Best fin for use in warm currents

[tarjan]

I kill air, which drives me nuts. Add in a nice current and I end up hanging out way above my buddies to lower air use for the last 10 minutes of most dives, which sucks for photography. Considering I am in shape, bike ~100miles a week and try to lift weights, it is kind of embarrassing though I know it is just my physiology.

So I am looking for the best simple way to lower my o2 consumption, even if it is just an improvement getting me closer to my buds. This is a bit of a duplicate of some questions I have asked in the fin section, but since everyone has pointed at Mares as a well priced solution, I'm here.

Here is what I have seen:

x-stream : Some say it is gimicky, but owners seem to like it though it may be fragile. Develops power, low effort, but it was not clear how well it works in currents or compares to other designs especially against full foot designs like the race or superchannel FF.

Volo power : Similar to x-stream, reviews state it is a bit breakable but works well in openwater conditions. Comfortable and easy to use.

Volo race: Same as above, but more powerful.

Superchannel open foot: Reliable, comfortable and powerful. Seems to be good in all conditions and is recommended for all round use. Works for all finning styles.

Super channel FF: Same as above but more powerful due to the FF design.

Quattro: Stiff and can fatigue but definitely powerful. "classic" design. unclear how it compares to the newer designs in real world use, just that it is good. Works for any type of swimming you want to throw at it.

So what do you all say? Warm water use only, maybe with a drysuit but still warm 70+ degrees. Cold and I do not get along at all.

 

[rhwestfall]

F-1's, but most importantly, BIGGER TANKS!!!!!!

 

[Fishpie]

FF tre or HP.......simple, inexpensive and effective.

 

[tarjan]

rh: the bigger tank has been requested for my next trip so I should be good to go this time. Of course what came out of my mouth was "Any chance I could get a 100? I'm a heavy breather." The response was something akin to "Oh really? Are you the one that keeps calling?"

That being said, sometimes nothing bigger is available.

 

[japan-diver]

I get many customers/students that come to me with concerns about air consumptions and how to get better. Most divers can get much better on their air consumption.
The first step- get properly weighted- most people are wasting tons of air due to being overweighted.
Streamline your kit- get rid of excess gear that is not needed.
Get yourself in trim.
Slow down- the next biggest air consumption factor is speed. Slow kicks, kick and glide. (Frog kick is best)
Breath easy slow in and slow out-

 

[tarjan]

I bike over a hundred miles a week and most would consider me fairly thin (though I have a few more pounds to go, about 12%BF), I breathe slow and steady and I use an express tech bcd to keep to a minimum setup. Weighting is right based on end of dive testing and glide no faster or slower than my buddies which is very relaxed even wearing just a rash guard.

So I have all of that down, and am just looking for something to help a few percent.

My main problem is probably how cold intolerant I am. Even in mid 80s I get chilled. If I put on a wet/dry suit the thermal help for o2 use is probably about the same as the extra drag takes up.

 

[rhwestfall]

DRIS has a HP 149 cf on their page...... IJS

 

[beaverdivers]

I'm not sure as far as a Mares fin, but just use two 80's when you dive and enough thermal protection to keep you warm.

 

[BlackDiamondD]

Mares fins are the best! Avanti Quattro FTW!! Maximum power and propulsion with little effort. I love mine! You can't go wrong with Mares.

 

[danvolker]

I kill air, which drives me nuts. Add in a nice current and I end up hanging out way above my buddies to lower air use for the last 10 minutes of most dives, which sucks for photography. Considering I am in shape, bike ~100miles a week and try to lift weights, it is kind of embarrassing though I know it is just my physiology.

So I am looking for the best simple way to lower my o2 consumption, even if it is just an improvement getting me closer to my buds. This is a bit of a duplicate of some questions I have asked in the fin section, but since everyone has pointed at Mares as a well priced solution, I'm here.

Here is what I have seen:

x-stream : Some say it is gimicky, but owners seem to like it though it may be fragile. Develops power, low effort, but it was not clear how well it works in currents or compares to other designs especially against full foot designs like the race or superchannel FF.

Volo power : Similar to x-stream, reviews state it is a bit breakable but works well in openwater conditions. Comfortable and easy to use.

Volo race: Same as above, but more powerful.

Superchannel open foot: Reliable, comfortable and powerful. Seems to be good in all conditions and is recommended for all round use. Works for all finning styles.

Super channel FF: Same as above but more powerful due to the FF design.

Quattro: Stiff and can fatigue but definitely powerful. "classic" design. unclear how it compares to the newer designs in real world use, just that it is good. Works for any type of swimming you want to throw at it.

So what do you all say? Warm water use only, maybe with a drysuit but still warm 70+ degrees. Cold and I do not get along at all.

I think I can help you, as I am a cyclist too, and do over 150 miles each week..sometimes way over.
With the muscles of a cyclist, composite blade freedive fins will blow away all other fins, and you would want the stiffest ones.....just know that "stiff" for a composite freedive blade is not even close to feeling stiff to a true cyclist
This will allow you to be able to use your power without noodling the blades. You will use a below 80 bpm type heart rate and low exertion mode of swimming, with big high amplitude flutter kicks, very slow frequency...or, you will use big long frog kicks with huge glide periods between. Best fins like this are the DiveR fins DiveR Fins

Also...if you are staying high above your friends in an area with current, and they are low to the bottom, you will be working much harder than they are to stay with them. skin friction drag close to the bottom has the diver a couple inches off the bottom, barely feeling currents even up to 2.5 mph....where a diver 7 feet off the bottom would be exposed to the full brunt of the current.

I think if you get dead neutral, and have streamlined bp/wing set up, swim flat horizontal, you will get best bottom time doing big frog kick with long glide, close to the bottom....If you are in zero current area,, then sure, stay higher up over the group, but still near a buddy that can see you--remember, divers can't see up well, so if you are the only one up, you are really diving solo.

Cyclists have much more powerful fin kicking muscles than non cyclists....this can be both good and bad for air consumption. If you pace with slow heart rate, you should go faster than the other divers with ease, with much less exertion...and you only need to go exactly the speed they swim at--not faster....so you should be better on air use than they are, if you are keeping relaxed and low HR. Because cyuclists have bigger muscles, if you decide to swim fast, you CAN process far more oxygen from your blood than a non-athlete, and end up going through much more air than a non-athlete, if you decide to swim at a "fast for you" pace..one that should be impossibly fast for the non-cyclists.

Because you are stronger, you "may" be making more bouyancy and trim mistakes than the others in your group, and you get a way with it ( can keep up) because you are stronger than they are---but using this strength means using too much air.
Get dead neutral, use absolute minimum amount of weight to be neutral near dive end....You want very little if any air in your BC or wing throughout the dive ( ideally), this being the relationship between the lift of the wetsuit you wear, the weight you have on, and the air and lift of the bc/wing. Knowing how to get as much air out of the bc or wing is a big deal too, as some dives have too much lead on them, because they can never dump significant air out of their bc.
Flat horizontal trim should allow long glides between frog kicks. When I do this in a group of most divers, I do a big frog kick, glide for 1.5 to 2.5 seconds between kicks, and often have to ADD some 5 or 6 second glides, because the flutter kicking normal divers ( wrong trim and bouyancy, etc) are not keeping pace with me unless I use really long glides, actually almost coming to a stop between them