Fins and manoeuvrability

[gkrane]

going to agree with you completely here. f1s are heavy fins, i use them for drysuit diving, wetsuit diving i use the tried and tested mares avantti quattros.

I have always wanted to try those fins out. My wife needs a new pair of fins and I am looking at getting her those. I see so many people using quattros on trips.

 

[Rusty Roo]

I have always wanted to try those fins out. My wife needs a new pair of fins and I am looking at getting her those. I see so many people using them on trips.

they have stood the test of time and now you can get the " + " so nice bungee strap. i'm not sure i've heard a bad thing about them and seen many dms using them, who obviously use fins day in - day out.

 

[dmaziuk]

Regardless of what they can do, a $400 price tag for a pair of fins is very alarming. I have never tried them so I can't comment on their effectiveness but 400 bucks...Really? Seems almost criminal.

They're basically individually hand-made -- not quite, but in terms of manufacturing cost they may just as well be. Also, it's $400 for the basic package: if you add the whiskers, bungee straps and/or inserts, you're looking at half a grand. Could they possibly be 10 times "better" than my $50 accels? -- NFW
I did get to try my OW instructor's "classic" FFs: I mostly liked the foot strap. Because I have narrow feet and all other foot pockets so far are wider than I like. I strongly suspect that large part of FF's efficiency is due to that strap sitting firmly on the metatarsals. I'm OK with the accels but I wonder if I can double their "efficiency" by simply cutting out a hole in the toe and get that FF fit.

 

[Johanan]

Thank you for your posts, friends! :thumbs-up

 

[danvolker]

Let's compare a $200 Kmart bike, to a $6000 Racing road bike.
Could you say that the Road bike is 10 times better than the Kmart bike? For the people that can "settle" for a Kmart bike, clearly the answer is that the expensive race bike is a ridiculous waste of money--that there Kmart bike does everything a fancy race bike would do for them--for very little money. For the cyclists that care about performance, the Race bike is very worth the money, and some will pay 10K for even more performance. These same cyclists would consider the kmart bikes no better than disgusting junk, that effectively prevents the deluded buyers of them, from ever experiencing what riding a bike should be like. This pretty much sums up my view of fins as well.

Quatros...Jetfins, etc...these are Kmart fins....

There is a large majority of scuba divers that think that scuba divers should swim slowly, and apparently believe that there is no reason to buy fins that can allow efficient high speed travel with huge distance potential...This is against their scuba religion.....The Kmart performance fins -- like the Jetfins and split fins and the rest of the junk fins most scuba divers swear by, will remain their end all, and be all.

 

[lowviz]

Tbone "IS" right for most people.

So you imply that people are different. I would agree with that if that is what you actually meant.

The ratio of slow twitch to fast twitch fibers varies from person to person. My running was agonizing and disheartening until I understood this and altered my behavior.

There is a large majority of scuba divers that think that scuba divers should swim slowly, and apparently believe that there is no reason to buy fins that can allow efficient high speed travel with huge distance potential...

No. Efficient travel at a given level of exertion. I'll open a can of worms. "Given level of exertion".

My genetic inheritance dictates that I'm a low speed marathoner. I can go on endlessly unless I'm pushed above my setpoint and then I pay dearly.

Fully inflated, on the surface, on my back in backmount doubles heading back to the boat, Jets rule. Underwater, the new Dive Rites are quite nice (the old ones have too much of a bend).

 

[dmaziuk]

Let's compare a $200 Kmart bike, to a $6000 Racing road bike. Could you say that the Road bike is 10 times better than the Kmart bike? For the people that can "settle" for a Kmart bike, clearly the answer is that the expensive race bike is a ridiculous waste of money--that there Kmart bike does everything a fancy race bike would do for them--for very little money. For the cyclists that care about performance, the Race bike is very worth the money, and some will pay 10K for even more performance.

Ah, but there's a but sticking out: do you ride your $6K to work and leave it chained to a post outside? In a rain? Because that's what I do with my $250 Jeep comanche niner. And I don't race it.

I don't think scuba divers should swim slowly, I think I want to stretch my air and not breathing hard is a good way to do that. Which means I'm not kicking very hard. Will I move faster if I do that in FFs? -- I've no reason to doubt that. Is that speed increase worth 10 times the price? -- I doubt it.

I'm sure there are dives where the extra efficiency is worth every penny. When I start doing those I'll start saving up for the fins.

 

[kr2y5]

Yeah, another equipment solution to a skills problem. Nevertheless, to what extent manoeuvrability and precision depends on the model (size, form) of the fins? Can anyone compare, let's say, Holiis F1 "Bat" fins and the Apeks RK3 fins from this perspective?

Not precisely an answer to your question, but I found jet fins to be unwearable... the comfort aspect might potentially limit your choices and simplify the matter, as it did in my case.

 

[danvolker]

Ah, but there's a but sticking out: do you ride your $6K to work and leave it chained to a post outside? In a rain? Because that's what I do with my $250 Jeep comanche niner. And I don't race it. I don't think scuba divers should swim slowly, I think I want to stretch my air and not breathing hard is a good way to do that. Which means I'm not kicking very hard. Will I move faster if I do that in FFs? -- I've no reason to doubt that. Is that speed increase worth 10 times the price? -- I doubt it. I'm sure there are dives where the extra efficiency is worth every penny. When I start doing those I'll start saving up for the fins.

If I ride my bike someplace, and then go inside, my bike goes WITH me...no exceptions. No place will deny this....No place I would desire to go to by bike.

I agree with you on the important issue...I want to stretch my air.....and I want to cover as much distance as I possibly can, and cover as many homes for lobster, or jewfish( to video), or any other object I may want to find.
So even at scooter pace, I am keeping my breathing at a low rate ....If I am hovering, I could have it slower still, but there is looking for things...and then having found things

 

[dmaziuk]

If I ride my bike someplace, and then go inside, my bike goes WITH me...no exceptions.

I didn't pay $250 for mine to drag it with me everywhere.

I want to cover as much distance as I possibly can, and cover as many homes for lobster, or jewfish( to video), or any other object I may want to find.

Fair enough, that is the intended usage where efficiency is important. Though OP's question was manoeuvrability and precision, not racing.