Look for Candidates for New Fins

[Jayfarmlaw]

We are relatively new divers with a little over 100 dive each, mostly Cozumel, in current. I always figured fins were fins...for the most part. I was wrong. My wife bought me a set of Mares Avantiquatro+ and the difference was amazing. Lots of power for less kick. Less cramping too. My vote is still out on the surgical tubing straps....but they are comfortable and the extenders make them more so. (They come with them)

I also bought a set of Dive Gear Express twin jet copies with the spring straps. Have not got to dive with them yet, but they will have to be damn near amazing to be better. For what it's worth, on our last trip, our divemasters who was probably in his 50's with more dives than most...looked at our fins and said, "those are the best"

I have no hesitation recommending them.

Good luck,
Jay

 

[Andaman_Sea]

Try to contact Deep6 guys directly. They have stock in Taiwan and can ship you from there with cheaper shipping costs. They did it for me last month.

Thank you Frod for your suggestion on direct shipment from Taiwan. That's very helpful indeed. By the way, how do you like on Eddy fins so far? How about power compare with old school rubber fins?

 

[Frod]

Thank you Frod for your suggestion on direct shipment from Taiwan. That's very helpful indeed. By the way, how do you like on Eddy fins so far? How about power compare with old school rubber fins?

I had original Spro Jets. As you said, they are heavy for wet suit diving and REALLY heavy for rashguard diving. My trim was always bad with them , I had to struggle to keep horizontal as my feets were going down all the time. They are good for dry suit tho! Which is not the case for you in Thailand, I think

Then I got Slipstreams - nice trim as they are neutral. But foot pocket... I always got discomfort with them, especially the upper edge being hard and pressing my arch.

Deep6 has really nice foot pocket and it made from a little bit softer material, so I dont feel any pressure at all. I have no issues in getting them on or off the foot in or out of the water at all

 

[Andaman_Sea]

I had original Spro Jets. As you said, they are heavy for wet suit diving and REALLY heavy for rashguard diving. My trim was always bad with them , I had to struggle to keep horizontal as my feets were going down all the time. They are good for dry suit tho! Which is not the case for you in Thailand, I think

Then I got Slipstreams - nice trim as they are neutral. But foot pocket... I always got discomfort with them, especially the upper edge being hard and pressing my arch.

Deep6 has really nice foot pocket and it made from a little bit softer material, so I dont feel any pressure at all. I have no issues in getting them on or off the foot in or out of the water at all

Hi Frod, Yes, forget about dry suit here, I saw some divers go with t-shirt and short for diving . After my AOW course, I owned TUSA Solla, they bit my feet, then I used Mares volo which is too soft for frog and backward frog. I didn't have chance to try SP Jet as one of my AOW instructor is size XL. Even size S/M, it's too heavy to my old lady's legs for sure. I had a chance to try RK3 but size L out of the water (mine should be M with my 3 mm boots). I can't complain the feeling as it's not my size. Good to here Deep 6 has a nice pocket design and gives you the comfort when getting them on.

Hi iim7v7im7, let me (us) know how they all 3 go. Would you have chance to try them in water?

If I order Deep 6 here, it may be the first Eddy's fins in Thailand !!!!

 

[Frod]

I had a chance to try RK3 but size L out of the water (mine should be M with my 3 mm boots).

I also tried RK3 out of the water. Seems pretty good build light fins. but I presume price is much higher then Deep6.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Both my wife and I own and use the Apex RX3. we quite like them. I went to an LDS to get mine where I could try them with my boots to get the right fit.

We will use them for "easy" dives, that is warm water boat diving, and for that they are great.

However if I'm diving where I I'll need to kick through current - then the RX3 stay in the bag and out come my XT's. The XT's feel like planks of wood on your feet after the RX3 but are much much better performers in current, giving drive and control with somewhat less effort (Subjective on my part) I still use them for warm water diving and don't find the negativity a problem

So I like both, but if I have to make a choice then I'd always keep my XT's

 

[Andaman_Sea]

I also tried RK3 out of the water. Seems pretty good build light fins. but I presume price is much higher then Deep6.

We have LDS for RK3 in Thailand. The Deep 6 price itself is cheaper than RK3 but when adding shipment and Customs fee costs, Deep6 would be more expensive then.

By the way, Frod, how about performance of Deep 6 in current or when flutter kick when need speed or power?? I have no doubts on frog kick or backward frog kick of Deep 6.

 

[1bubbleoff]

Lemme throw another one into the mix...

Mares Superchannels. Just a GREAT fin...light, responsive, travel well, do all kicks, and just plain get the job done. I'm a BIG fan.... they are my go to fin, cause they just plain do the job well. I have Twinjets, Frog +'s, turtles, and Superchannels among others...

I probably have Superchannels on 75% of my dives.

bubs

 

[iim7v7im7]

Well, The Hollis F2 fins finally arrived, so I could A, B, C them in terms of fit with my US size 11, 5 mm Scubapro booties (below).

Here are the three fins side-by-side (below). Their pocket cross-sectional shapes vary greatly. In terms of pocket height at the opening, the Hollis F2s are 3", the Apek RK3s are 3-1/4" and the Deep6 Eddy Fins are 3-1/2". In terms of pocket cross-sectional shape the Apeks and Hollis are more radiused rectangular in shape and the Deep6 are more of a half cylinder. In terms of molding quality I think the RK3s were best, the F2s next and the Eddy Fins had the poorest quality.

In-terms of fit for my sized feet, to my surprise the Hollis fit best. The Deep6 in this size which was good length wise, are too tall for my foot volume with 5 mm booties. The Apeks pocket width allowed for some side-to-side movement between my booties and fin. The Hollis simply fit me best.

So the F2s are the fins that I will try. I suspect the other two offer more power, but in a size that will fit my foot lengthwise, do not fit my foot as well as the Hollis nor my old Scubapro Twin Jets. Remember, my application (tropical, calm, salt water travel diving) may differ than yours, so your choice may differ from mine. I hope this information is of use to you when considering any of these fins.

 

[buddhasummer]

Both my wife and I own and use the Apex RX3. we quite like them. I went to an LDS to get mine where I could try them with my boots to get the right fit.

We will use them for "easy" dives, that is warm water boat diving, and for that they are great.

However if I'm diving where I I'll need to kick through current - then the RX3 stay in the bag and out come my XT's. The XT's feel like planks of wood on your feet after the RX3 but are much much better performers in current, giving drive and control with somewhat less effort (Subjective on my part) I still use them for warm water diving and don't find the negativity a problem

So I like both, but if I have to make a choice then I'd always keep my XT's

My thoughts exactly, totally agree.