F1 vs F2

[Grender]

I am in the market for a new set of fins. Any opinions on the choice between the F1 or the F2?

About me:
Florida diver, 3mil wetsuit during the winter, 1.5 in the summer.
Dive a steel 100
Drift dives mostly, some wrecks but nothing too deep.
I dont cave
I dont consider myself a tech diver but i do use tech philosophy with my gear selection and practices.
Dont travel much
Mainly use flutter kick

Thanks in advance!

 

[DJ457]

I am in the market for a new set of fins. Any opinions on the choice between the F1 or the F2?

About me:
Florida diver, 3mil wetsuit during the winter, 1.5 in the summer.
Dive a steel 100
Drift dives mostly, some wrecks but nothing too deep.
I dont cave
I dont consider myself a tech diver but i do use tech philosophy with my gear selection and practices.
Dont travel much
Mainly use flutter kick

Thanks in advance!

OMS Slipstreams are a great choice for you too.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I have the F1's. I'm not a tec or cave diver (yet), but I am a photographer. I love my F1's for backfinning and helicopter turns. I have no experience with the F2's.

 

[buddhasummer]

Two completely different fins. The F1s are big and heavy, the F2s small and light. I've owned both. Warm water wetsuit and/or travel diving the F2s are pretty good being light and small, they are quite stiff and I found them less than ideal in a current. I used the F1s, albeit briefly, when diving dry the additional weight helped with trim. They are a powerful fin if you've the leg muscles to drive them. I predominantly frog kick and both fins are well suited to that particular kick. Due to stiffness of both I'd imagine you'd need good legs to flutter kick especially the F1s. Have you considered the Mares Avanti Quattros? A very good general purpose fin which is pretty effective with most kicking styles, being relatively long they are also good in currents, a little stiff but not to much so, relatively light too. Good luck with your search.

 

[Grender]

I have the F1's. I'm not a tec or cave diver (yet), but I am a photographer. I love my F1's for backfinning and helicopter turns. I have no experience with the kidsF2's.

do they seem like they would be difficult to push in a current?

 

[uncfnp]

For your diving I second the Mares. Not too heavy and a good fin for flutter but will do other kicks as well. The F1's will be just too heavy.

 

[Grender]

For your diving I second the Mares. Not too heavy and a good fin for flutter but will do other kicks as well. The F1's will be just too heavy.

well wouldnt the F2 be good than also? what makes the mares better?

 

[buddhasummer]

well wouldnt the F2 be good than also? what makes the mares better?

See post #4.

---------- Post added June 18th, 2015 at 12:01 AM ----------

Longer fins with snap generally flutter kick better. Short, stiff fins not so much, well certainly not without more effort/strength.

 

[dkr82]

I have both F1s and F2s (and Mares X-streams) and find myself reaching for the F2s 95% of the time, as I like the blade stiffness for both flutter and frog kick, their neutral buoyancy and compact size for travel. I've found the heavy weight of the all rubber F1s is just too much for thin/no wetsuit diving in tropical water. The F2s have perfect buoyancy with anything from boardies/rash vest up to 3mm full wetsuits that I use around Asia, where the last time I used the F1s on a drift in Bali, I was far too foot heavy and spent the dive either struggling to remain horizontal or giving up and drifting along vertically. I underestimated how much they'd affect my trim and they're my least used fins. Agree with the buddha that they are 2 completely different fins. The F2s aren't as strong in current as the F1s, but for those scenarios, I'm now reaching for my mares x-streams as they've got the large scalloped blade and plenty of snap for use in currents, but without the weight of the F1. I took my F2s and X-streams to Komodo last week and used the F2s 90% of the time, including on moderate current dives, and the X-streams on a couple of serious pinnacle dives where the current was like a hurricane. The combined weight of taking 2 sets was a bit over the weight of a single set of F1s as far as baggage goes..

For your wetsuit use, I'd suggest the F2s would give you excellent trim in both seasons and manoeuvrability on the odd wreck. The F1s would need serious adaptation to your setup to retain good trim.

 

[Grender]

Very helpful dkr82...

One more question though. On a scale of 1 to 10: 1 being split fins, 10 being power fins, where would you rank the F2s in a current?