Spring bands

[Mike Edmonston]

What I was frustrated at was the guy who told you that spring straps were required. He obviously knows almost nothing about DIR and here he was "educating" you about it.

BTW - spring straps are great and I certainly recommend them. I can't think of a downside but I can think of plenty for the rubber straps.

Hunter

Just so you know,

He bought the fins and a full DIR / GUE compliant rig from me. He informed me that he would like to follow a GUE / DIR approach to his dive training, and asked for my input on a rig. I sold him a compliant HOG /DIR rig so that he would have minimal grief when he met his instructor and got ready for his classes.

He then asked me if I could sell him some spring straps. I responded that Although I PREFER spring straps, the ones that I had in stock would not be compliant to his training criteria as they have a big goofy loop on the back and are used mostly by OW divers. I was out of the simple spring straps at the time. I then suggested that he check a local shop, and / or talk to his instructor about straps that would fit his training requirements. Never did I say that the straps were a DIR / GUE requirement.

BTW I do have a pretty good friggin clue of what I'm talking about.

Safe diving

 

[MBH]

Mike Edmonston did you a favor by not selling you the spring straps with that stupid tab or loop on the back.

 

[coldsmoke]

BTW I do have a pretty good friggin clue of what I'm talking about.

I obviously don't know you but based on your posts (some of which have been very educational for me) I would have to agree. I guess this is classic case of the grapevine effect. I am sure you can see where I am coming from though.

No offense intended.

Hunter

 

[Mike Edmonston]

I obviously don't know you but based on your posts (some of which have been very educational for me) I would have to agree. I guess this is classic case of the grapevine effect. I am sure you can see where I am coming from though.

No offense intended.

Hunter

No offense taken Hunter, Actually I forgot to put a little smily head after that comment. It was not meant as a rebuttal.

Safe Diving,

 

[silverfish88]

I got curious to see what the DIR site says about straps (and fins) since we have been talking about it here. The quote from the site states:

-They should be heavy to keep the feet down for the dry suit diver (we never use ankle weights)
-They must be stiff so that you can swim in a current or with much equipment.
-They must be robust and can't have any parts that can easily break.
-The strap can't have any quick-release buckles that can come undone.
-No parts of the fin can stick out so that line or things like that can get stuck.
-They can't be too long because that would make them impossible to use in closed spaces, without touching anything.
-They must work for all type of kicks (flutter, frog kick, baby flutter etc)

I guess this is open to interpretatoin. Can rubber straps break easily? Probably not unless worn. However, I am sure that every diver, DIR or not says that you should not use worn gear. In the end, I think I am going to get the Manta springs. They are not that expensive and many (most?) technical divers are saying that they are great.

 

[Colliam7]

-They must be robust and can't have any parts that can easily break. ... -The strap can't have any quick-release buckles that can come undone. ... I guess this is open to interpretatoin. Can rubber straps break easily? Probably not unless worn.

Actually, they can break easily, whether 'worn' or not, and always seem to break at a particularly inconvenient time - when you are putting your fins on right before entering the water (e.g. after a two hour boat ride to the dive site), or while you are in the water (e.g. after the two hour boat ride, and after gearing up, and after striding off the boat, and after descending to the wreck, but BEFORE actually seeing much of it at all). They do not seem to break with any frequency while you are removing them AFTER a dive. And, some will say they never break at all, but that seems to be true only for the cosmicly blessed.

I think I am going to get the Manta springs. They are not that expensive and many (most?) technical divers are saying that they are great.

Good choice. Spring straps are so easy to use, not that difficult to install, and reasonably priced, I think most recreational divers would benefit from having them. You will not regret the purchase.

 

[paddler3d]

I just bought a pair of OMS slipstream fins for my tech diving class. However, they came with rubber heel straps. I was told that I have to get metal springs for them. I have looked on line and found 4 or 5 different bands ranging from $30 to $100. Does it matter which ones I get?

I've been diving the OMS Slipstreams for about half a year. The first thing I did was loose the rubber straps and install the Manta fin springs. They were $30 and took 15 minutes to make the swap. Good investment of time and money.

Good luck.

Chris

 

[ehuber]

I was part of a dive incident involving a fin strap and can definitively tell you that fixing one of those buggers at depth is not ideal and can cause serious problems on a dive. Or worse.

When you're at 120 or 200 feet and lose a fin strap it is HIGHLY inconvenient. If you're going into tech diving, then $85 for a pair of spring heel straps shouldn't be an obstacle.

 

[simcoediver]

Mike Edmonston did you a favor by not selling you the spring straps with that stupid tab or loop on the back.

Hey! theres nothing wrong with the big goofy loop on the strap, my wife uses them for a good reason as she has arthritis and it makes it easier to put her fins on, and she is far from being just an OW diver,. Sometimes DIR needs to be tweaked a little to suit your individual needs. I know !! Its not DIR !!I,m opening a can of worms here,!! but sometimes theres no way around it you have to adjust for age and physical handicaps.

 

[Papa_Bear]

What a oxymoron! Split fins and tech? And then worry about springs Vs straps? Are you doing open water tech? If your going into anything with a line use blades with taped straps or springs! Or just get what your instructor says to get and change it for yourself later! You trust him to take you into a dangerous environment, but not his gear recommendations? Hummm????? Good luck!