Is this the average diver?

[chillyinCanada]

I dive Hydros Pro with split fins. I am pretty new to SB. Am I a laughing stock for some reason? I sense sarcasm but not sure what it is about. I assume an inside joke...
I thought people would make fun of me for having two alternates, but I suppose it is possible people were making fun of me all along behind my back for more than one reason

Well, that too.

 

[chillyinCanada]

You can look at diving as a spectator sport (as in looking at the fishies) or a competitive sport. You get a lot of the latter here on SB.

You get a lot of the looking at fishies here too but you have to look around, outside of yourself, just like when on a dive. Check out the other subforum threads. Fishies! Nudis! Trip videos! Scubaboard! What a fabulous place to hang out whilst dry.

By the way, friends don't let friends dive split fins especially not if they want to be able to enjoy the fishies.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Split fins apparently make things like reverse kick and helicopter turn kicks difficult. Each is very handy even in open water for maneuvering around things in the water or around buddies. But cramps are bad things. Trade-offs.


(ForceFin Pros or Flying Force fins are very cramp resilient, though expensive! On currents, I could calmly hold position or swim against current that had other divers and guides sheltering behind rocks. They also fit in carry on. Not the average diver gear.)

Mares Xstream work very well for not cramping. Helicopter works fine, back kick probably works fine too. I believe I've got an operator problem not necessarily a gear problem, with regard to the back kick.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I used to have split fins. Did I like them? Yes. Do I still have them? No. Why--> The dive flag line kept getting caught in the middle of the fin.
I could not do reverse kick or as good as a helicopter turn as with some other fins. It really did not bother me since I just turned my body.

Otherwise they were easy to use and I have many friends who like them for certain dive conditions. I think we need to be tolerant of people who use different types of equipment as long as they are not a threat to life.

I do not like others in split fins because of the vortex effect.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Outside of scuba board, 95% of the divers you run into would probably be more likely to associate the term Hogarthian with Harry Potter than DIR.

SB readers are atypical.

 

[Bob DBF]

I do not like others in split fins because of the vortex effect

the effect can be minimized if the diver knows what he is doing. A buddy had them and was very good about mot disturbing silt on the lake we we we diving. The trick is learning how much power to use in the kick, as any energy not used for forward motion is directed at 90 degrees as those vortocees. So if you slowly kick and build up spees there won't be nearly the turbulence as a hard kick will generate, as all that extra energy turns into turbulence.

 

[chillyinCanada]

the effect can be minimized if the diver knows what he is doing. A buddy had them and was very good about mot disturbing silt on the lake we we we diving. The trick is learning how much power to use in the kick, as any energy not used for forward motion is directed at 90 degrees as those vortocees. So if you slowly kick and build up spees there won't be nearly the turbulence as a hard kick will generate, as all that extra energy turns into turbulence.

Yes, I read about such skilled split fin divers here on Scubaboard but have rarely, if ever, seen the same, out in the wild.

 

[Bob DBF]

At 70-120+' on the bottom of a silty lake, it was even on who would screw the pooch. If we weren't on a line at the time we would try to find it, or it was the ascent of shame and a surface swim to shore. It didn't happen often, but it did happen.

 

[The Chairman]

I can frog kick and helicopter in splits... never could go backwards. However, my kick of choice was a tight scull. I haven't worn them since 2001 or 2002.

 

[Pressurehead]

I've got an operator problem not necessarily a gear problem, with regard to the back kick.

Ha, you are not alone , I do a version of it, I am sure it looks ugly.