Best Cheap Openheel Fin?

[Isaac-1]

Which brand and model of fins do you feel are the best cheap fins for begining warm water divers?

thanks Ike

 

[shoturtle]

Mares avanti x3 or Cressi frog fin good beginner fins. Very inexpensive open heel paddle fins. And they are good performers also.

 

[diversteve]

I've bought about 30 pairs of new small cheap fins in the last couple of years from Scubatoys, LeisurePro or eBay in support of a local grade school dive program. I try to spend around $25-30/pr.

Fins I've bought:

Tusa Liberator X10
Aqualung/Deep See Pulse
Cressi-Sub Frogs
Oceanic Vector (closer to $35)
Mares Avanti X3 (closer to $40)
Tusa Imprex (over $40)

So far the Cressi's have impressed me with their quality of construction and smooth working buckles. I'd buy the Liberators over the Aqualung's also, they seem well constructed.

But I've never used any of them.

my .02

 

[perdidochas]

Which brand and model of fins do you feel are the best cheap fins for begining warm water divers?

thanks Ike

I'd go for the cheapest Mares fins you can buy. If you want full-foot, go for the Mares HP. If you want open-heel, go for the MARES PLANA AVANTI X3 FIN.

The first is $39 at divers-supply.com. It would be powerful enough for warmwater diving, and you wouldn't need to buy booties. I have these for snorkeling, and would have no problem scuba diving in them if I was in a minimal wetsuit (i.e. t-shirt or shorty)


The X3 is $49.90, and needs booties. For me, it would be ideal for any scuba diving.

 

[Moby66]

I ordered AquaLung pulse fins off the net and when they arrive @ the house the box contained U.S. Divers Twinflex Should I be upset or happy? Is a cheap fin, well a cheap fin, or did I get hosed with a bait and switch?

 

[Moby66]

b-4 i get flamed for opening a year old thread, I tired to start a new thread and kept getting some URL error... Sorry, I tired.

 

[Stu S.]

I asked the guy from Diver's Supply: "What's the cheapest fin that's any good?" I took his advice and bought TUSA Imprex. Holding up well after 4 and a half years. Nothing fancy, just a good fin. $44.

 

[Uber]

I agree that the Mares x3 and Quattros are great fins.... warning from me is that you may end up wearing more pairs than you expect... trawling through all the fins on a dive boat you will notice at least 60% seem to be Mares blue!.... Someone "borrowed" my wife's x3's prior to a second dive in the red sea this summer, so of course I had to give her mine and then use whatever was left... she was really annoyed because when they finally did show up they had been dragged accross coral by a novice....didn't care about the scratches per se...but as she said.." now everyone will think I did it!!"

 

[Artimas]

I asked the guy from Diver's Supply: "What's the cheapest fin that's any good?" I took his advice and bought TUSA Imprex. Holding up well after 4 and a half years. Nothing fancy, just a good fin. $44.

Agree. These are what I use. Good, basic, no nonsense fins. The only thing I don't like about them is that they are a bit too buoyant.

 

[klauricella]

You can always get a pair of jetfins off of ebay and they will last forever.