Happy holidays all. Santa sent Rhone Man a couple of diving related gifts this year, so I thought it might be fun to start a thread where everyone can post their dive related gifts and their views on them.
I got a pair of Omega Flip-fins and an Aqua Bio-filter moisturiser (see here if you have no idea what a Biofilter is)...
Flip fins. Are pretty great to be honest. On land you can walk around fine - you can even dance in them with the same lack of rhythm as before. They are really solidly built. They have rubber non-slip undersides, so even on a wet boat deck you are good to go. You do get a few funny looks on the dive boat... The two big complaints I had heard about them was that they rub the front of your legs (didn't find that to be a huge problem, although I wouldn't want to run a marathon in them) and that they are hard to engage (didn't find that at all - jump in, a couple of kicks and you are good to go). The biggest knock on them for me is that it is pretty difficult to climb up the diver ladder with them on - when you step up they "catch" water and that pushes the blade down into swim mode. Maybe I just need more practice. On a dive, they are just like regular fins - quite a powerful fin so you need to adjust your stroke if like me you prefer slow going. My biggest concern is that once the plastic "lock" disintegrates, you basically will have to throw them out. I guess I won't know how long that takes until it happens (hopefully in a few years time).
Biofilter. Less enamoured with this. I had high hopes because I hate dry mouth on long dives. Once I had put it on, I wasn't too thrilled because my regulator didn't fit in its bag anymore due to the awkward way the unit juts out of the first stage, so I had to unscrew it, put it all in the bag and then assemble it on site (not a big deal, but I worry about contaminants in the regulator). I also worry about inserting another point of potential failure into the regulator (especially as I don't carry an alternate second stage). Underwater, it is OK. It does cut down on the dry mouth on long dives, but it doesn't eliminate it. Again, I'll give it more time, but it wouldn't shock me if I had disconnected it and left it at home by March.
Here is a picture of me getting ready to test my flip fins in the pool on Christmas day...
Happy holidays all!
I got a pair of Omega Flip-fins and an Aqua Bio-filter moisturiser (see here if you have no idea what a Biofilter is)...
Flip fins. Are pretty great to be honest. On land you can walk around fine - you can even dance in them with the same lack of rhythm as before. They are really solidly built. They have rubber non-slip undersides, so even on a wet boat deck you are good to go. You do get a few funny looks on the dive boat... The two big complaints I had heard about them was that they rub the front of your legs (didn't find that to be a huge problem, although I wouldn't want to run a marathon in them) and that they are hard to engage (didn't find that at all - jump in, a couple of kicks and you are good to go). The biggest knock on them for me is that it is pretty difficult to climb up the diver ladder with them on - when you step up they "catch" water and that pushes the blade down into swim mode. Maybe I just need more practice. On a dive, they are just like regular fins - quite a powerful fin so you need to adjust your stroke if like me you prefer slow going. My biggest concern is that once the plastic "lock" disintegrates, you basically will have to throw them out. I guess I won't know how long that takes until it happens (hopefully in a few years time).
Biofilter. Less enamoured with this. I had high hopes because I hate dry mouth on long dives. Once I had put it on, I wasn't too thrilled because my regulator didn't fit in its bag anymore due to the awkward way the unit juts out of the first stage, so I had to unscrew it, put it all in the bag and then assemble it on site (not a big deal, but I worry about contaminants in the regulator). I also worry about inserting another point of potential failure into the regulator (especially as I don't carry an alternate second stage). Underwater, it is OK. It does cut down on the dry mouth on long dives, but it doesn't eliminate it. Again, I'll give it more time, but it wouldn't shock me if I had disconnected it and left it at home by March.
Here is a picture of me getting ready to test my flip fins in the pool on Christmas day...
Happy holidays all!
