What type of fins do you use and why?

[rob@diveinutila.com]

Comfort above all. The rest doesn't really matter. So rarely need to go fast. Split fins in theory should be best with a small flutter kick, just as my Mares Quattro Excel. In practice I hardly ever swim like that unless demonstrating a so called "correct" way of finning (is that a word??) so what's the point in worrying. If you want to go fast get a DPV!

 

[currier]

If you want to go fast get a DPV!

 

[danvolker]

Comfort above all. The rest doesn't really matter. So rarely need to go fast. Split fins in theory should be best with a small flutter kick, just as my Mares Quattro Excel. In practice I hardly ever swim like that unless demonstrating a so called "correct" way of finning (is that a word??) so what's the point in worrying. If you want to go fast get a DPV!

Totally disagree. While it is the "plan" to be relaxed without speed as a goal on most dives, many divers will encounter currents at one time or another. Far too many split fin divers end up "helplessly" being blown a long way from where they want to/need to be, due to the poor propulsion and low top speed potential of these fins. While some blame can acrue to low fitness levels "causing" a diver to choose splits, even an elite aerobic athlete would be unable to sustain sufficient speed with most splits to go sideways or upcurrent in a Drift diving scenario ( sometimes you HAVE TO)....I consider this almost as unsafe and self indulgent as scuba diving barefoot, so that you don't tire your legs out.....splits ARE a but faster than diving barefoot.

 

[danvolker]

I hear so much negative talk about split fins. I am just wondering what all the buzz about Hollis F1, OMS, And Scubapro Jet fins. Please share you knowledge.

You get efficeint propulsion mostly in the downstroke for most divers, and only when their is a medium bend of the fin throughout most of the amplitude of the downward stroke......The typical splits are so soft, that the fins bends maximally on the downward stroke with very little effort, this making the downward stroke easy on the quadricep muscles of the legs, but the maximal flexing occurs long before any speed can be built up. The diver is forced to utilize a very fast kick turnover ( cadence/kicks per minute/frequency) to maintain a fairly normal slow scuba cruising speed, again, this without much muscular effort as the fins bend so easily, but at the expense of high kick turnover, which will cause heart rate and breathing rate to go up higher than low kick turnover would cause.

On the other side of the efficiency spectrum are High end Freedive fins (not Mares or Cressis, which are just OK freedive fins, not exceptional enough to make an exagerated point with). Best example are DiveR fins ( see DiveR Australia: Equipment ) . The scuba diver using these fins typically uses a very slow kick, with a large amplitude ( fin goes way up, and way down with relatively straighter leg than with splits--kicking more from the hip and less reliance only on quadriceps). The fins come in 3 different stiffnesses, so based on a diver's fitness level and muscle strength. they can choose a blade that get the optimal bend without significant effort, and that bend can be "held" for a long period of time from the top of the kick cycle to the bottom of the kick cycle. By the fin maintaining the bend for so long, the fin pushes the diver forward with amazing force, compared to splits. The slow kick turnover allows the heart rate to stay lower. Very fit and powerfful divers can choose the medium stiffness instead of the soft stiffness fins, and elite cyclists can utilize the stiff blades ( for them, their will be NO percieved effort with the stiff blades, and the mediums would feel like spaghetti noodles or split fins).

Put in perspective, I as a competitive cyclist, scuba diving with the stiff DiveR blades, can comfortably maintain pace with most DPV divers with just a small increase in normal breathing rates. If the DPV is a monster DPV, like a Gavin, Hollis, or Halcyon, I can keep up, but breathing rate will be too high to be reasonable for a 60 minute dive at 60 feet. If I was to use splits, not only would I have zero shot at keeping up with any dpv, I would no longer be able to swim cross current effectively on a drift dive, or go up current if I had to help another diver in trouble...or upcurrent to get a photo or video of a big sea turtle, shark, or other mission specific thrill for someone who is into this.

If diving on a boat that anchored, practically regardless of ANY changes in weather and currents ( in an aera where anchor diving is the norm) , with the DiveR fins, there would NEVER be a time when getting back to the boat was difficult.....with splits, we all know that MANY divers are unable to get back to an anchored boat, due to just a slight increase in current and wave actions...

This type of safety issue is typically ignored, for the ease of no muscle fatigue, due to zero training of the muscles ( no bike riding, no skating, no walking even). Again, why not just go barefoot ?

 

[TSandM]

BTW, for anybody who thinks Dan is boasting -- I've dived with him, and he can move faster upcurrent than I can down! I would have loved to have tried the freediving fins when I was in FL . . . but they are a bit of a PITA on a boat, and certainly not something one can don easily while standing in shallow water (I don't think, anyway) and since I try to avoid swimming upcurrent whenever possible, I'll stick to my Jets.

I use Jet fins. I will confess to not having tried many kinds of fins. I have dived TwinJets, Razors, Deep See Pulse fins, Jets, and Dive Rite paddles. I do not like the split fins for the reasons Dan mentions (high kick frequency) and because the diving I do involves a lot of maneuvering along walls or other structures, to look under and inside things. Kicks that allow me to position myself precisely in the water are useful to me, and they are best done with a fairly stiff paddle fin. The Razors were simply too floppy to be effective; the Pulse fins, which are plastic and quite inexpensive, work fine with all the kicks, but don't deliver the push that the Jets do, because they are too flexible. The Dive Rites have longer blades for the same foot pocket size than the Jets, and are a little less stiff, but as one would expect for fins designed with cave diving in mind, they work for all the "alternative" kicks, and the longer blade gives a bit more power for the same kick frequency. I don't use them as much as my Jets, because the longer blades make back kicking a bit more challenging -- I suspect I'd get better at it if I dove them more!

I played with the Novas in the pool. If you need to swim fast or hard in a straight line, they're really great fins. I cut 2 minutes off my DM swim by using them (in comparison with the Jets). You CAN frog and back kick with them (back kick, oddly, easier than frog) but they aren't ideal for those kicks. They're expensive, and there have been a number of reports of the little "post" that connects the two parts of the fin breaking. I cave dive -- I can't afford a broken fin.

Overall, I keep trying other fins, and coming back to the good old cheap, effective Jet fins.

 

[elmer fudd]

I own a bunch of fins.

My favorites are the Hollis F1's.. For new fins, they're relatively inexpensive, they have springs already on them, they have big foot pockets and they wear well. The only issue I've had with the F1's is if you set them down for a prolonged period and they're not lying flat they will assume the contour of the surface you laid them on.

I used to have 3 pairs of Scubapro Jets too. I got these for free and one pair is in use by my 9 year old daughter. My pairs never fit me right, even the XL ones. I had to wear thin neoprene socks to prevent my feet from cramping in them. That's the problem with having a 10 EEEEE shoe size. My daughter can go like hell in them though. Her kicking form is awful, but she really moves in those things. This isn't really an indictment or an endorsement of jets. The ones I've tried just don't fit me.

I've got a pair of Bio-fins too. They seem to work OK too and I've done back to back dives comparing them to the F1's. I find I can go just about as fast in the Bio-fins and I can do most of the same kicks in them. Frog kicks are awkward though. You can do them, just not very well. Solution: just don't do them. If you want to avoid silting the water in splits bend your knees 90 degrees and do a little flutter kick with your ankles. I don't notice any difference in air consumption between the two. One thing I do notice though is the speed of your acceleration. Split fins will move you fast, but sometimes it takes a couple of seconds to build up your speed. With paddles the speed comes on almost instantly. Split fins definitely are easier on the legs though. Kicking them seems almost effortless compared to paddles. Of course you have to make up for that with more kick cycles.

Here's where I'm going to break from orthodoxy. I think paddles are better suited to a light minimalist rig and splits are better suited to a drysuit with big tanks and lots of gear. It's like high and low gears on a car or bike. Splits are a low gear fin while paddles are a high gar fin.

My first fins were Mares Avantis. These really weren't bad fins either. They were cheap, they fit well and they kick about as well as the more expensive Hollis'. The one thing they don't do well though is hold up to rough use. Around here we have lots of rocks and barnacles and after a couple of seasons of shore dives the Avantis end up looking like you took a wood rasp to them. While I've got no evidence to prove this, I've got to think that having a thousand little gouges and tags of plastic sticking out must affect their drag and efficiency.

One other set of fins I've got are some old full foot free diving fins I found at a thrift store for $2. When I snorkel in lakes and warm water, those are the fins I take and they really work well for that. In comparison my other fins seem big, heavy awkward and slow. Unfortunately though, the water around here is almost always below 55 degrees and full foot fins really aren't suited to that. The other thing that probably makes these fins seem to shine is that they are being used without scuba gear. When you ditch 70 lbs of gear and drag it's amazing how sleek and fast you become.

 

[SaltyPirateBastard]

I refuse to dive anywhere that requires a strap-in fin. Too cold, not worth it. Most importantly, if I'm going swimming, I don't want to have shoes on (booties). That being said, I stick to full foot fins. They're easier to get on and off, less parts to break, cheaper, more comfortable, and do not require putting shoes on before putting your fins on. Less equipment = better dive. Again, this is only for me personally, because I pick and choose easy conditions to dive in, that does not require a copious amount of gear.

I use a Scubapro rubber snorkel fin. They are negatively buoyant, which is the only drawback. They enable me to do any type of kick I would like, are extremely durable, and give me a huge advantage swimming on the surface over larger SCUBA fins that easily leave the water.

 

[SaltyPirateBastard]

Sorry the image came out so large. That was not intentional.

P.S. Fins cost me about $20.

 

[randini]

There are those that swear by the splits and others that swear at them. In the end you just have to try out as many different types as you can and see what works best for you.

I only have two pairs of fins right now. A 15+ year old pair of Mares Plana Avanti Quattro's and a newish pair of Scubapro twinjet maxx's (both of the open heel flavor).

I love the Quattros and will keep them until they are completely destroyed and try to get another pair to replace them. After after 15 years and 100's of dives with them (plenty of rough use) they are scratched to all heck and I still prefer them over other fins I've tried. I guess I'm just used to them.

I haven't used the ScubaPro splits enough to fairly judge them, mostly since I am reluctant to give up my Quattros, but I do have two memorable uses of them. First was when I used them for a dive shortly after having sprained my ankle last year. I tried with the Quattro's first and couldn't kick without pain. When I switched to the Twiinjets they were much better than the Mares. Thanks to the lower resistance and less effort I had to put out to move, I was able to finish the job at hand without any pain. On separate occasion, I dove them on a day with a pretty strong current and I was getting frustrated that I wasn't moving. I was beginning to blame the fins when I looked back and my buddy with plain ol' Scubapro Jet's was well behind me and unable to keep up with me (which he usually does no problem) and even less so in the current. Point is I'm not blaming the fins for that and disagree with some of the comments that they are unusable in current. The split type of fins do take some adjustment to kicking style, but that was not an issue for me since I'm constantly changing my kick throughout a dive anyway. Once you get the feel for them, they can work well.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

As a poor scuba instructor, I need the most bang for my buck. DanV may downgrade Cressi free dive fins as "just OK" but since my current pair was less than $75 shipped from Florida to Maui (eBay), which is the most I've ever paid for a pair of Cressi free dive fins, and I have not been in the water yet with any scuba diver faster through the water than me, I can live without $450 fins.

I do browse craigslist, dreaming in the $100-$150 range, but size 12's are not common with Hawaii's free divers.

Oh, the other Q "why" - because I can!