Besides makeing your hands feel huge, I think they help force me to use a high elbow and use my forearm as my 'paddle." When I’m swimming well, my 100 yd times are only about 10-12 sec slower with the FG’s in ‘fast cruise’ mode, and I only use 2-3 more strokes per length. When I’m not…that’s a different story.
Agree with your post except for this comment - not very coach like. I’m betting that a huge % of STers don’t swim that fast. Maybe what you mean is if you aren’t that fast spend your money on something besides shaving useless grams off of the bike weight.
Try duct tape. It’s cheap. It will allow your hands to relax. You probably already have some.
It’s much more sanitary to use gloves when fisting…
wait… you’re talking about something else?
I use Tennis Balls. Old ones I found at the Y. They are cheaper and do the same thing. You can really feel the water with your forearm when you swim with them.