by
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
The DMC Max Elite Swim Fins are a high-performance swim training fin for competitive swimmers. Here’s my hands-on review of these comfortable and lightning-fast fins.
Swim training fins are one of the best accessories for swimmers looking to improve performance in the water.
Fins help strengthen the kick in a very swim-specific way, help you catch more water with the feet, master both phases of the kicking motion, and frankly, training with swim fins is flat-out fun!
The DMC Max Elite Swim Fins, a short-blade fin designed for serious swimmers, is at the front of the lane for fast, comfortable, and performance-oriented fins.
But how do they perform in the pool? Are they comfortable? Durable? Fast? And how do they compare to similar swim training fins on the pool deck?
In this hands-on review of the DMC Max Elites, I’ll share my experience training with the latest iteration of DMC’s premium swim training fins.
Let’s dive in and get our fin training on.
In this hands-on evaluation of the DMC Elite Max, we are going to cover the following points:
Alrighty, let’s take a closer look at these bad boys and you can see for yourself if the DMC Elite Max are the right swim fins for you and your goals in the water.
There is a lot to love about the DMC Elite Max Swim Fins.
Having tested and evaluated every swim fin on the market over the years, here is how the DMC Elite Max Swim Fins stand apart from the competition.
The DMC Elite Max uses a short-blade design that is perfect for high-tempo kick sets and swim-specific overspeed training.
Unlike long-blade fins, which crater kick tempo and can extend the stroke, changing technique, short blades promote a faster and more natural kick, similar to how you kick without fins.
This encourages more power and technique transfer to help you not just kick faster but swim faster, too.
The first thing you’ll notice when grabbing a set of DMC Elite Max’s are how soft they are. Buttery, almost.
Unlike rubber fins, which can be stiff and even brittle, or other silicone fins, like the Arena Powerfins PRO II and TYR Strykers, which are made with a stiffer blend of silicone, the DMC Elite Max is made with a silicone polymer called silform that is pillow soft.
This doesn’t compromise performance; instead, it makes kicking and swimming with fins much more comfortable.
The open heel design of the DMC Elite Max allows for full range of movement in the ankles when kicking.
Whether you are pounding out reps of 25s all-out with a kickboard, or blasting 15m underwaters as fast as you can go, the open heel promotes maximum dorsiflexion that feels more natural.
Open-heel swim fins, compared to standard closed-heel fins, also offer the advantage of being more prone to staying on when doing flip turns, pushing off, or diving into the pool.
Blisters are the bane of every competitive and recreational swimmer’s kicking experience when using swim fins.
I still have the occasional nightmare reflecting on using super stiff rubber fins in my age group swimming days that left blisters on the top of my feet and on my heels.
The DMC Elite Max, with that soft silicone construction and smooth finish, completely eliminate blisters. Having trained with the DMC Elite Max daily for the better part of two years, and the original DMC Elites for several years before that, I’ve never had anything resembling a blister.
These fins mean you can train longer, and kick harder, without the pain-in-the-butt distraction of painful blisters.
When evaluating the DMC Elite Max fins, one of the first things you’ll notice is the asymmetrical design. By having a “right” and a “left” fin, they align more naturally to the shape of the foot and toe direction when kicking.
This design helps reduce strain on the ankles and knees by pushing water in a more fluid (ha, swim pun!) direction when kicking with force.
And because we are all about maximum transfer, the asymmetric design of the Elite Max fins also means you are kicking like you do when swimming, carrying over gains from fin-centric training to your regular kick.
The DMC Elite Max fins are engineered for hauling your chlorinated bottom across the pool, making every part of the fin optimized for high-performance speed.
This includes the “V-rails” along the side of the fins, which catch more water, translating into greater propulsion.
This feature also helps swimmers kick more directionally, wasting less energy and creating larger vortices with each kick, maximizing speed and power.
Another unique feature with the DMC Elite Max is the underside chute, which is designed to allow for a natural flow of water that might consider pooling in the foot pocket.
This prevents the fins from getting waterlogged and turning into waterlogged UGG boots, which can negatively affect kicking performance.
The underside also features treading to help swimmers maintain traction on slippery pool decks, when pushing off the wall, and when diving into the water.
Swim gear isn’t always easy on the wallet, whether we are talking about tech suits, goggles for competition, smart swim goggles, or in this case, swim training fins.
We will discuss the pricing shortly in the cons section—because it is a significant con for recreational swimmers—but the DMC Elite Max Swim Fins may very well be the last set of fins you ever buy.
The silicone construction not only makes the Elite Max comfortable, but this material also withstands regular exposure to chlorine (or bromine), UV rays, and saltwater.
I bought the DMC Elite Swim Fins pictured below in 2017 (right) and absolutely used and abused the heck out of them.
I’m talking years of training for 30-70k per week, lots of travel, sitting in the sun on pool decks during outdoor workouts, and lots and lots of all-out 25s with paddles and fins that would typically tear less quality swimming fins.
No tears, no cracks, nothing.
The DMC Elite Max Fins have the unique combination of superior comfort and durability.
Recently, DMC Fins launched a Speedo-branded version of these exact swim training fins.
The Speedo x DMC Fins use the same silky buttery construction and high performance features and combine the Speedo’s branding and some new colorways and options.
I’ve got a set on the way (more than happy to go with the Knightrider-themed black and red!) and will report back in a separate post, but every indication is that they are constructed, sized, and shaped the same way as the “regular” DMC Elite Max.
While the DMC Elite Max Swim Fins rule the pool in nearly every respect, nothing in the pool is without its drawbacks.
The DMC Elite Max Swim Fins are not cheap. In fact, they are the most expensive swim training fins on the market.
Here is how they compare to the competition:
That said, is the price worth it?
When I consider that my assorted DMC fins have easily handled every main set I’ve thrown at them over the years, I’d say absolutely.
Of course, if you are a very casual swimmer, spending $80-95 on a set of swim fins won’t make sense.
But for competitive and even many recreational swimmers, the price point is more of an investment into more enjoyable swimming than a cost.
The DMC Elite Max Swim Fins are an awesome choice for swimmers looking to unlock high-performance mode in the pool.
I love many things about the DMC Elite Max, from the open heel to the super soft silicone to the absurd durability.
To summarize my review:
✅ Made for high-performance kicking and swimming. The short blade design, V-rails, and purge chute make the Elite Max ideal for swimmers focused on develop swim-specific power and kick strength.
✅ Superior comfort. These are the most comfortable swim training fins on the market, and the competition isn’t close. Soft silicone, open-heel and blister-free finish mean more training without discomfort.
✅ Legendary durability. There is nothing “soft” about the durability of the DMC Elite Max, which will easily last no matter what kind of insane sets and workouts your coaches throw at you this season.
✅ Premium pricing. Yes, these fins are expensive. But when you compare the fact that the DMC Elite Max is likely the last fins you’ll ever have to purchase, the higher price point suddenly looks (and feels) like an investment.
DMC currently offers the Elite Max Swim Fins in four different colors and sizes ranging from XX-small to X-large. (From a sizing perspective, I am a size 14.5, and the XL is perfect for me.)
Get yourself a set of the DMC’s and take your swimming and kicking to the next level in comfort.
How Do Swim Fins and Paddles Change Swim Technique? Fins and paddles are popular tools for training and improving swim performance. But how do they impact technique and speed? Let’s find out.
Olivier Poirier-Leroy Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.
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