Fins

[LTurner]

Hi all,

Does anyone have experience with Force fins? I am looking for a compact fin for cave diving. Or would anyone recommend any other fin?

Thanks-
Laure

 

[MSilvia]

I recommend ScubaPro JetFins. They're compact, and are very good for a variety of anti-silting kicks. I haven't used force fins, but from what I've been told be folks who have, they're easy to walk in, and excellent for flutter kicks (which tend to stir up silt when used near the bottom), but significantly less good for other kicks. I'd like very much to try them in open water, but I wouldn't go that way for caves or wreck penetration.

 

[Jason B]

Why is it that you want a "compact" fin for cave diving?
We cave divers push a lot of gear through the water. Compact isn't what you want. I'll second the suggestion for Jets or Turtles. Can't go wrong with either of those.

 

[LTurner]

Thanks for the advise so far!

I would like compact fins because some of the cave diving I do is in caves with delicate cave formations that don't allow for much movement, there is no flow, so having a lot of force behind the fins is not needed.

 

[rjack321]

Force fins are really for flutter kicking. Scubapro Jets or Turtles are the standard. You don't sound like you're cave certified??

 

[LTurner]

Sorry if I don't sound certified, but have been since Feb of '02 by NACD, I can send you my card number if needed
Laure

 

[rjack321]

Ok, it just came across... odd I guess.

So what are you using now and why don't they work for you?

 

[Michael Schlink]

DiveRite fins may be just the ticket, some very famous and experienced cave divers love them.

 

[karstdvr]

I commend you for being conservation minded. You haven't mentioned if the formations are in big cave,small cave,floor,ceiling etc...

The Jet fins are a very heavy fin and can have a tendency to drop you near the floor if the formations are there. The Dive Rite fins are light weight,but are rather long and could prove to be a problem with formations near the ceiling. A fin the used to be popular among some cave divers was the Dacor Turboflex. It is small and compact,but light weight,and rigid to act like a power fin. Plus the most important thing is they come in cave diving black.

 

[hunter991]

I think the new OMS fins are supposed to be light jets but lighter. I looked at the force fins at Dema. They look cool but not sure how well they work. They had some crazy pricing. Some of their fins were almost 700 bucks.

Brent