Which of these fins is easy on the calves?!

[miserkris]

What's more easier to kick underwater...

Mares Superchannel
Or
Hollis F2 ?

I know latter is lighter, smaller easier to travel with etc....

 

[DanielRJones]

I started with mares superchannel i cannot comment on the f2

I can only compare them to my rk3's and jet fins so below is my review.

Mares are able to frog kick and turn but not as efficiet as my stiff blade fins. I was able to flutter kick faster and longer without getting cramp in my calfs with the mares.

 

[Aloha Joe]

I have to be ‘that guy’ - the Seawing Novas are insanely easy on the legs and yet have great thrust.

 

[ZzzKing]

My Jetfins are easier on my calves than my Superchannels. I haven’t owned the Hollis.

 

[Doc]

Easiest on calves?

Cattle boats? Cows?

If you're looking for a fin that will produce greater thrust with less muscle effort, I think it was some guy like Newton that said: fuggedaboutit.

Energy (thrust) has got to come from somewhere. There is no perpetual motion machine. Even those "blade runner" prosthetic running legs...that power just relies on a different muscle group.

If you're feeling it in your calves, you're finning incorrectly.

If a fin causes less burn on your leg muscles, that's only because they're so flexible (or small) that you're not getting the resistance, thus not getting the thrust.

It is unpopular physics, at least in the "my friend flipper" crowd.

(How do you tell it's Mad Cow? MOO! )

 

[Aloha Joe]

The above post is one approach. I ended up using a different approach.

I find my Avanti Quattros to be particularly tiring for sustained flutter kicks in current. I tried to 'learn the right way' to use them for a few weeks and experimented with different kicking styles. Then I realized that everyone is different, and there's no single 'perfect' way to fin. So I said 'screw it' and tried some different fins. In the end, I found something that fits my style, needs, wants and strengths.

The reason for sore calves could be from finning technique. It could also be a side effect of the way a person walks, what they do for a living, how they exercise, what they eat, or how they were made. It's not wrong to address all of those things so that you don't get sore legs when you dive. It's also not wrong to try different fins so you can enjoy diving more without changing anything else.

 

[Bookmon]

What's more easier to kick underwater...

Mares Superchannel
Or
Hollis F2 ?

I know latter is lighter, smaller easier to travel with etc....

If Power Plana is anything like the Super Channel- I was happy with my PPs until the 5th knee surgery or so. Gave them up for Force Fins. FFs are low drag on knees, calves... but suck in current or snorkeling.

 

[Ayisha]

Definitely not the F2.

I tried many until I found the UTD Precision Neutral fins 5 years ago and never looked back. I had calf pain with other stiff fins, but that completely disappeared with a deeper, more comfortable, more stable foot pocket. They come in Neutral, which are lighter or the Negative fins which are heavier, the same weight as Jetfins. Both have the approximate same size and shape as Jetfins.

UTD Precision Fins - Neutrally/Positively Buoyant · UTD Scuba Diving

 

[dberry]

I was getting calf cramps with my Jet Fins, switched to the F2s about 100 dives ago and like them just fine. Of course, my legs may be better adjusted to frog kicks now, and I'm tempted to try the jet fins again. I don't want to drag 2 pairs of fins down to Mona Island in December, so the experiment will wait until I can dive locally again.