Best Fin for Snorkeling

[DiveTheGalapagos]

I have always loved my Apollo Bio-Fins for diving and have used them for snorkeling as a result of having them with me, but is there a better snorkeling fin for warm water open ocean snorkeling? Searched, but last post seems to be from 2005. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Scuba.com]

Hi,

If you like your Apollo Bio-Fins then there is no reason to buy fins just for snorkeling. However, if you are looking for something a little more travel friendly, then you can look for fins with a smaller blade.

I have used the Aqua Lung Hotshot fins for both scuba and snorkeling. They are light weight and small enough to pack into a carry-on sized bag, but still gives you the power you need to kick through a current. They are designed for use with bare feet (or a sock).

Hope this helps

 

[rhwestfall]

Dan Volker, where are you????????????

 

[David Wilson]

There is no universally "best" snorkelling fin, only a fin that matches a particular individual's capabilities and priorities. Choosing a snorkelling fin starts with fit and that means not just foot length, but width and arch height as well. Then there is the nature of the snorkelling activity contemplated, which may prioritise power, manoeuverability or endurance, but not necessarily all three at the same time. It's not just about having a finning race and seeing which fins are fastest. For me as a snorkeller of fifty years' standing (I don't scuba-dive or freedive), the best fins are those that match my foot dimensions, not anybody else's, and suit the gentle kind of snorkelling that I now do in the North Sea a few miles from where I live. I have several pairs fitting those requirements. It would be pointless recommending the particular makes or models to you, however, because they fulfil my priorities, not necessarily yours. Finding an ideal pair of fins is a personal odyssey, because the selection process combines so many subjective (comfort-related) and objective (scientific) criteria, and nobody can artificially shorten the selection process for you. Be prepared to do your own experimentation with what is available, trying out as many kinds as you can get your hands on. Don't take anybody's word about a particular brand and model being perfect for you. You wouldn't expect anybody to tell you that only one brand of shoes will be perfect on your feet, so why should it be any different for fins?

 

[TipsyMcStagger]

Bump; not to ask for the "best," but simply looking for a recommendation for a quality and comfortable set of fins I can wear with bare feet. I'm looking for something to keep on the boat for snorkeling .

Thanks.

Tipsy

 

[danvolker]

Consider neoprene socks...or even athletic socks like you would wear with sneakers....It is not really wise to swim long distances without a sock of some sort, to prevent chafing or blistering. This is true with $30 cheap snorkel fin sets, or with a pair of $500 Mustang C4's ( also a full foot fin for snorkeling/freediving--and they actually "fit" much like running shoes, even to the point of having a left and a right, and laces if needed to tighten down on feet that don't have high arches...See

). If you are in an area with lots of sharks, you don't want any white patch that looks like a gash in an injured fish......consistent black skin suits with hood is what you would wear on a shark dive. 99.9% of the time this would be IRRELEVANT to a snorkeler.....I only mention it as the downside of white athletic socks --these are something of an invitation to shark curiosity...when they get curios, they can't touch with their hands like we do, they need to make a "touch and feel" exploration with a test bite.....sharply contrasted white on a diver causes this kind of curiosity--even though most snorkelers will never be lucky enough to see a shark--if they were this lucky, they would enjoy the encounter more if they knew they were dressed for a successful and intelligent encounter, rather than dressed by ignorance.

Also, the vast majority of divers SHOULD use an orthotic in the footbed to gain ideal fit and to prevent cramping.....

 

[REVAN]

Depending on what you want to do, there are some really good monofins available as well. Some of them like this DOL-Fin X-20 monofin are really comfortable and use real shoes for the foot interface. A high performance easy to use monofin like this can make a huge difference in the level of enjoyment you can experience in the water. The fin shown here uses record setting freediving technology. You will become a pseudo-marine mammal interacting with the ocean at a totally different level than you would with cheap snorkeling fins. Plus, it is lightweight and folds easily making it much more convenient to travel with than long blade bi-fins.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Bump; not to ask for the "best," but simply looking for a recommendation for a quality and comfortable set of fins I can wear with bare feet. I'm looking for something to keep on the boat for snorkeling .

Thanks.

Tipsy

Please take a moment to check out our freedive fin selection. We offer a wide selection of long, fullfoot freedive fins that come in a broad range of sizes, attributes, stiffness, materials and of course cost. We have had xompetitive freedivers take our fiberglass fins well below 200 feet and have recently heard of a scuba diver using an inexpensive pair of our fins on his dives to 385 ft.

If will be helpful if you can specify a budget and also if you desire the ability to replace or upgrade fin blades. The more expensive fins have a foot pocket which is independent of the blade. Our less expensive fins, have the footpocket bonded to the blade permanently (as do most typical scuba fins).

All our fins CAN be worn barefoot, but to be honest most people will be more comfortable with a neoprene sock or even a lycra or nylon sock under the footpocket. You CAN wear your shoes barefoot too, but most people choose not to.

We offer thse fins for women and children, with a smaller foot pocket, a bonded blade which is relatively soft and some smaller sizes. ($60).

These fins are also a bonded a blade and a footpocket and a somewhat more robust blade and adult size footpockets..($63).

Then we move up into our professional grade fins which all use replaceable blades, Our least expensive fin, has a polymer blade and the MAKO footpocket. ($90)

Next we move up to the MAKO footpockets, with various fiberglass blades. These are suitable for competitive athletes and serious spearfisherman and any one who wants a fin which returns more elastic energy from each kick. These blades will flex smoothly and snap back delivering more energy to the water. We offer a variety of blade stiffness options and of course, basic black, two camo colors and even a camo pink blade for the ladies..Footpocket sizes range from very small to huge..

---------- Post added September 16th, 2013 at 07:46 AM ----------

---------- Post added September 16th, 2013 at 07:48 AM ----------

 

[danvolker]

I would endorse Mako as an ideal solution for the OP. These fins WILL BE exponentially better than any of the nonsense "snorkeling fins" sold by dive shops or Kmart ( entities just looking for easy sales, with NO REGARD to the poor performance of the inferior lines of cheap snorkeling fins or how this will impair the development of ANYONE that buys them and is forever limited by their poor functioning. These will also be far superior to traditional scuba fins.

Personally, I do not understand how someone interested in taking up snorkeling, could consider the cheap fins sold as "snorkeling fins" by Kmarts and some dive shops. This limitation in the experience you can get from snorkeling, would be similar to :

• taking up snow skiing for the first time, and getting a pair of wooden skis because they are free or really cheap ( *note-terrible skiing experience compared to the skis sold today)
• Going on a dream Cycling trip on the Amalfi coast of Italy, and renting a nasty old beach cruiser for the mountain passes and switchbacks cyclists dream about riding on high end road bikes
• Doing a Road Trip on the mountain roads of Italy, or of the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina--and purposely choosing to drive an old Ford Pinto, instead of a new Mustang, Camaro, Corvette or Cadillac CTS V series ( lets say any one of these IS AVAILABLE TO YOU--BUT YOU CHOSE THE PINTO INSTEAD!!!)

The sick reality is that the nasty cheap snorkeling fins will be MORE INJURIOUS to a potential snorkeler's enjoyment potential and skill development ( as in novice skier progressing to expert skier) than the 3 examples I just offered.

Friends DON'T LET FRIENDS buy nasty cheap snorkeling fins!!!!!!!!!

---------- Post added September 16th, 2013 at 02:42 PM ----------

There are going to be snow skiers on any given large mountain, that believe they are having fun, skiing with the worst equipment imaginable--like the wooden skis( my exaggeration to make a point)....There are snorkelers putzing around Cayman and the Keys and many other places with the nasty cheap snorkeling fins--and they think they are having fun.....Like the skiers with the wrong skis, they get their excitement, and don't really focus on why they can't do more, like other skiers. The people snorkeling with the nasty cheap snorkel fins, will never be able to propel themselves anywhere close to what their "evil twin" could easily do with a pair of Mako freedive fins---distance covered in the makos could be 5 times as far, with half the perceived exertion. Currents that would scare and endanger the snorkeler with the nasty cheap fins, would not even feel like a current to the evil twin wearing the Makos ( or other freedive fins like Cressi, or my Mustang C4's).
While the snorkeler with the nasty cheap fins can never go under more than a few feet without extreme effort, the evil twin with the Makos soon finds he/she can swim down 20 or even 30 feet with ease, look around, and easily get back up to the surface. This opens up a new world, one unavailable to snorkelers with the pathetic cheap snorkel fins.

Friends DON'T LET FRIENDS buy nasty cheap snorkeling fins!!!!!!!!!

 

[lmorin]

Buy whatever you want. They all work. If you feel it necessary to propel yourself at warp speed, then spend big bucks on something the manufacturer claims is totally wonderful. Personally, I grew up on $4 fins, aka flippers, that worked perfectly fine in the 1950's breath-hold diving for fresh water clams as an adolescent, then still worked perfectly fine snorkeling over a reef in the Virgin Islands a couple of years later.