deepseafalcon
Contributor
I wanted to share my experience in my quest for minimizing equipment weight for travel to warm water destinations:
After cutting my BCD dry weight in half when I moved to a BP/W @ 7.8lbs (from a backinflated weight-integrated BCD @ 15lbs), I looked for further opportunities to cut down on weight and preferrably also improve my diving experience.
I found that my open heel fins (Mares Avanti) incl. spring straps and dive boots weighed in at close to 7lbs. There got to be a better way.
So I checked various closed-heel (full foot) fins and found that the Oceanic Caribe are excellent for my needs:
Unbelievably efficient, in general much less fatique in my legs and hips, and less than half the weight.
I use them with thin neoprene socks, both together weigh a mere 2.9lbs!
For many years I have had some problems with my hip and knee joints, and generally feel much more comfortable with the softer, lighter fins & socks.
Of course, that's no option when diving in a dry suit, and not great when shore diving in rocky areas or in a thick wetsuit.
Btw, I noticed that many dive guides on boats in tropical locations also wear closed heel fins, so I am not the first one who found that "snorkel fins" are actually pretty good for "real diving" :cool2:
After cutting my BCD dry weight in half when I moved to a BP/W @ 7.8lbs (from a backinflated weight-integrated BCD @ 15lbs), I looked for further opportunities to cut down on weight and preferrably also improve my diving experience.
I found that my open heel fins (Mares Avanti) incl. spring straps and dive boots weighed in at close to 7lbs. There got to be a better way.
So I checked various closed-heel (full foot) fins and found that the Oceanic Caribe are excellent for my needs:
Unbelievably efficient, in general much less fatique in my legs and hips, and less than half the weight.
I use them with thin neoprene socks, both together weigh a mere 2.9lbs!
For many years I have had some problems with my hip and knee joints, and generally feel much more comfortable with the softer, lighter fins & socks.
Of course, that's no option when diving in a dry suit, and not great when shore diving in rocky areas or in a thick wetsuit.
Btw, I noticed that many dive guides on boats in tropical locations also wear closed heel fins, so I am not the first one who found that "snorkel fins" are actually pretty good for "real diving" :cool2:
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