Which Fins?

[Nemrod]

That Morfin video, they need to stop hand swimming for one thing, those things look like a tangle nightmare. I know somebody has some money wrapped up in those tuna shaped fins, but, well, no thanks. For all the kicking they are doing they don't seem to be doing much going. Sorry.

N

 

[Bob Evans]

WORLDDIVER,

I know a lot of divers are happy with their split fins, which is in line with the truth of the matter, all fins work. But, I agree with you on the split fins as they are made today. The concept is great but the way they are being manufactured defeats the purpose.

In the marketing materials they picture the split blades curved like a Force Fin to generate lift, but in reality, the water is escaping through the center. That makes them easy to kick, but you lose power, which is why you had trouble towing your friend. You also lose propulsion when the blades travel through their neutral flat position, then you have to use your leg muscles to drag them back up through the water. Basically, a flat blade with a split is acting as a paddle with a sieve.

I told my wife, when I saw the first pair made - the year after we introduced our Foil Force Fin - that they were going to ruin the split fin market with their flat design. And, I was right. They caused the throw back to the dark ages of diving with Jet Fins.... :cool2:

 

[BDSC]

WORLDDIVER,


I told my wife, when I saw the first pair made - the year after we introduced our Foil Force Fin - that they were going to ruin the split fin market with their flat design. And, I was right. They caused the throw back to the dark ages of diving with Jet Fins.... :cool2:

How do you figure they ruined the market with that design. I would think that millions of dollars worth of split fins have been sold. Now maybe they ruined the performance of fins in general with that design but the market has gotta be doing pretty good or else you wouldn't see so many divers with them.

And they have cool names like, "Smoke on the Water".

By the way, one of these days when I see someone with a pair of your fins I'm going to ask to borrow them for a few dives. I'm curious about them.

 

[OmegaAquatics]

WORLDDIVER,

Basically, a flat blade with a split is acting as a paddle with a sieve.

They caused the throw back to the dark ages of diving with Jet Fins.... :cool2:

We couldn't agree more with Bob here ... and with a recent post from http://www.thinkingdiver.com/scuba-diving-fins/ about paddle fins.

So why not try Flipfins? which features a prominent central web configuration contributing to increased propulsion and reduced load required during sustained kicking ... and you can also walk in them!

 

[9833]

thanks alot you've all be a great help i will bear all of this in mind

 

[Shaka Doug]

That Morfin video, they need to stop hand swimming for one thing, those things look like a tangle nightmare. I know somebody has some money wrapped up in those tuna shaped fins, but, well, no thanks. For all the kicking they are doing they don't seem to be doing much going. Sorry.

N

Just so you know Nemrod, two of the people in that video were on the second dive of their life. I wouldn't say there was excessive handswimming. This is just a video I shot to show the fins. It is not a promotional video put out by the manufacturer. These people are not actors, it's a random, candid shot of them in action, on a dive.

 

[4sak3n]

Tell me Shaka Doug, is that video an accurate representation of how fast you would normally kick with MorFins? I'm referring to the frequency of your kick cycles; not the speed at which you travel through the water.

Would you say on an average dive that you normally have to move your legs at that speed?

 

[mikeguerrero]

I feel that the Atomic split fins are very adequate for cold water diving. I dive Monterey, CA and wear a lot of gear plus a 13mm suit with about 18 lbs of ditchable weight. My surface swims are no problem and my flutter kick makes me move.

However, the frog kick and turns take time to execute and are hard at times. This fin is very long compared to the Jets.

I have a pair of Jets size large for my new drysuit. I will let you know how I like them in comparison to the Atomic Splits.

Here is a picture of my Atomic splits on the surface, you can really see how they cut through the water.

 

[Twistedarts]

I like my new Cressi fins but I still have my good old jet fins. Bottom line do NOT buy a pair of spilt fins. The spilt fins is just a bad design and will never save your life. I also tried to surface tow my buddy and found them worthless.

Really? I have towed a diver more than twice my size with my tusa plits and it was a piece of cake! I will concede however that they take a little getting used to. I switched from paddles and it took a couple dive to get sorted. Stop the F.U.D.!!!!!!!

 

[pescador775]

Based on your reference I reviewed the "thinking diver" comments, particularly those concerning splitfins.

The comments are ridiculous and contrary to numerous tests conducted by Scubalab, Dr Jim Grier, U of Buffalo for starters. Particularly egregious is the opinion concerning high energy consumption of splits. That is patently false. As to odd ball styles like frog kicks, some people do have trouble adjusting these styles to splits. However, Dr Grier's tests did establish that these alternative styles are easy following a little practice. About paddles, some "old style" paddles do well, no question. Examples would be some varieties of Jet and the old, out of production, US Divers Blades fins. However, the new style paddles, for example the Mares SuperChannel, are much better. If you think somebody like "Twain" really knows more about fins than teams of researchers and testers; then, that should be documented with published sources.

We couldn't agree more with Bob here ... and with a recent post from Fins: what I wish I’d known | Thinking Diver about paddle fins.

So why not try Flipfins? which features a prominent central web configuration contributing to increased propulsion and reduced load required during sustained kicking ... and you can also walk in them!