Split/Paddle, Anything in the middle or other?

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Isaac-1

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The split vs.paddle fin debate has been beat to death here, it seems those in favor of splits favor the Atomic or Apollo split fin, and those that favor the paddle fin go with one of the oldest designs such as the Scubapro Jetfin that was king up through the mid 1980's. However in the years prior to the introduction of split fins there were any number of "revolutionary" fins introduced throughout the late 1980s and 1990's, some shunned, others copied by everyone. I will mention a few that look no more like the Jetfin (or its cousins), than they do with the current crop of split fins. For those of you that have tried any of these fins, please let us all know what you think of them and add any other "revolutionary" fins that have came and gone, or that are still around hiding in some product line.

So in no particular order, lets consider:

The Scubapro Seawing (certainly does notlook like anything else)

The Mares Plana Avanti, original, X3, Quatro, etc. (introduced the longer is better school of fin design)

The Scubapro Veloce (somewhere in between, several similar fins by other brands, but you get the idea)

Anything else that was popular at some point, but screams not Jetfin/splitfin
 
To answer the question in your title there are a few types of fins that have the hard plastic along the edges & a soft rubber piece running down the center of the fin blade. This soft rubber part acts a bit like the split in the split fins as it flexes, but because it is a piece of rubber there & not a split, it still also retains some properties of a paddle type fin. The fins I can think of off the top of my head (even though there may be way more models than these) are: The Oceanic Viper & the Genesis Response. I have had both types of fins & they do OK. I now primarily dive the SP Twin Jet Max (split) for recreational diving & Jet Fins when I'm diving my doubles (I need the extra thrust).
 
Aeris Velocity My wife and I have enjoyed ours since 2004

Aeris Velocity Fins Review

In 03 or 04 it was the ScubaLab Testers Choice

Pete
 
In the 70's Faralon introduced the Farafin--I think that was what they called it--it was similar to a jet fin but much , much longer and stiffer, and had a special ankle device attached to each fin, that would allow a one way movement for upstroke, and then would lock-out on downstroke so that your ankles did not have to take the enormous torque required to drive the fins. I had these, and even when I could free-squat 600 pounds, the fins were only fast as long as you could bend them--which was an anerobic effort, one that would usually be less than 3 minutes of sprinting...this would vary from person to person--some could not bend them period, and this would mean swimming with stiff boards that offered little forward thrust.
Still today, the forward thrust you get from a fin comes from how much bend you can get from the fin, and how long you can hold the bend in each kick stroke. This is why Freedive fins destroy jets or splits or force fins in a normal scuba dive--say 50 minutes at 60 feet for joe diver. With the freedive fins, you use a very large amplitude, very slow frequency kick--this allows the very long freedive blade to take on a large bend, and to hold the bend for a long time, prior to the next kick cycle. Splits give you an easy bend, but you have to use a high frequency of kicking, with the short ultra flexible split fin--meaning fast leg movements, that also translate into faster heart rates. Jet fins are stubby and stiff, so they require more leg power to get a bend going than the splits, but less leg speed--so total speed can be higher, as you won't be likely to bend the jets to the point that they are beyond maximum bend and no longer effective ( easy to reach with splits or force fins) , but jets require more leg muscle fitness, because you need some leg power to get the bend going, and then receive the thrust. For someone with long term fitness as part of their lifestyle, I see splits as a mistake, and jets far more useful, as you can "train" into them workig well for you....
And then there are freedive fins, which require about the power of splits, and use a much slower kick turnover than the jets. And, by just a slight increase in leg kick speed, large increases in speed occur. For ultra-fit divers, freedive fins come in different stiffnesses, and in carbon fiber, where amazing speeds are possible, still causing the diver to use little actual muscle force, and to be able to maintain very low heart rates--meaning ultra low air useage.
When I dive with divers using splits or jets, I always have to wait for them, no matter how slow I think I am going--due to my carbon fiber freedive fins. I have done tech dives with them where many divers on tekna ( type) scooters were running along a big wreck, and I blew by them with my freedive fins, as if they were towing a boat. I can't blow by a gavin scooter, but I can keep pace with one for 15 to 20 minutes without too much of breathing increase--any longer and it starts to add up too much--and I don't typically try to buddy up with a diver using a gavin if I am just using freedive fins.
Bottom line, freedive fins are so far superior to splits or force or jets that it is ridiculous....I see this as the dive industry NOT wanting to push freedive fins, and I will never accept this. I have many pairs of freedive fins, and anyone who dives with me is welcome to try a pair--and to asee the truth :)
Dan V
 
Still today, the forward thrust you get from a fin comes from how much bend you can get from the fin, and how long you can hold the bend in each kick stroke. This is why Freedive fins destroy jets or splits or force fins in a normal scuba dive--say 50 minutes at 60 feet for joe diver. With the freedive fins, you use a very large amplitude, very slow frequency kick--this allows the very long freedive blade to take on a large bend, and to hold the bend for a long time, prior to the next kick cycle. Splits give you an easy bend, but you have to use a high frequency of kicking, with the short ultra flexible split fin--meaning fast leg movements, that also translate into faster heart rates.

just so many inaccuracies in this statement. I absolutely garentee that I can not only maintain the same or better speeds with ForceFins but I can do it longer than I can with even the best FreeDiving fins.

Jet fins are stubby and stiff, so they require more leg power to get a bend going than the splits, but less leg speed--so total speed can be higher, as you won't be likely to bend the jets to the point that they are beyond maximum bend and no longer effective ( easy to reach with splits or force fins) , but jets require more leg muscle fitness, because you need some leg power to get the bend going, and then receive the thrust.

What exactly is maximum bend. as every single fin test that I have read has stated that short flexible fins that approach a 90degree deflection are the most efficient fins. So where is the point of no longer effective,


Bottom line, freedive fins are so far superior to splits or force or jets that it is ridiculous....I see this as the dive industry NOT wanting to push freedive fins, and I will never accept this. I have many pairs of freedive fins, and anyone who dives with me is welcome to try a pair--and to asee the truth :)
Dan V

huh.. all I can say is that you are wrong and I will be glad to come out and prove it to you.
 
just so many inaccuracies in this statement. I absolutely garentee that I can not only maintain the same or better speeds with ForceFins but I can do it longer than I can with even the best FreeDiving fins.



What exactly is maximum bend. as every single fin test that I have read has stated that short flexible fins that approach a 90degree deflection are the most efficient fins. So where is the point of no longer effective,




huh.. all I can say is that you are wrong and I will be glad to come out and prove it to you.

Cool...Come to Palm Beach. I have my own boat ( 34 foot Regal.. an express Cruiser set up for diving...) I will take care of your tanks, all food , and the boat of course is free.....I have never, and I mean NEVER, found a force fin wearing diver that could just do an enjoyable cruising pace dive with me--forget a race. And you won't find too many divers with more time on charter boats with more opportunity for such a match up...
..The freedive fins are too much of an efficiency advantage for Force or splits or jets to keep up....

Plan on 60 for 60, at minimum, ( nitrox on Boynton reef system), and I won't "dis" you..I will just swim at my normal hunting pace as if I was spearfishing. "If" you can get the Force fins going that fast, your air consumption will kill your bottom time--at least that is the notion that I have about this :)

You can email me at dan@sfdj.com ...as well as find out a considerable amount about our diving in South florida, and my diving, at www.sfdj.com ( I have done nothing with this magazine since 2000, but it was updated constantly with new issues between 1994 and 2000).
Regards,
Dan V
 
What would be the point of going so fast? Are you on the Olympic Speed Diving Team? If speed is the primary reason for using either freediving or Forcefins, I'll pass. It would be fun(ny) to watch the speed diving throw down, however.
 
Plan on 60 for 60, at minimum, ( nitrox on Boynton reef system), and I won't "dis" you..I will just swim at my normal hunting pace as if I was spearfishing. "If" you can get the Force fins going that fast, your air consumption will kill your bottom time--at least that is the notion that I have about this :)

I just left Florida about 2 weeks ago, so I will plan it next time I come to visit my parents, Chistmas probably. 60' for 60 on a AL80 will be no problem.
 
Well, I agree with Meesier on one point, the Volker post is junk science, I don't even know where to begin on that one. Darn, I keep getting the giggles, ahem, cough. Concerning the original question, try the Aeris Mako or the Apollo Biofin. If you want something in the middle, try the Force Fin, it is in the middle of left field.
 

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