I finally get it: paddles vs splits.

EDIT: I am posting my thoughts and experience. I am not telling anyone else what to dive. I will of course keep my splits and use them in certain situations.

I've read, thoroughly, the reviews, discussions, and pissing matches about split vs paddle fins. In 1.5 years of diving and 100 dives, I'd pretty much loved my Tusa Xpert Zooms I slapped on in my Open Water class.

I was motivated a few months ago to try a set of Hollis F1s. One dive, hated them, threw them back at the owner. Later I took the ScubaPro SeaWing Novas on a liveaboard trip. First dive with them on I was getting NOWHERE... went back to the boat, threw them at the deck help and asked for my Tusas and didn't touch them again.

But as of late I'd experienced some issues:

- I started to frog kick. These split fins did good moving forward, but as promised by some writers, reverse would be nonexistent regardless of how you tried, and something akin to a helicopter turn was also out of the question. I found this it certainly be true.

- In a few current situations, the fins showed their weak spot -- they would simply fold if tried in anything more than a very short flutter kick in a current, and it wasn't generating enough to overcome the current.

- All the cool kids were wearing paddles.

This weekend I committed to those Hollis fins again.

Dive #1: Worse than riding a bicycle for the first time. Exhausted by a short surface swim, I spent the whole dive cursing how much I hated those damn things. Frog kicking but not as productive as with the more comfy fins. I've never worked so hard to get nowhere in my life! Despite all that work, I did not cramp, though. It was clear the fin needed... something different... but I wasn't sure what. I also noticed that on the surface, any fin movement generated some impressive thrust -- of course thrusting me right onto my face, so I had to assume the "recliner" position and get those fins UP in order to hang around.

Dive #2: same site, night dive shortly later. I love night dives, so that helped me stop focusing on the hating, and there were periods of that dive I actually stopped cursing the fins. I think during that time my brain started to figure out what was needed.

I awoke the next day, utterly shocked that my legs did NOT hurt. I'd figured I'd be in a bad way.

Dive #3: Okay, I'm starting to get this. One frog kick lends a lot more propulsion than it did with the split fins. For surface swims it's not an ankle and knee motion, but a motion from the hip/thigh. More like... operating a paddle boat! I was making some time on the surface, finally. And while certainly not a heli turn, I found out that a little wiggle of the foot on one side will get you moving in that direction.

Dive #4: Later the same day, a nice long dive where we did cover a fair amount of ground. No hating, not even a bit. Still realizing I've got dif leg muscles that need to be developed... "Holy crap did I just BACK UP? OMG, I did!" It wasn't expertly executed but I actually stopped myself from running into my buddy's behind AND backed up without anything but the frog kick in reverse. WOW. Then I promptly lost it and couldn't do it again, but "found" it again later in the dive.

I'd read volumes on the subject and all I can say is: stick with it, try to make the change in unchallenging conditions, and understand it's like a bicycle... you can read, explain, even demonstrate to someone all the concepts... but you just gotta do it yourself so your brain connects the signals you get from feedback to the actions you are doing and their end result. Rinse, repeat until you get it.

The one issue is that I have a very soft and flexible hard soled boot; the tops are a thin, lycra like thing, like a light Chuck Taylor from Converse. The force of the fin in a good kick causes the pocket edge to dig into my foot (Through the boot, White's drysuit foot, and thick wool sock). Hurt. I need a more substantial upper on my boots to distribute the force.

Argh.....the forum keeps on losing my post
I will type it again...but in much shorter form
First of all, there is no right fin to use or right way to kick. It's just a matter of preference and effeciency. Majority of the time, neither preference nor effenciency will make much of a difference. We best leave the numbers and stats to the number crunchers.

Anyway, grats on finding the fins you love. You can go wrong with anything really. You just get used to them.

I use splits for strong current and speed (if you are taking dm tests, get a pair) which is pretty rare. I use paddles for the rest. I'm in frog kick 90% of the time. I can move nice and slow to enjoy my dive. Having my legs apart gives me the ability to turn in any direction on the dime at any time. It's a left over habbit from the DM days, but it's still very useful in joy dives.

So, if you are kicking so hard that either tires you out or bending your fins, you might want to ask "why am I kickign so hard?". Am I kicking on the wrong timing (strong current), diving when I shouldn't be diving, moving too fast, or I own really cheap fins:-D

Love the post! The first time I put on Jets was in my Fundies class, and I thought the Mafia had put concrete boots on me and was trying to kill me. 15 minutes later, I had the beginnings of a good frog kick, which I had been completely unable to sort out the day before, in the floppy plastic fins I had been using.

There is a ton of thrust available from paddle fins, but it takes leg muscles to generate it. If your goal is to swim fast, you're probably better off with something else. (I cut two minutes off my DM swim by switching from Jets to Novas.) Since I primarily dive to look at sea life (and even cave diving, though continuously swimming, is not done FAST) paddle fins with their precision maneuvering capabilities work better for me.

Different fin kicking techniques for different fins. That's all there is to it.

That said, I'll stick with my Atomic splitters. Got a pair of Seawing Nova sitting in the closet for when I feel frisky.

Great read. I like my Oceanic Viper fins. Not a big fan of the splits.

I had a reverse learning curve from you but have learned to appreciate each type of fin for what it is and does. I started diving with a stiff paddle fin with a pivot point and used them through my DM training. When I started DMC I also started putting in a lot of time in the pool swimming laps. The outcome of this was I developed a good flutter kick that I didn't have before. I had tried splits before that in cold salt water and at the time I was new a somewhat overweighted. The result was that my kicking style was wrong and exhausted myself getting no where. After developing a better flutter kick I now enjoy my Atomic splits for easy leisurely dives. However I also have 2 pair of the Hollis F1 fins for both dry or wet diving. When using a drysuit or in current these paddles excell at providing thrust as long as you are aware of the change to a long and strong kick style and have the muscle to do it. They also provide some nice stiff rudders to manuever with once you figure out how.
As for taking your Stamina tests for DMC I'd agree with those who suggest the splits for the snorkel as long as you have a good smooth flutter kick otherwise it will not matter which you use. I managed 3 points using paddles but could easily do better with the splits now. The tired diver tow is a different story. Since you are pulling an extra diver and face extra resistance the stiff paddles have the advantage but it still up to the diver to use their muscle and generate the thrust. I'm no athlete but did manage a full 5 points on this exercise.

It's easy to under-estimate how much adaptation is required when moving from one type of fins to another. This is especially true when you have accumulated significant experience with a single set of fins. Once you get well used to a set of fins, and they start to feel like 'part of you', then anything else is sure to feel foreign and awkward.

A single dive with new fins cannot really tell you much about them. You'll be too focused on the differences and new sensation, to get any true appreciation of the pros and cons to that fin.

This misappreciation is responsible for many divers disregarding fin options prematurely...and also quite a lot of the criticism that is unfairly levelled at certain fins.

lavachickie:

But as of late I'd experienced some issues:

- I started to frog kick. These split fins did good moving forward, but as promised by some writers, reverse would be nonexistent regardless of how you tried, and something akin to a helicopter turn was also out of the question. I found this it certainly be true.

Click to expand...

That's weird. I can back kick and do a helicopter turn or one-legged turn in my Tusa X-pert Zooms.
It is easier to do those kicks in a paddle fin, though.

I could do a sort of back kick in my Twin Jets, once I had learned it well in paddle fins. But I think it would be very difficult to learn de novo in splits.

I do second DevonDiver's comment about the adaptation needed when you change fins. When I bought my Dive Rite paddle fins, I could frog kick in them fine . . . but it took a dozen dives or so before my back kick really worked well. They were just enough different from my Jets to put me a bit off for a while.

I think one piece of the puzzle is also what kind of a swimmer you are to begin with. It seems to me that weak or inexperienced swimmers find the splits to be very easy and efficient fins to dive with, whereas the more experienced or competitive swimmer will easily over kick them, and prefer other styles of kicking to the standard flutter kick.

As a long-time competitive swimmer, I find that splits turn to useless ribbons on my feet when I flutter kick since I easily over kick them. Since I much prefer frog kicking as it is more efficient and relaxing for me, using my Jets or Avanti Quattros is a better fin choice.

Bottom line is that each diver needs to assess their needs and decide on their fins accordingly. There isn't one type, style, or brand that is right for everyone. Kudos to the OP for analyzing what he wanted from a fin and sticking with it.