Fin Choice

[H2Andy]

i think jetfins will serve you well ... i love mine

they are just about perfect for cave diving, and i use them on all my ocean dives as well with excellent results

(of course, other than the Mares Quattros, they are the only fins i've ever tried, so my comparison pool is non-existent)

 

[JDostal]

Jetfins are my current fin of choice, just because they make a version with a massive foot pocket.

Mares Quatro's are an excellent fin as well - you can really pull some power out of those.

The Dive Rite fins are actually pretty popular - the fact that they come with spring straps preinstalled is a sweet bonus.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I use jets. I have the longer version so they work great for frog kicks. They're also heavy enough to keep my feet down where they need to be when I'm diving dry. My wife can't dive her jets though because they're too heavy for her and put her in a feet down orientation. Right now she's diving Mares fins which are light enough to keep her in the right orientation, but we've been looking for a little stronger fin for her that's not so heavy. We considered the OMS slipstreams but were told they aren't so great. The DR's are pretty light, but we haven't seen any in stock that fit her, so we're still looking. Check out ebay for cheap jets. I bought several last year for about $15 a pair.

 

[aquanut]

The jet fins are the most popular,but may not always be the best choice.

yo Karstdivr, They are the only choice when diving with doubles or with multiple stages. The turtles were absolutely huge in the pocket, don't know anybody that would fit into them. I think beauchat(?) makes a copy of the jets but have never used them. You will find the oms fins to light when diving doubles and drysuit. May work out fine if you are diving wet.


......The jet fin doesn't provide you the most optimal frog kick due the short blade length,but does a good job for shuffle/modified flutter kick. .....

Just the opposite my friend!

 

[jeandiver]

The jet fins are the most popular,but may not always be the best choice.

yo Karstdivr, They are the only choice when diving with doubles or with multiple stages. The turtles were absolutely huge in the pocket, don't know anybody that would fit into them. I think beauchat(?) makes a copy of the jets but have never used them. You will find the oms fins to light when diving doubles and drysuit. May work out fine if you are diving wet.


......The jet fin doesn't provide you the most optimal frog kick due the short blade length,but does a good job for shuffle/modified flutter kick. .....

Just the opposite my friend!

I recommend an old beat-up pair of Blue Mares myself
(those that dive in dem holes with me know what I am talking about)

Da Beano

 

[fweber]

They are the only choice when diving with doubles or with multiple stages. The turtles were absolutely huge in the pocket, don't know anybody that would fit into them.You will find the oms fins to light when diving doubles and drysuit. May work out fine if you are diving wet.


......The jet fin doesn't provide you the most optimal frog kick due the short blade length,but does a good job for shuffle/modified flutter kick. .....

Just the opposite my friend!

Auanut,

First, Always check the last post on a thread. This one is probably slightly past it's best before date.

I don't know your experience level. But, I'm willing to go out a limb here and say, "Jets aren't the ONLY choice." To start off with there are a number of very similar fins, the OMS Splipstrems, Aqualung Rockets, IDI Powerfins, Turtles, etc. They all fill a need for someone. Secondly, there are a number of other basic paddle fins that fill the bill for diving with doubles and stages. Mares Avantes, Diverites, etc. I'm never bothered when the Jet contingency promote their choice but to say that nothing else will work, is just wrong.

 

[The Chad]

But jets are what all the cool kids wear......Personally I use the OMS Slipstreams, lighter only bad is the foot pocket flexes more than I'd like. But the size jump in the jet xl to xxl is huge. The slip is kinda inbetween I've found

 

[Meng_Tze]

I love my jets. As a matter of fact, I bought a second pair just in case the world stock depletes... ( a friend was selling his and I got them cheaply)

Yes, in some instances it takes a bit more effort to fin around, but a bit of exercise never hurt a cave diver, right?

 

[PerroneFord]

I am about to buy my second set of Jets. My XLs are nice when diving wet, and the XXLs are perfect with my drysuit boots.

I started with some Aqualung blades, and those are ok. I've used the Dive Rites, but they don't fit my boots, and they are so light they give floaty feet in my drysuit if I don't wear the boots.

I've seen and handled the OMS Slipstreams, but never had them in the water.

Frankly, I prefer the Jets to them all.

 

[Rich Courtney]

Before you buy anything, why don't you try different fin types out and then decide what works for you? After all when your Cavern/Basic instructor is going through gear configuration and asks you why you're using those fins, do you really want to say "because I read it on the Internet"?

I myself use the Dive Rite fins most of the time, but I wear my Jets in small cave due to the smaller blade size. Dive Rite fins will give you much more "oomph" for your buck when you're frog kicking, but for modified shuffle, flutter etc Jets are better as Kelly pointed out in an earlier post. Quattros are very similar to the DR's, and are somewhat common in cave country also.

You can back kick equally well in either type of fin and you should not have to change fins 'cause you're switching from a wet suit to a dry suit (unless it's a foot pocket size issue) and vice versa, remember that equipment is not a substitute for skill and experience. Hope this helps....

Safe diving,

Rich