Apollo Bio-Fin, Atomic Smoke or TUSA Zooms, which one is the best Split Fin?

[Teamcasa]

There is no discussion with aparticlebrane. His posts are all pretty predictable. Jet fins, 7 ft primary hose, necklaced octo etc. Don't let it get your goat.

Oh, no worries. It takes more than the typical inane rubber stamp post to get my goat.

 

[runway1]

I use a PC and not a MAC
I like Canon not Nikon
I have a ’63 Ford not a Chevy
I have Splits not Paddles

I have nothing bad to say about any of the items on the right, but have grown tired of people that have an axe to grind because your choice is not their choice.

Completely agree....except for the Ford thing.

 

[runway1]

The prop on a boat works on the aerodynamic principals we have been discussing. It does not "push" against the water. A swimmers fingers do not have the surface area of a wing or propeller.
Now, perhaps if they could add something the swimmer's appendeges. Oh wait.....

Well, yes it does. It's the action/reaction thing. If it pushes water out at xx pounds, the boat is propelled in the opposite direction with the equal/opposite force.

I don't necessarily agree with papa bear but honestly, he talks more hard science than his opponents. Just fyi; I'm a 22 year mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry

 

[runway1]

Based strickly on the length of the blade and the bending effect of the blades and the resultant Mass Moment of inertia etc. splits in many cases are much more efficient and in fact hold a load more efficiently.

They law is pretty clear unlike your above BS statement in red, I am not baffled buy that BS! It was a nice rant though! Meaningless, but nice and the big words might have convinced other split fin owner! BTW where did the inertia come from? Since the way you used it is contradictory to its definition?

Again, I don't necessarly agree with papa bear but, kidsdream - are you serious? You know, there are real engineers that dive and read your posts. This makes no sense at all.

 

[Teamcasa]

Well, yes it does. It's the action/reaction thing. If it pushes water out at xx pounds, the boat is propelled in the opposite direction with the equal/opposite force.

I don't necessarily agree with papa bear but honestly, he talks more hard science than his opponents. Just fyi; I'm a 22 year mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry

**Split Fins – Let the Bashing Begin!** See bullet point 10

 

[runway1]

**Split Fins – Let the Bashing Begin!** See bullet point 10

Very good, Teamcasa - and right on! Actually, I dive with the Apollo Bio fins and just love them. As I said, I don't necessarily agree with papa but some of his critics are clearly inaccurate and not scientific.

Bottom line:
If your posture (attitude, kick posture is a factor), your physical ability (leg power obviously a factor) and your sensitivity to fatigue (endurance a factor) are excellent, then paddles likely work better.

If you're posture is sometimes off, you don't have trained legs and you tend to fatigue ...well, maybe those splits work better for you - that's all, folks!

 

[cmburch]

I do not know what everyone is talking about being unable to to test the efficiency of split versus paddle fins for certain applications such as recreational SCUBA diving.
For example,For speed:
1. Take 10 divers and run some predetermined course first using paddle fins.
2. Run the same course again with split fins.
3. Mix it up - 5 wear split and 5 wear paddle. Perhaps reverse and run again with everyone exchanging fins. Compare the times to complete the course.

Amount of air consumed on a course: Have a long course where everyone's air use is monitored using different types of fins.

The same can be done by swimming against a current. Split fins and paddle fins come with different amounts of flexibility. My Mares Raptors are pretty stiff compared to my Plana Avanti. I am not a split fin proponent; I just know that for my needs, they are faster and I suck up less air for hunting while on SCUBA. I have been using USD Rocket fins 30 years and Mares Plana Avanti 15 years. I have been using splits for less than 4 months. The only reason I bought new fins is because I needed a larger size for my thick soled booties I use for hiking down cliffs. I have no problem with my Rocket or Raptor fins in changing direction, starting from a dead stop, swimming against a current, or swimming on the surface. I swim in a pool regularly 1.5-2 miles a few times a week. I only SCUBA dive in the Pacific Ocean.

This is just a suggestion and the parameters can be easily changed for a better comparison.

 

[digdawg]

Papa Bear,

You are too much for words-

Site one objective comparison of paddle fins vs. split fins that supports your hypothesis. You challenge the credibility of Scubadiving Mag's tests, but offer no alternate comparisons that refute their findings. If your argument is that strong I would guess you could entice the sponsorship of several fin manufacturers to conduct a “valid” comparison of the two designs, and you could make a few bucks to boot. You supposedly have the connections as you state fin companies are throwing fins at you left and right. As a new diver and someone shopping for fins, I find the question Borg posted as very interesting. Your derailing of the topic is quite obnoxious.

Based on your argument, flexibility in a fin is a flaw, therefore you must dive with a pair of plywood fins.

Mktuyna – thanks for pointing out that swimmers don’t swim with their hands “cupped”. It is quite a leap to claim split fins are akin to swimming with your fingers wide open. It is probably much more accurate to compare them to the water an Olympic level swimmer traps between his slightly spread fingers.

By the way if you examine the caudal fin of many aquatic species they do have split fins to varying degrees. And, although a few may exist out there somewhere, I can’t think of a single example of an animal that has the completely rigid caudal fin that you seem to prefer.

 

[Nitroxic]

By the way if you examine the caudal fin of many aquatic species they do have split fins to varying degrees. And, although a few may exist out there somewhere, I can’t think of a single example of an animal that has the completely rigid caudal fin that you seem to prefer.

No split fins in nature?

Jacks are some of the fastest strongest swimmers in the ocean

Not to mention every shark species, bill fish, Mahi...on and on.

Another thing about splits is the finning technique that's preferred, a modified flutter kick, keeps the legs and fins inside the slip stream of the body as it cuts through water, the larger kicks required of paddle fins, forces the legs and fins outside this slip stream causing drag at the same time they create propulsion.

I've noticed my tusa x-pert zooms, even swimming directly into a current, if I pull my hands against my body and keep a steady rhythm, I fly through the water. I wonder if there is some sort of torque vs horsepower issue with paddle vs splits as it seems streamlining oneself does seem to make a significant difference. IMHO

Two point he did make that may be true about splits, is they MAY silt up the bottom worse (I've noticed some evidence of this, but am not yet convinced), and they probably are better for maneuvering and stability with a camera, being that he is a photographer it makes sense he is adamant that his fin choice is better.

Back to the OP, my next fin purchase will be a pair of bio fins, but I like the tusas so much, there are many more things I plan on upgrading before them. Why change?

 

[HatchetJoe]

I'm new to the board, Since I have twin boys and they dive, i have lots of dive stuff around. I haven't tried the Apollo fins but I have the Atomic Smoke on the water units and the Mares Raptors, personally I like the Raptors better they seem to put out a better return for the energy input to them. Again others will get different results based on their other gear, physical fitness etc. Always keep in mind that there is a best tool or fin for a specific kick or in other words everything has a trade off. The key is to find what works best for your particular set of variables.

With regard to the Papa Bear charachter, hey I may be new here, however i have been on the internet for a long time, he's just a troll, in time he'll go away or change his handle.