Please help my wife

[Wolverine]

Well, I have used bladed fins (Planar Avanti), jets (Scubapro) and the new Mares Volo Power. After my recent trip where I compared the jets to the Volos, there was no contest. The Volo out performed in terms of speed, power and lack of fatigue. Looks like my jets and blades will be gathering dust for a loooong time.

 

[JustinW]

You have now heard every piece of anecdotal evidence about which fin should be worthy of a design award, now check out some of the more reputable fins and try them out. I find that the Navy does some pretty good testing, I know they use the scubapro jet fins and those are pretty popular with the DIR guys too, and they are freakin nutjobs when it comes to picking out a piece of equipment, there is some information that isn't quite so anecdotal. But also consider that your diving style will change everything.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I reccomend test driving them if possible. My wife loved her Mares Volos but after 3 years they finally broke. So she test drove a pair of Twin Jets and loves them to death.

I wish she loved cheap fins, but cheap ain't usually right.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Well, I have used bladed fins (Planar Avanti), jets (Scubapro) and the new Mares Volo Power. After my recent trip where I compared the jets to the Volos, there was no contest. The Volo out performed in terms of speed, power and lack of fatigue. Looks like my jets and blades will be gathering dust for a loooong time.

I should add my wife did purchase a pair of Mares Volo Power after her Volos broke and liked them a lot, but then she test drove the twin jets and the rest is history.

We all have different kicks, so it's a personal thing to determine what works best.

 

[Rovendiver]

Rovendiver,
You'll find the Plana Avanti's much stiffer and more difficult to kick with than any of the fins mentioned in this thread so far.

The splits (X-Pert Zoom etc) and the hinged style (Volo) are designed to deliver the same propulsion with less effort, with some tradeoff IMHO in power.

If your knees need TLC, I would recommend you stay away from the Plana Avanti fins.

If your ankles are sore, you need to work on your finning technique. Proper fin kicking requires you to kick from the hips, instead of using your ankles.

Thanks for the advice and I will stay away from Avanti fins. I tried them in the pool and wasn't that happy. Oh well! Decided on the Quattros for now. S/O really looking forward to his Volos.

 

[Wolverine]

I should add my wife did purchase a pair of Mares Volo Power after her Volos broke and liked them a lot, but then she test drove the twin jets and the rest is history.

We all have different kicks, so it's a personal thing to determine what works best.

True. The twin jets look interesting. The concept is pretty similar to the Volo Power but made of stiffer material. The old jet fits are heavy and negative. They are useful when you don't have to fin a lot and need precision positioning, but you would need calves of steel and ankles of titanium to be able to fin against current constantly. The Planar Avantis (which i have had for 6yrs before the switch to the Volo Power) were are decent fins that require a little less muscle strength than the Jets, but were still tiring. The wonderful thing about the Volo Power is the ease of movement using the flutterkick, instead of the traditional full leg kick. Frog kicking is also very effective, as is helicopter. The only thing it doesn't perform as well is the reverse kick. The Avantis and the Jets both have the upper hand in that.

I guess since I dive almost 100% in warm water, the need for negative fins is not there (scratch the jets) though if I were to go back to technical diving, I might retrieve the jets from the attic.