I love and hate my Tusa Xpert Zoom fins...

[Tractor Tom]

Just before taking our cruise two weeks ago, I bought a pair of Tusa Xpert Zoom Fins from a dive shop in Delaware via eBay. The price was right, the shipping was cheap and I got one chance to try them out in the pool when I checked out my gear before leaving for Florida and our 10 day cruise.

Well my first dive was on St. Maarten, with a local operator, and I felt like I just couldn't get ANYWHERE with these fins. There was a bit of a current, and we were about 80 feet, and I was puffing like crazy trying to keep up with the others in the party. I was first to use up my air and really not happy with my performance due to the fins.

The second dive wasn't a whole lot better, the dive master was actually hauling me along, to help conserve air and keep everyone in the water a bit longer. By the end of the trip, I was pretty sure the new fins were a mistake.

Diving on Barbados with John Moore of Blue Reef Divers, wasn't much better. Still a bit of a surge, and me working hard to stay with the others, who were really poking along the bottom. I ended up buddy breathing with the divemaster for a while as I was going through so much air. Still sure the problem was the fins.

Friday we were on St. Thomas with Blue Island Divers, and I had a BALL. Two great dives, still fighting the surge, but my air consumption was way down, and my fin usage was much better.

So, my question is, does it take four or five dives to get to where you can use you fins if you have just gone to a pair of split fins? I love them now, easy to get around and lots of power...

 

[Dr. Jay]

I just got a set of the black Scubapro Twin Jets and I can't wait to try them out.....that is.....until I saw this

Actually, I think it's all in the finning technique. Some kind of special 'flutter kick'.

I've never seen it explained in detail, though. Just 'flutter kick'. I'm sure if it was that simple, though, you would have got it right away.

I will be interested to hear responses.

 

[leadweight]

Try a small flutter kick. Your feet should stay in an arc that does not go outside the slipstream created by your body and the tank. Big kicks or a bicycle kick will just wear you out.

 

[Tractor Tom]

Additionally, I think it really is a kick that takes place at the thigh, not at the calf or ankle. It seems that you need to leave you ankles bent, and knees bent slightly, and kick from the upper legs. The first couple dives, I tried a couple of different kicks, including the worlds worst frog kick, and nothing seemed to work. The last two dives, I relaxed some, and just kind of 'fell into' a kick that would work.

These fins are great with the warm water and light loads associated, but when I start dry suit diving this summer in Michigan, I'll need a different set of fins to use, the split fins will be too soft.

 

[ninja]

frankenmuth_tom once bubbled...
Just before taking our cruise two weeks ago, I bought a pair of Tusa Xpert Zoom Fins from a dive shop in Delaware via eBay. The price was right, the shipping was cheap and I got one chance to try them out in the pool when I checked out my gear before leaving for Florida and our 10 day cruise.

Well my first dive was on St. Maarten, with a local operator, and I felt like I just couldn't get ANYWHERE with these fins. There was a bit of a current, and we were about 80 feet, and I was puffing like crazy trying to keep up with the others in the party. I was first to use up my air and really not happy with my performance due to the fins.

The second dive wasn't a whole lot better, the dive master was actually hauling me along, to help conserve air and keep everyone in the water a bit longer. By the end of the trip, I was pretty sure the new fins were a mistake.

Diving on Barbados with John Moore of Blue Reef Divers, wasn't much better. Still a bit of a surge, and me working hard to stay with the others, who were really poking along the bottom. I ended up buddy breathing with the divemaster for a while as I was going through so much air. Still sure the problem was the fins.

Friday we were on St. Thomas with Blue Island Divers, and I had a BALL. Two great dives, still fighting the surge, but my air consumption was way down, and my fin usage was much better.

So, my question is, does it take four or five dives to get to where you can use you fins if you have just gone to a pair of split fins? I love them now, easy to get around and lots of power...

That is a big problem with the split fins i tried them all when it got trendy ( work in a shop)!!! Splits are ok on a reef if your not in a hurry! IMO.. Bring them on to the continent of North America great Lakes etc where you will be wearing more gear and they suck the BIG honking one..

I find they are too flimsy and too damn expensive for what you get out of them!! Phffttttt!!

:bonk:

Sorry you wasted your money

NINJA

 

[Uncle Pug]

I remember seeing an ad for those fins in Skindiver that showed a fellow diving in a cave with them... he said they were to only way to go because the didn't stir up any silt!

Do I believe him? Well sure I do... any guy who wears a helmet with four flashlights on it has gotta know what he is doing!

The only thing that gives me pause was the confused look on the fella's face.

Anybody else remember the ad?

 

[Dryglove]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...
I remember seeing an ad for those fins in Skindiver that showed a fellow diving in a cave with them... he said they were to only way to go because the didn't stir up any silt!

Do I believe him? Well sure I do... any guy who wears a helmet with four flashlights on it has gotta know what he is doing!

The only thing that gives me pause was the confused look on the fella's face.

Anybody else remember the ad?

I have that magazine somewhere,probably in my magazine collection next to the porcelain throne.

 

[chris3536]

Friends,

I have not quite been certified for year yet and have made over 14 dives with the Tusa X-pert Zooms. I, like the gentleman who posted this string, love and hate them too. (but for different reasons)

First off, keep in mind that I am a 320 lb man.

Here is what I hate about them: On the surface in the face down position they are horrible...period. (They do very well on the surface swimming backwards as opposed to face down.) They are also positively bouyant so at times I have "floaty feet." This completes the hate portion.

Here is what I like about them. For a big person, all I had to do was do a small ankle and knee kick and I have no problem keeping up. As a matter of fact I found myself having to slow down to keep up with my instructor durng my certification dives. Trust me, if they can push my big a$$ around, they can push anyone's around effortless. The other thing I really like about them is they do look sharp!

As a new diver, this about all I can offer about the product. But just one more point about in closing. Just like you wouldn't use a Jacket style BC to dive in the Great Lakes, you probably would use this fins either. That's why they make different equipment, right? For a recreational diver, you could do a whole lot worse than these fins.

 

[WillAbbott]

I recently went from Aeris Velocity's to Tusa X-Perts, I loved the Aeris until I started dry suit diving, in which they killed my feet (feet would cramp unless I changed kicks every 5mins or less)

On my last trip me and my buddy both picked up a pair (he had a bum knee, and mine aren't great either)

The thing with the Tusas, unlike other splits, you really need to swim on your back on the surface because they are pre-bent downward, underwater however that makes a smaller stroke because they are allready on the up stroke when your legs are straight back.

You just do the "flutter" kick which is the same exact kick in non-fin swiming (ie Freestyle) kick from the knees, not the upper legs like paddles... I've only dove them in a dry suit and they are 100x better than my aeris in a dry suit, with jacket BC (which I hope to dump soon for BP/Wings, but thats another story) Surface swims are WAY better, I swim 2x as far before getting worn out on the surface with theese, however you have to swim on your back, which is how I tend to do surface swims anyways.

Anyway, we loved them both me and my buddy, we got convinced mainly by one other diver mentioning he bought his wife some splits and all of a sudden she would out swim him (he used to outswim her) so he had to get some, he also did some throught testing in a pool and found that using the same effort he got the same distance in less time with splits (and certain splits perform better as well).

 

[ninja]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...
I remember seeing an ad for those fins in Skindiver that showed a fellow diving in a cave with them... he said they were to only way to go because the didn't stir up any silt!

Do I believe him? Well sure I do... any guy who wears a helmet with four flashlights on it has gotta know what he is doing!

The only thing that gives me pause was the confused look on the fella's face.

Anybody else remember the ad?

I remember

Way too funny have that particular issue!!

Ninja