The Deep 6 Eddy Fins by Deep Six Expedition Dive Gear is a relatively new fin when compared to some of the other brands on the market. Deep Six is owned by Chris Richardson who used to manage HOG/Edge. Chris is well-known in the diving industry and from what I have seen, is very trusted throughout the scuba diving world.
My Deep 6 Eddy Fins
Background and Marketing:
Deep Six states that their Eddy Fins were designed to incorporate “all the best characteristics of various scuba diving fins into one.” From Deep Six website:
We started with a blade design including ports to allow for better propulsion and we added a foot pocket that is actually designed to fit a human foot wearing wetsuit or drysuit boots with a comfortable spring strap.
The perfect design deserves a perfect material, so we mold our fins with a XXX material to ensure they’re the right stiffness for maximum power, lightweight enough for travel, and really comfortable to dive.
Features Highlighted:
1. Ported blade fin design
2. Foot pocket made for a human
3. Spring straps on all fins
4. Lightweight for travel
5. Stiff and powerful
6. Really, really comfortable
ScubaWithTurk’s Purchase Experience:
(Disclaimer: As you can tell from the section title, these fins were purchased by me and not given to me in order to review the product. I, Turk Vangel, and ScubaWithTurk are not being compensated in any way for this review.)
As a new diver I purchased what was recommended to me by my local dive shop. The fins I went with were the Atomic Aquatic Split Fins. Atomic Aquatic is a well-known brand that was founded in 1995. As I was researching Atomic for this review I found out that the company was started in Huntington Beach, California. Huntington Beach is where I got my open water certification and also bought my first set of gear. Now knowing that they were founded there makes sense as to why so many dive shops focus on that brand.
The reason I went looking for a new fin after only having 5 dives on the split fins was due to many reasons. The main reason is that I had this dream of one day becoming a technical wreck penetration instructor and as such, split fins just wouldn’t do for me. I also had been trying to frog kick and found it to be very hard if not next to impossible in them. I had been trying to frog kick as it is a more reef friendly kick and conservation and the protection of our seas is of the utmost importance to me.
In my research I looked at many gear review websites, watched video reviews and surfed through the multitude of posts on Scubaboard. It was here that I ran across the Deep Six brand and read not just reviews on the fins and other gear they offer but also on the customer service many received from the Deep Six crew.
After all that research I made the decision to bite the bullet and buy a pair of fins I had never tried on nor held in my hands.
Before I placed my order I needed to figure out what size would fit me. After all I couldn’t try them on so I wanted to be certain they would work as I had a shore dive in Laguna Beach coming up and was excited to give these fins a test run. Rather than use the email listed on the website I chimed in on a what was a current thread on the SB message board about the Eddy Fins. Chris responded quickly and asked me what size shoe I wore (which I expected) and also asked what booties I owned. Once I gave him that information he recommended the X-large fin.
Off to the website I went to order my bright orange fins. Ordering on the site was hassle free and didn’t take much time at all. In three clicks I was at my cart and this is where things got interesting.
Deep Six offers discount codes to instructors for their students. I do not know exactly how the program works but I do know I received a discount which I believe was 10% after I entered the code in the shopping cart screen. I was given a code by the instructor I had planned to take my Advanced 35 class with and it worked like a charm. The order was placed and now I just had to wait.
I didn’t have to wait long when I got the email stating my order had been shipped. I was able to track the order via the UPS link provided in the email so I knew exactly when I would get my fins. The day they arrived I could not wait to unbox them and try them on to see what this comfortable foot pocket was all about. I ripped the box apart and pulled out my very bright orange fins. There was no way you would confuse me for another diver here in Southern California now.
Now I just needed to take them for a dive which leads me to the review of the pros, the cons and my overall thoughts.
Pros:
Comfort– They didn’t lie or exaggerate about the foot pocket! While I had tried on multiple fins at my local dive shop, I had only been diving with my split fins. That means my experience with others such as the Jet Fin and the UTD fins was nonexistent so please keep that in mind. The foot pocket is truly shaped around the human foot and not some mannequin foot that I assume the other fins I tried on were designed around. With my booties on I slipped into these fins and felt like they were giving my feet a warm and comforting hug that was much-needed. Once on I couldn’t just stand there so I walked around in the house in them for a few minutes. I could not have been more impressed with the feel of these fins.
Spring Straps– They come with spring straps as a standard item. Unlike my Atomic Splits which did not come with spring straps. I bought them for my Atomic fins as I heard they were easier to get on and off and required zero adjustment. That was true but it also added to the cost of the fin. Deep Six has included these with the fins and they are adjustable. There are two pins in each side of the fin where the spring goes into which gives you three fine tune adjustment points. You choose which pin is the right choice for you and hook the spring onto that pin. I did not need to adjust mine at all as they fit like Cinderella’s slipper right out of the box. The springs have a nice handle on them that makes removing in water very easy if you are about to climb a boat ladder. They also make strapping them on in a crowded boat a cinch.
Weight– These fins are light and makes them a great fin choice for travel. I ended up leaving a lot of newly purchased dive gear in California due to weight restrictions as I left to come to the United Arab Emirates to train but no way was I leaving these behind nor did I need to thanks to the low weight. These fins weight in at 2 1/4 pounds for the large and 2.48 lbs each (4.96 pair) for the XL.
Powerful– These fins generate a lot of power when using Frog Kick. When I first tested these out I tried to frog kick and was a bit disconcerted that I didn’t really move much. That all changed when I came to the UAE and learned how to do a proper frog kick (I actually use more of a modified frog kick while diving). I have found that with just a slight turn and flick of the ankles, I get plenty of power to cruise around the reef. The power generation these fins offer lead to using less energy than I was using before which in turn, helps to lower my heart rate and gas consumption.
Positively Buoyant – The fins I purchased are slightly positive as it relates to buoyancy. As most of my diving is boat diving, I find this to be quite helpful. When taking my fins off to hand up to the captain, if I drop one (and I have), it stays right there waiting for me to retrieve it rather than sinking.
Price– Priced at just $110.00 a pair how can you go wrong? My Atomic Aquatic Split Fins, complete with optional spring strap cost me $278 and did not have the responsiveness these have when frog kicking or doing helicopter turns. For the same overall cost of one pair of Atomic’s with spring straps you can get two pairs of Eddy fins, a dry box and a Deep Six team shirt!! That is a major win!
Continued....
