58 years old, looking for fins to help with efficiency?

[EireDiver606]

Wanna run a poll?

It wouldnt be fair representation so there’d be no point

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Of all the posters voting jet fins or similar designs, as an efficient fin, how many of you have tried long blade fins? Plastic, fiberglass or carbon fiber?
I have used many types over the first 25 years diving, body surfing, free diving. But once I tried long blades, there was no going back. No comparison.
Not talking cave diving or wrecks. Just efficiency. More distance, less energy spent.
My buddy here was using old Jets free diving. It took a couple years but he finally tried them. “Holy shet....they are better”. Yep

Yes Hank, it is an uphill battle, getting scuba divers to realize the benefits of long blades. There are some negatives, like being clumsy on board the boat and maybe longer than their current gear bag, but if the quest is for efficiency in the water, the answer seems pretty clear.

 

[Marty Bess]

Marty- You say you do feel like you are sinking when you are not kicking. This should be addressed. Go ahead and get some better fins regardless, if that is what you want to do. We should all treat ourselves as we can. But I very strongly suspect/suggest your tendency towards a vertical position is not primarily fin related.
First and foremost is to be sure you are not diving over weighted. There are thousands of posts on how to do that, so I won't go into detail here. Just think about what your options are for reviewing and adjusting as needed on your next dive.
Yes, with the Zuma there is no built in option to trim your weights away from your waist. You can add trim pockets to the cylinder band, which may help a little, but they are still on a plane with the weight pockets and not moved away from your center of gravity.
Assuming you ARE diving with the correct amount of weight, the only suggestion then is to get a 1 or 2 pound ankle weight to wrap around the cylinder valve. I had problems staying horizontal when at rest when I first started diving, and traveling with a pair of 1lb weights took care of that in short order. That first BCD of mine is long gone, so I don't know if I would find the same thing true today as a much more experienced diver, but it is a pretty effective quick fix.

I’ve looked at getting an ankle weight and will get it thanks for the advice.

I will say the best experience diving I had concerning bouncy was a dive I did where I rented the BDC and the DM used bean bags weights, he put two one pound weights in the small pockets up by my shoulders. I had a total of 10 pounds on me. I was in the Caribbean and had on a one mil vest and shorts on. I’m 6’3” and weight 190/195lbs. It was a dream.

 

[tursiops]

I’ve looked at getting an ankle weight and will get it thanks for the advice.

I will say the best experience diving I had concerning bouncy was a dive I did where I rented the BDC and the DM used bean bags weights, he put two one pound weights in the small pockets up by my shoulders. I had a total of 10 pounds on me. I was in the Caribbean and had on a one mil vest and shorts on. I’m 6’3” and weight 190/195lbs. It was a dream.

So, 10 pounds felt great, with 2 lbs up near your shoulders. how much weight do you normally carry now?

 

[Ayisha]

I’ve looked at getting an ankle weight and will get it thanks for the advice.

I will say the best experience diving I had concerning bouncy was a dive I did where I rented the BDC and the DM used bean bags weights, he put two one pound weights in the small pockets up by my shoulders. I had a total of 10 pounds on me. I was in the Caribbean and had on a one mil vest and shorts on. I’m 6’3” and weight 190/195lbs. It was a dream.

If you don't have trim pockets near the shoulders of your current BCD, you can place trim weight pockets on your tank cam band(s), which will have a similar effect. XS Scuba makes them, they're pretty cheap, and they just slide right onto your tank strap. I have 2 on my upper cam band and 2 on my lower cam band to work with various configurations that I use in cold/warm water.

If you wear ankle weights, your feet will just sink more and you will be more head up and diagonal. That slight weight can also cause more strain on your legs. Assuming you are correctly weighted, you want to move some of your weight higher up your body so it feels ideal like when you had the rental. It sounds though like you are overweighted since you start to sink if you stop kicking (ie. not neutral), in which case you need to first remove some weight. You might want to remove 2 lbs at a time per dive until you are correctly weighted. If you're correctly weighted, at the beginning of a dive with a full tank, you can float at about eye level with an empty BCD and holding a regular breath, and also very importantly, you can maintain a 10 foot stop with a nearly empty tank at the end of your dive. You don't want to be underweighted at the end of a dive. Whatever amount of weight you're wearing, move some up higher into cam band weight pockets.

These are some of the cam band weight pockets. There are other similar options in the same brand and there are also other brands/types:
Single Weight Pocket

 

[JackD342]

If you don't have trim pockets near the shoulders of your current BCD, you can place trim weight pockets on your tank cam band(s), which will have a similar effect. XS Scuba makes them, they're pretty cheap, and they just slide right onto your tank strap. I have 2 on my upper cam band and 2 on my lower cam band to work with various configurations that I use in cold/warm water.

If you wear ankle weights, your feet will just sink more and you will be more head up and diagonal. That slight weight can also cause more strain on your legs. Assuming you are correctly weighted, you want to move some of your weight higher up your body so it feels ideal like when you had the rental. It sounds though like you are overweighted since you start to sink if you stop kicking (ie. not neutral), in which case you need to first remove some weight. You might want to remove 2 lbs at a time per dive until you are correctly weighted. If you're correctly weighted, at the beginning of a dive with a full tank, you can float at about eye level with an empty BCD and holding a regular breath, and also very importantly, you can maintain a 10 foot stop with a nearly empty tank at the end of your dive. You don't want to be underweighted at the end of a dive. Whatever amount of weight you're wearing, move some up higher into cam band weight pockets.

These are some of the cam band weight pockets. There are other similar options in the same brand and there are also other brands/types:
Single Weight Pocket

Marty’s BCD does not have an upper cam band. The one cam band is lower than typical, in line with the front weight pockets. The suggestion is to wrap an ankle weight or two around the tank under the valve. Very effective quick fix for adding a little weight and/or trim.

 

[Ayisha]

Marty’s BCD does not have an upper cam band. The one cam band is lower than typical, in line with the front weight pockets. The suggestion is to wrap an ankle weight or two around the tank under the valve. Very effective quick fix for adding a little weight and/or trim.

Yes, an ankle weight or two would be perfect under the tank valve. I realized that he probably had one cam band, but didn't realize that the cam band was that low.

The very low cam band might also make it harder to adjust the height of the tank in the cam band. Usually you could just wear the tank higher in the BCD to move ballast higher onto the body, but I guess it could be more limited with that BCD than one that has a band near the middle or preferably 2 cam bands for stability.

 

[JackD342]

Yes, an ankle weight or two would be perfect under the tank valve. I realized that he probably had one cam band, but didn't realize that the cam band was that low.

The very low cam band might also make it harder to adjust the height of the tank in the cam band. Usually you could just wear the tank higher in the BCD to move ballast higher onto the body, but I guess it could be more limited with that BCD than one that has a band near the middle or preferably 2 cam bands for stability.

Yeah, it’s an aspect of the Zuma I am not fond of. It does keep the BCD packing weight down, and does a pretty good job of transferring weight from your back/shoulders to your waist when walking around. It’s a trade-off.
The small stabilizing strap at the top also means the tank only has a couple of inches of vertical play possible.

 

[Addicted2H2O]

Something else you might consider to get your horizontal trim a little better would be to switch to 5mm or even 7mm boots. The additional thickness of the neoprene could give your feet a little additional buoyancy and could also offset the effects of a heavier fin a bit. Personally I dive a set of 5mm boots (just picked up a new pair of SEACs) and even with my negative F1's, I feel like my feet are pretty close to neutral. I definitely agree with trying to move some weight high up on your body. My Zeagle brigade has two cam bands and I keep my heavy weights int eh trim pockets, which were originally located on the bottom can band, putting them close to my lower back. It helped but last weekend while assisting with an OW class, I moved the trim pockets to the top cam band and I noticed a big different in my trim, which in turn made it feel like my finning was more efficient. My next course of action is to add another set of trim pockets on the lower cam band so I can move all of my weight to the tank and keep it away from my hips. Yes this effectively means I won't really have ditchable weight (not that I can ditch on my own without removing my BC anyway) but to me it'll be worth the trade-off, as even with the amount of weight I keep on me I know I can kick to the surface in a hurry if I need to.

I know that doesn't really help you with choosing what fins to get but maybe try that first and see if your Oceanics are more sufficient than you thought. I still stand by my recommendation of the Deep 6 Eddy's, Hollis F1's or F1 LT's, or ScubaPro Jets. But I do like @Hank49 's suggestion of a long blade "freedive" fin, too.

 

[JackD342]

I haven’t tried a feedive fin, but I would be concerned about losing track of that extra length behind me. Me and my camera tend to be right on top things in some tight spaces, and I don’t want to increase any risk of doing damage.
I also see enough divers that already scrape away with typical fins, I would hate to see what happens with added length.
But if just trying to cover ground from a safe distance, I would have no reservations.