |title=Energetics of underwater swimming with SCUBA |journal=Med Sci Sports Exerc |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=573–80 |date=May 1996 |pmid=9148086 |doi= 10.1097/00005768-199605000-00006|doi-access=free }}</ref> Very long fins and [[monofin]]s used by freedivers as a means of underwater propulsion do not require high-[[frequency]] leg movement. This improves efficiency and helps to minimize oxygen consumption. Short, stiff-bladed fins are effective for short bursts of acceleration and maneuvering, and are useful for bodysurfing.