Warm water fins for frog kicking?

[Scott M]

bd, one thing about the L Jets in comparison to the XL's is that they have a significantly smaller blade which is typically not that big a deal for warm water diving and using a frog kick which is what i do also. They are actually kind of nice because they wil get you where you want to go and are very easy on the legs.

I will add that on that rare occasion when you get in some ripping current where a frog kick is just not going to do it, the smaller blade is going to work you if you have to swim against it. If you are used to the XL's you will notice a big difference going down to the L's. I am switching to XL slipstreams for warm water because they are lighter (For packing and trim reasons) and because the blades are more comparable to the XL's.

Regards

 

[DrDuktayp]

This is an old thread now but I will answer it anyhow especially since I know you. I have a pair of Scubapro XL jets that I only use in the pool or when on vacation. My rockboots won't fit in to the XL Jets. My wife has the Larges and they work fine for her with Turbo soles.

The Jets are heavy and with travel the way it is I now have an AL plate and SixGill fins. The SixGill (aka Mantas) fins rock! If you want to try them let me know and you can borrow them either in the pool or ocean.

Tom

 

[bdshort]

Thanks, I'll probably take you up on that offer the next time the pool is being used for some dive training. I still need to order that soft plate and will need to try that out too.

Brian

 

[rongoodman]

Another one to consider is the Dive Rite--light like the Slipstreams, but available in a wider range of sizes.

 

[jlovold]

When I bought my drysuit a couple years ago, I had to buy fins with a larger foot pocket to accommodate the rockboots. Since then, I have been very happy with my Turtle fins retrofitted with XS Scuba spring straps. Large foot pocket and negatively buoyant. Great for frog kicks. Unfortunately, with the spring straps + cavernous foot pocket, when I dive wet, my smaller wetsuit booties really don't fit well. I wanted to get a lightweight alternative fin that would ideally have a fin pocket that works with both my drysuit and wetsuit boots. The solution to my problems was the APS Mantaray fins (a.k.a. Deep Outdoors Six Gill fins). The XL size has a foot pocket just large enough for my Bare Trek drysuit boots. The adjustable strap makes it easy to switch between my drysuit and wetsuit boots. The fins come in various colors with various buoyancy characteristics: slightly positive (blue), neutral-to-positive (white), and slightly negative (black). I won't say that the fins are super-fast or super-powerful, but they are quite maneuverable. Very good for the frog kick. Still, I don't think I buy into the company's dual-channel marketing mumbo-jumbo. IMO, the best thing about them is that the blade is lightweight and shorter than other conventional fins, so they pack up quite nicely in carry-on luggage (if you don't want to put them inside larger, checked luggage). Check 'em out if you can. The owner of the company lives in the San Diego area and will let local divers test-dive them for free. Nice guy.

I had the chance to test the Mantaray-fins at work today, and well, they are not Jet-Fins! I had to paddle three times as much to get somewhere, and frog-kicks were next to useless... The footpockets OTOH were the best ever!

My advice for the manufacturer is to make a much stiffer version with a bit larger fin-area, without increasing the length significantly...

 

[deco_martini]

The slipstreams are very lightweight, however their stiffness and size don't make them as easy to pack for warm water diving. It was easier to pack my old atomic splits than my new slipstreams, and the atomics are actually larger fins.

My slipstreams are very uncomfortable with warm water boots as well.

They work great for some people, but your mileage may vary.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I had the chance to test the Mantaray-fins at work today, and well, they are not Jet-Fins! I had to paddle three times as much to get somewhere, and frog-kicks were next to useless... The footpockets OTOH were the best ever!

My advice for the manufacturer is to make a much stiffer version with a bit larger fin-area, without increasing the length significantly...

@jlovold: You're right. The Mantaray fins aren't as stiff as Jet fins. They also don't "move" as much water as the Jet fins (or my Turtle fins, for that matter). I think the Mantaray fins work well with the frog kick despite the aforementioned drawback. They are quite maneuverable, too. Perhaps the best things about them, though, is how small/compact and light they are. Excellent travel fin IMO. They very easily fit in a carry-on.
What color of Mantaray fin did you demo? Black is probably the stiffest the company offers. The owner was trying to market the white color as a photographer's fin -- so that one could use it for white balance purposes.
I'm totally with you on increasing the surface area of the fin...just width-wise not length-wise. That might help move more water per kick.
What did you think of the "universal" fin straps? Some people like them, some don't. I'm rather ambivalent.

 

[jlovold]

I used the black version in XL...

It is possible that the fin feels more powerful in tropical gear, rather than in a drysuit with a big undersuit, but still i could hardly feel any thrust when frog-kicking at all.

I really wanted to like this fin, but unfortunately, It just didn´t deliver what I hoped for...

The finstraps appeared to be very good, and more comfy than springstraps, as the combination of finstrap and footpocket gave a nice snug fit that felt almost like a full-foot fin. I liked them, but will probably continue to use springstraps, as they are more durable...