Fins, what I wish I had known

[Wayward Son]

ebay is your friend. find ones you want to try, buy them relatively cheap & try them.

 

[djanni]

Paddles for the recreational diver... give me a break.

You know "Split Fins" are God's gift to the recreational scuba diver. He's not into the more techie stuff so he spends little time thinking in that sector.

Regarding the article, the author lost me at;

[from the opening ppg] ...but I'd rather blame it on a communications gap between the "technical" and recreational dive worlds.

Uh.. duh! Of course that's the problem.

 

[Nomadess 2012]

I don't really like those split fins myself, but the MorFins sound cool ... they LOOK really cool ... I've seen them more and more here on Maui. Shaka Divers uses them and I've seen them doing tours off Ulua Beach. They attract a lot of attention, and from what I've seen, the divers LOVE them ... they say they're really easy to kick, and they like them. I'm going to try them out for myself ... I'll keep you posted ...

 

[llqwyd]

split fins are great for many situations...but if you are in current or need to jet, you need something better. ebay is great, but i don't like the order-ship-buy-try-wash-rinse-repeat process. go to your lds and try a pair out first (a good lds will let you do this).

good luck!

 

[mongodives]

llqwyd, bingo, go to your LDS and try before you buy.
buy what suits you and your diving needs

 

[Lord Melch]

llqwyd, bingo, go to your LDS and try before you buy.
buy what suits you and your diving needs

+1

Don't buy something JUST on someone's opinion. Try it 1st ..

Life would be a bit dull if we were all the same

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

Here's 2 different fins. Since they're both blade/paddle fins, they must work the same, right?

Here's 2 "split" fins, since they're both "splits", they must both work the same, right? Never mind the fact that the Twin Jet is made with a soft compound and is flexible and the Twin Jet Max is stiffer than a traditional Jet fin.

Point? Grouping fins into just 2 types; Blade/paddle and Split and then making claims about their physical characteristics or how they'll perform based on this grouping, is about as useful as a football bat. The fins above are made by the same manufacturer and some even have similar names, yet they're not even close to the same in materials or performance. Imagine the differences between manufacturers. The Twin Jet Max also pokes a giant hole in the theory that "splits" are all more flexible when compared to blade/paddle fins. So before you believe that blade/paddle fins are good for this, or that split fins are bad for that, go out and physically compare and try some fins. There's a ridiculous number and variation to choose from.

P.S. If the pics aren't showing-up, give them a second. They're are Scubapro fins and the pics are from the Scubapro site (which can be slow). If you don't want to wait. The fins pictured are the Kinetic, Jet, Twin Jet, and Twin Jet Max. Try googling them.

 

[Lord Melch]

Don't buy something JUST on someone's opinion. Try it 1st

..

+1

go out and physically compare and try some fins. There's a ridiculous number and variation to choose from

err +2 :kiss2:

Just the colours i.e. Black or coloured of Apollo Split fins makes a difference - apparently.

FINE TUNING While all bio-fins are 100% rubber, the hardness level does vary. Durometer ranges from original black 65 to the XT at 75

Apollo Sports: Dive Gear: Split Fins: Overview

 

[Mayor]

What the OP is getting at is the latest and greatest is not always the best. Think simple and you will make out much better over the long run. All divers at any level should take a look at DIR gear choices and see how well tested they are. This is what made me switch to that style gear. You might not take all the suggestions but at least you will know why! I just wish someone told me to take a look long ago. My wife and I would have saved so much money.

As for the fins, my take is slow and steady while diving. The easiest way to move a lot of water is a good basic style fin that's stiff. Most tech style fit that discription plus are much cheeper then most other fins. I can tell you I work so much less with my OMS fins then with split fins. Just my two cents!

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

All divers at any level should take a look at DIR gear choices and see how well tested they are.

And here in lies the problem. Just because the average recreational diver buys DIR compliant gear doesn't make them a DIR diver. And it definitely doesn't mean that they are going to realize any benefit from using DIR compliant equipment. DIR is a lot more than gear and is directed toward challenging technical diving. Without the training and understanding of DIR, the gear is just gear. No better and no worse that a lot of other gear. I doubt that the average recreational or new diver, to whom this forum, and that blog post was directed toward, would see much of any benefit to buying gear simply because it's used by DIR divers. The average recreational diver isn't going to want to spend the extra time building up the leg strength needed to fully realize the potential of the Jet fin and probably isn't going to be, or shouldn't be diving in conditions where there's a need to have a fin that's able to produce a lot of thrust, but also requires a lot of length strength to get that thrust. Or a fin that is better at kick styles that the average recreational diver doesn't know and probably doesn't really need. At slower, more steady average recreational speeds, a lot of other fins, paddle, split, and "other", are far more efficient than the Jet or it's clones. It's best not to forget who the audience is and what their needs are when recommending equipment.