A couple of fins questions

[SDAnderson]

The Scuba Diving reviews mentioned earlier are a good place to start any search for fin info - but as noted, there are some limitations: they won't review any gear that is supplied to them and some manufacturers (including ScubaPro) won't supply them with gear and/or have asked to be excluded from their reviews.

Another excellent resource: http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/gearreviews.php?s=all&c=Fins

You will see a bunch of independent reviews from someone named lepomis. Jim Grier is a serious scientist who has been a member of the ScubaDiving fin rating team on at least a couple of occasions and started publishing his own reviews because he found that their methodology and limited scope to be troubling. He's done a spectactular job of rating a wide range of fins and has produced more data than anyone but the most determined geek could be interested in - along with some hard-hitting, no bulldung comparisons.

To answer your 2 questions:

>open heels require boots, closed foot do not, and;
>though I know of several popular brands of split fins, I don't know of any good ones.​

 

[downunder_diver]

I used to dive Mares paddle fins, which I thought were fine until I tried Oceanic V12 split fins. They are the ultimate! I could never turn back! Split fins are definately the way to go. Which brand? Well... Scuba pro and oceanic are pretty similar, scuba pro has theirs in bright yellow which for some is a bonus!

 

[pescador775]

The best split fin is the Apollo bio pro. The fastest split fin in the world is the bio pro XT. The best paddle fin/open is the Quattro. The best full foot/closed fin is a tie between the Oceanic Caribe and the Mares Avante-tre.

The jet fins test to 2.6 mph (SCUBA). The bio, the Caribe and the Tre test to 3.0-3.1 mph (SCUBA).

Jets are obsolete. Claims that splits cannot "back peddle" are nonsense. See "Divernet" and their independent contributors from a US University (in water tests). See Scubalab.

See my post on DIY (Scubaboard) concerning mods to the tre.

I have dived several fin types over the years. Twenty years ago when I started with long fins, Cressi and Dessault, and some others, it was "monkey see, monkey do. Now, I pay attention to people who spend a lot of effort performing scientific tests. The people at Scubalab know what they are doing. Dive Oz is a mixed bag with some tests being suspect in my opinion. Divernet is gold, well, mostly.However, the independent contributors to the test labs, those who have a university background, those who present the results of many, many hours of tests, who have gone to the great effort of recording and graphing performance of exhaustive tests, who explain and qualify every finding no matter how small, are one source for my opinions. I'm the other. I own all the above fins, and more. I use them in real world, freediving, spearfishing and tanking over wrecks. However, I do not cave dive. If there is some special requirement for this activity, other than stuff that comes out of the Jetfin gurus in Fla, then I am not aware of it.

 

[wunat]

I have been using AL Rocket and has just switched to SP Jets (which I find better than the Rockets) so was wondering how the splits really are. Have been reading about it for a while and finally got a chance to try it out. Has been handed a pair of Atomic Aquatics Split Fin to try.

Well, I have to say I do not fancy it. May be it is due to the fact that I am so used to the hard and negative bouyant fins, the Atomic makes my fin kicks feel weak. Could be basic psychological effect. Tried to accelerate and quick+short flutter kicks with it, don't really enjoy it.

Most would argue that splits can't do trick fin kicks as well as paddle fins such as the Jets, so I tried them out for myself to find out. Assuming I am doing the kicks right, I personally feel that the Jets or even the Rockets responsed better. With regards to the understanding I get from my readings, the splits comes into effect when the fin cuts through the water and create a vortex. The fact that the fin blades are splited, I don't think they work that well (even if they do) on trick kicks.

Anyway, just a personal opinion. Not trying to make arguments with anyone on this. I have been looking forward to actually try them and have to say that Jets still gets my vote.

 

[SDAnderson]

The best split fin is the Apollo bio pro. The fastest split fin in the world is the bio pro XT. The best paddle fin/open is the Quattro. The best full foot/closed fin is a tie between the Oceanic Caribe and the Mares Avante-tre.

The jet fins test to 2.6 mph (SCUBA). The bio, the Caribe and the Tre test to 3.0-3.1 mph (SCUBA).

Jets are obsolete. Claims that splits cannot "back peddle" are nonsense. See "Divernet" and their independent contributors from a US University (in water tests). See Scubalab.

See my post on DIY (Scubaboard) concerning mods to the tre.

I have dived several fin types over the years. Twenty years ago when I started with long fins, Cressi and Dessault, and some others, it was "monkey see, monkey do. Now, I pay attention to people who spend a lot of effort performing scientific tests. The people at Scubalab know what they are doing. Dive Oz is a mixed bag with some tests being suspect in my opinion. Divernet is gold, well, mostly.However, the independent contributors to the test labs, those who have a university background, those who present the results of many, many hours of tests, who have gone to the great effort of recording and graphing performance of exhaustive tests, who explain and qualify every finding no matter how small, are one source for my opinions. I'm the other. I own all the above fins, and more. I use them in real world, freediving, spearfishing and tanking over wrecks. However, I do not cave dive. If there is some special requirement for this activity, other than stuff that comes out of the Jetfin gurus in Fla, then I am not aware of it.

How about making life easy by providing some links to your references? I'm too lazy and semi-disinterested to go hunting down your citations, but I do have enough interest to at least check them out if you link to them.

It's been over 35 years since I began diving and purchased my first pair of SP JetFins. As fashions have come and gone over the years, I've made a few discoveries:

(1) there is always someone announcing that JetFins are passe, usually with the same strident tone they tend to associate with the dark hordes that the erstwhile prophets typically oppose, and;

(2) there is always someone announcing that they have some new angle on the age-old problem of fin performance and, for $150.00, I can own it, and;

(3) despite purchasing a number of different fins over the years while chasing the faster/better/latest thing, I keep coming home to my JetFins, and;

(4) finning is a tool specific skill that doesn't readily translate from one set to another, there is a learning curve that needs to be respected when trying on a new pair of fins that is often overlooked by divers.​

Currently I own several pairs of fins, including my original pair of Jets, a newer pair of Jets, a pair of Turtles, a pair of Mares Quattros, a pair of Dacor Turboflex SP, and a pair of Mares Avantis. Over the years I've discarded several pairs of fins that I tried and found particularly wanting, including a couple different versions of the SP splits. I have never found a pair of split fins that allows for the quick-starts or the precision of my trusty JetFins. I can do a helicopter turn and back up in splits but with nowhere near the control or ease that I can with my rubber paddles - and that's important to me. The splits seem to be more efficient and better for duration swimming, that's not of much importance to me, however.

The semi-reliable nature of scuba reviews (including ScubaLab, which no longer reviews ScubaPro gear and hasn't, to the best of my knowledge, ever reviewed JetFins) is a problem. Like you, I also like some of the independent reviewers, especially those that have a background in academia or hard science. In particular, there is a gentleman named Jim Grier (a/k/a lepomis) who is a natural scientist and college professor and a member of the Scuba Diving fin review team that has published an ongoing series of fin test results that he has conducted independently. According to his results and to his surprise, the JetFins (and most of the JetFin clones) do well in his tests and better than you indicated.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Have two pairs of aqualung blades. NOT the blades II but the old ones. The newest pair I use dry. The older ones I got off ebay and they have the pockets tapered towards the heel. To me they feel like full foots w/my scuba max titanium booties. No drag and comfy as all get out. And I can do every kick with em including back finning.

 

[DiveMaven]

Whatever you do, make sure you spend some time trying the different types of fins in the water. If you've never used splits, take some time to rent or borrow a couple of different brands in a swimming pool before buying.

One of my LDSs pushes splits as the ONLY type of fin to use. I've always used paddle type fins, so one day decided to try the splits in their pool. I tried 2 different types (sorry, can't remember the brands, but one was "the best made") and found them to be floppy, uncomfortable, and difficult to maneuver in. I'm sure that if I used them for awhile I could have gotten used to them, but why bother? My paddle fins are great, I don't get cramps and I can do extremely tight maneuvers when I have to. :07:

On the other hand, another LDSs opinion is that paddle fins are for diving, splits are for snorkeling. So the bottom line? Test the fins you're interested in using in the water before buying. You may be surprised that the "best fin" isn't the best for you after all.