Getting Started With AquaQi

First learn the fabric. Then let the water take over.

AquaQi feels different from conventional fins because the working surface begins around the body rather than only at the feet.

Your first session is not about swimming fast. It is about learning how the skirt sits, how it releases, how the fabric catches water and how your movement changes what you feel.

Get comfortable first. HydroFlow follows.

Before You Enter the Water

Learn the orientation while everything is easy to see.

Put AquaQi on while you are still on land and take a moment to understand how the system sits around your body.

The waist-belt release should sit toward the front-left side of your body. The diagonal opening runs down over the right thigh, with its reflective pull tab positioned around the area where a front jeans pocket would normally sit.

The first goal is simply to make that orientation feel familiar.

Set the Opening

Tuck the overlap. Keep the line clean.

After adjusting the waist, set the diagonal opening around the right thigh.

The lower overlapping fabric — the wing — should sit neatly beneath the upper section rather than folding outward.

Think of straightening the inside of a trouser pocket after putting your pants on: smooth the fabric so both layers follow the body cleanly before securing the adjustment.

Learn the Two Positions

Swim long. Walk short.

Before entering the water, practice sleeving the fabric up above your knees and lowering it again.

The raised position frees the lower legs for walking, pool steps and movement around the water.

When you lower AquaQi again, take a second to make sure the fabric is smooth from the waist downward, especially around the belt where folds can be easy to miss.

Before You Swim

Open it before you need to open it.

Open and close AquaQi several times on land until the movement becomes familiar.

Find the waist tab without looking. Pull it. Reset it. Repeat.

Know the release before you learn the propulsion.

Your First Water Session

Start where standing is easy.

Choose calm, controlled water where you can comfortably stand and where a pool wall, lane line or other suitable support is close.

Begin with AquaQi lowered along the legs but still sleeved above the feet. Your feet should remain free to stand directly on the surface.

Stay parallel and close to the wall. Use your hands only to stabilize your upper body while you begin discovering what the fabric does.

First Drill

Feel the sail before you swim with it.

Hold the wall and gently pump from the hips and upper legs.

Move the fabric toward the wall, then back toward the open pool. Repeat slowly in both directions.

The purpose is not distance. It is learning to recognize when the fabric catches water, when it releases and how your leg spacing changes the response.

Think sail. Think paddle face. Feel where the water loads.

Then Cover the Feet

Turn the skirt into the full HydroFlow surface.

Once the basic fabric movement feels controlled, float your feet off the floor and extend AquaQi fully beyond the toes.

Spread the legs enough to begin tensioning the fabric between them.

You should now begin to feel the difference between simply moving the legs and deliberately loading the fabric against the water.

First Travel

Start on your back.

Back-floating movement is a useful first step because the face can remain clear of the water while attention stays on the hips, legs and fabric.

Use the wall behind you or a suitable float if you want additional support while learning the first pumps.

Once you can create smooth, controlled movement and confidently return to standing, begin exploring longer swimming patterns.

Build Your Swimming

Different movements reveal different sides of AquaQi.

Return to Standing

Feet first. Fabric clear.

Before standing, walking or climbing, sleeve AquaQi upward far enough that your feet can contact the surface directly.

Avoid standing on loose skirt fabric. Keeping the fabric away from the soles improves control and helps protect it from abrasion or puncture.

When returning to swimming, lift the feet into the water first. Then extend the skirt back beyond the toes before beginning propulsion.

Stand on your feet — not on AquaQi.

What Becomes Natural

Eventually, your hands do less.

At first, you may use your hands to lower and arrange the fabric around the feet.

As you become familiar with AquaQi, water flow, foot position and the toes can help guide the fabric naturally into its swimming position.

The transition that initially feels deliberate can gradually become part of the movement itself.

Freediving Practice

Learn to put AquaQi on in the water.

Freedivers and open-water users should also practice putting on and removing AquaQi while already in calm water.

Open the waist wide and hold the skirt in front of you. Before inserting the legs, sweep the fabric gently through the water in a figure-eight motion.

This allows water to open and straighten the skirt, making the leg openings easier to find.

Use the bright internal orientation marker to confirm that AquaQi is not twisted or inside out before stepping into it.

What to Wear Under AquaQi

Smooth layers work best.

AquaQi can be worn over a swimsuit, swim tights or a close-fitting freediving or diving suit.

Check for sharp buckles, exposed zipper parts, clips or other hard equipment that could repeatedly rub against the fabric.

Enter the Water With Control

Step in whenever possible.

Avoid jumping into the water while AquaQi is fully extended over the feet.

A hard or poorly controlled entry can place unnecessary force on the fabric and can cause the loose material to move unpredictably around the body.

If entering from height is unavoidable, the safer and simpler approach is to enter without AquaQi fully worn and put it on once you are settled in the water.

Choose the Right Water

Learn first in an environment you control.

Early sessions are best in calm, shallow or otherwise controlled water where standing or reaching support is easy.

Stay away from sharp rocks, reef, coral and rough surfaces that may damage the fabric.

If you need to climb, cross rough terrain or move around outside the water, sleeve AquaQi fully upward beneath the belt or remove it completely and carry it.

AquaQi is a movement system, not a flotation device. Build confidence with basic swimming and handling before adding depth, weight systems or more demanding freediving equipment.

Your First Session

Don’t chase speed. Chase connection.

After the Water

Rinse. Shade. Ready again.

After use, rinse AquaQi thoroughly by hand with fresh water.

Allow it to dry naturally in the shade before storing it.

Do not use a washing machine or tumble dryer.

Give It a Few Minutes

The first strange feeling is often the beginning of the interesting part.

AquaQi is not a conventional fin and it is not ordinary swimming.

At first, you may think about every movement — how far the legs open, when the fabric catches, how the hips move and how you return to standing.

Then something begins to change.

You stop managing the skirt and start noticing the water.

Your First HydroFlow

Learn the control. Then discover the freedom.

Start slow enough to feel the fabric.

Stay close enough to stop whenever you want.

Give your body time to understand the new surface.

Then see how your experience of water begins to change.

Ready for your first session?

Find your fit, choose calm water and give HydroFlow time to introduce itself.