Avanti Quattro + vs X-Stream vs RK3 vs Supernova - help me choose my next fins

[Shabaday]

I use ScubaPro Goo Sports and the Mares Xstream. I have very weak legs and knees...I can't imagine either of these for you

 

[Hippopotamus]

You don’t want to be upright in either of those instances….

I'm not sure what you're referring to. It's not like I'm in a group that stands at attention while diving. The most common position during a stop is this:

Unless I adjust my position I tend to end up like this:

The positive buoyancy of the Novas plus their lack of finesse makes it somewhat difficult to maintain an upright position.
At the beginning of the dive I prefer to be kind of upright (like the guy in the first picture) because it's easier to do a 360 of your surroundings and partners before taking off.

 

[Hippopotamus]

I use ScubaPro Goo Sports and the Mares Xstream. I have very weak legs and knees...I can't imagine either of these for you

Could you please elaborate? I would have thought that the Xstreams would be (fairly) easy on the legs...

 

[lexvil]

I'm not sure what you're referring to. It's not like I'm in a group that stands at attention while diving. The most common position during a stop is this:

Unless I adjust my position I tend to end up like this:

The positive buoyancy of the Novas plus their lack of finesse makes it somewhat difficult to maintain an upright position.
At the beginning of the dive I prefer to be kind of upright (like the guy in the first picture) because it's easier to do a 360 of your surroundings and partners before taking off.

Don’t blame the fins, this is more of a trim issue, move weights to obtain trim.

 

[Cheizz]

Also at safety stops horizontal trim position is the more efficient, controlled diving position. Upright is something I only associate with bobbing around at the surface, really.

Why does this matter? You seem to focus on wanting fins that are less (or even negatively) buoyant. This seems strange because 99.9% of wetsuit divers could benefit from more buoyant fins to help them remain in horizontal trim and NOT get in the upright position. That's what I was getting at in my first response in this thread.

 

[Hippopotamus]

Also at safety stops horizontal trim position is the more efficient, controlled diving position. Upright is something I only associate with bobbing around at the surface, really.

Why does this matter? You seem to focus on wanting fins that are less (or even negatively) buoyant. This seems strange because 99.9% of wetsuit divers could benefit from more buoyant fins to help them remain in horizontal trim and NOT get in the upright position. That's what I was getting at in my first response in this thread.

The upright/horizontal issue is only part of the problem. I can't do fine adjustments in general.
Perhaps I should add that I mean fine adjustments with minimal movement. Obviously I can and I do whatever needs doing. But I want to reduce the necessary movements to a minimum. Which I found comes easier with the Tusas.

 

[Cheizz]

I can imagine that fins without a narrower hinge point in them have better control (in the Seawing Nova, that is both in width and in thickness that there is such a narrow point just in front of the foot pocket). The Tusa has less of a hinge point; something like Scubapro Go Sport or the Mares Avanti Quattro doesn't have a hinge point at all. The Mares have great control. My point: there may be a correlation between the design and the control you get.

 

[MidOH]

The Mares Avanti Quatro plus is what my sister uses. Itll match up to the Novas ok. Should be nuetral, add a steel spring strap for more negative trim.

Fullfoot novas, or freedive fins are the fastest Ive tried.

I generally sink down feet first, so that finning slows my decent for clearing my ears. But trim out after that.

Go verticle for surfacing as well. Negatively buoyant, so the lack of finning stops me. Spin 360 looking for traffic.

Proper trim doesnt seem to negatively effect the ability to do this. As my wings bubble moves up/forward. You might be overweighted, with too much air in your wing? But Novas are a bit positive.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

I'm not sure what you're referring to. It's not like I'm in a group that stands at attention while diving. The most common position during a stop is this:

Unless I adjust my position I tend to end up like this:

The positive buoyancy of the Novas plus their lack of finesse makes it somewhat difficult to maintain an upright position.
At the beginning of the dive I prefer to be kind of upright (like the guy in the first picture) because it's easier to do a 360 of your surroundings and partners before taking off.

Just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s correct…

 

[Boarderguy]

Descend - horizontal, swim - horizontal, ascend - horizontal, deco/SS - horizontal, surface swim - horizontal, bob around waiting for the boat or your group to be ready to descend - vertical... fins won't fix what you want them to...

Quattro + are fantastic but are too long for your travel suitcase requirements. I take my gear in a large rolling duffle so they fit just fine.