New fin advice

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I have Hollis F1, Atomic Blade, and Mako Competition Freediver fins.

The F1s are very negative and I only use them with my dry suit.

The Atomic Blades work better for me than the F1s for everything (except that they are neutral, and I need negative in my dry suit). I get more power and more control for technical kicks than with the F1s. I use the Blades for all my wetsuit diving, except....

The Mako freedive fins are my favorite. I actually use these for all my wetsuit diving - where I know I won't be doing any kind of wreck penetration. I'm afraid they're a bit too long for that. Plus, inside a wreck, I don't need that power anyway. They are way more powerful than the Blades. And they still give me great control for frog kicks and even back kicks. I'm pretty bad at back kicks, but I am best at back kicks with my freedive fins over either of my other sets of fins.

I have used the freedive fins for boat dives in rough conditions, and I have used them for shore dives off the Big Island (Hawaii) also in some fairly rough surf. They are a little bit tougher to don/doff than my Blades with spring straps. But, not so much tougher that I don't use them.

I did some dives with a friend of mine a few months ago. She was in a single tank rig with regular blade fins (i.e. not Atomic brand, but not split fins). I was in doubles and the freedive fins. Mostly, we were drift diving and staying right together. At one point, we had drifted off the reef and decided to swim across the current and get back on top of the reef. I turned and was leading. I was not trying to hurry. I was just kicking at a comfortable rate that I could maintain without even thinking about starting to breathe hard. I had to stop every 20 or 30 seconds and wait because she couldn't keep up and had almost gotten too far behind for me to see any more..

Putting them on seemed daunting until I read an article from Mako on how to do it (which I can't find now). Basically, it said to turn the heel inside out, then slip the fin on just like you would with an open heel fin. Then grab the tab at the top of the heel part and pull it over/around your heel. Voila! Doing it that way, I have had no real trouble even on a pitching boat, wearing doubles, walking to the exit with fins in hand (heels already inside out), standing at the exit, putting my fins on, then jumping in.

On top of everything else, the freedive fins are cheap. $90. Plus you might want to get their 2 or 3mm socks to wear with them. Still cheap. They have some that are less expensive, but I paid the extra $20 and am glad I did. The cheaper ones have the blades permanently attached to the foot pockets. These will allow me to swap out the blades if I want. I don't know that I ever will. What I do know is that when I took them to Hawaii a couple of months ago, they would not fit into my giant gear bag until I disassembled them and separated the blades from the foot pockets. If I had the cheaper ones, I would have had to just leave them home and take my Atomic fins.
 
I went from a split fin to the OMS Slipstream. I do shore diving and drive dive and I too have very heavy legs.
I love the slipstream. I mostly frog kick and their are great for that. I've tried them with flutter and they did ok. The fins are neutral which is what I needed.
I can't compare them to the other fins you have listed as I don't own any of those.

Best is for you to try them as the foot pocket on each one of these are different. Nothing worst than a fin that doesn't fit or pinches.
 
You'll find the F2s lacking in any sort or current, well I did anyway. Currently I'm using M size DR XTs for open water boat dives, yes, they are stiff but I've not found that to be an issue and I'm a small guy. I predominantly frog kick which the XTs do very well, not sure I'd want, or be able, to flutter kick over any great distance.
 
Quattros are a great all round fin although I found the plus version to be a little "twisty". The F1s are heavy, IMO better suited to Drysuit diving in general.
 
I ended up getting a set of the Quattro Excels (not plus). I found a set used twice for $50 shipped and decided to give them a shot for that price. Thanks for the advice!
 
I used a pair of F2's in Bonaire and they worked great with no current to speak of. If I were diving in any type of current they would not be my first or second choice. I also have F1's that I only use for cold water diving as they are really heavy but offer incredible power and maneuverability.
 
After using the Quattro's on two dives last week, I'm pretty sure that I hate them. The foot pocket is too small for me (I replaced the bungee straps with my old spring straps that are slightly longer), yet they feel to wide. I have a big 13 (almost 14) and wide feet, yet my toes were crunched and my feet seemed to slip side to side.

It was also the first time my legs were sore the next day (calves, shuns and ankles), albeit I did a 100 minute dive into a ripping current the entire dive as well as almost a half mile surface swim each way.

I'm plan on giving them another shot this weekend, but have been eyeing the boards for a good deal on another set or the new Atomic X1's and will likely try to sell the Quattro's.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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