Best fins for those new to diving?
- Thread starter Nicholasb83
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When I was working for a diveshop last, the new diver customers seemed to really love the aqualung slingshot fins we were selling. Personally I prefer jetfin style fins, and would recommend original scubapro jetfins, or OMS slipstreams(which are also lighter, thus more travel friendly). Currently rocking a pair of Hollis F1s myself, but they can chafe if you need to swim hard, and I might just sell them on ebay to buy aforementioned OMS Slipstreams. They (The Hollis F1s) seem more suited to drysuit diving than warm water with booties, alternatively get some really thick booties(my Mares 6.5mm were on the thin side for them).
Damselfish
Contributor
Open heel fins are normally worn with booties, while full foot fins are generally meant to be worn without, or maybe with some kind of sock. If you are always diving off a boat in warm water where you can get away without the protection of booties, you may like full foot fins. But if you are ever shore diving there's much to be said for wearing booties. Sometimes people have full foot fins and are are trying to figure out how to shore dive without tearing up their feet on rocks and such, and have to come with a solution like wear sandals into the water and strap them to you during the dive, leave on the shore and hope they don't get stolen, etc. Heel straps also provide a handy way to hold fins in the water when you need to.
If you are flying someplace to dive, you might also want to take weight into account. Rubber fins (like many split fins) or the popular jetfins are much heavier than simple plastic fins. (Not talking Walmart-simple snorkeling fins, but good diving fins.
If you are flying someplace to dive, you might also want to take weight into account. Rubber fins (like many split fins) or the popular jetfins are much heavier than simple plastic fins. (Not talking Walmart-simple snorkeling fins, but good diving fins.
Nicholas B,
Can you describe the type of diving you expect to do, e.g. boat diving in tropics while on vaction, dry suit diving in the great lakes, shore diving in Florida or New Jersey, etc. This will help people provide recommendations that might meet your needs.
Bob DBF
Contributor
Try out as many fins as you can borrow to get an idea what you like. Jet fins are on Craigslist all the time cheap enough you wouldn't get hurt even if you don't like them. Basically you won't know what want without trying them so minimize your financial exposure until you narrow down the field.
Bob
Bob
Instructor_Tom
Contributor
Nicholas;
I like what I see in you post about streamlining your gear. if you feel that your are exerting too much effort in swimming; well you might be doing just that. most new open water divers feel like they have to be constantly swimming. if you actually watch some tech dive videos on ( heaven forgive me) YouTube. you will actually see most technical and experienced divers swim to a cadence. it goes something like this :
kick - (glide), 1, 2, 3, Kick - (glide) 1, 2, 3, Kick.
new open water divers are more of :
kick, kick, kick, kick.......
as for actually looking for a good set of fins. first don't fall for the marketing. Split fins are a solution for improper finning they reduce the force on your legs because your kicking to fast (remember water is 25 times denser than air, slow down), free dive fins are for just that free diving not scuba diving. beyond that its proper size and use.
I personally have 2 sets of fins. 1 for recreation diving and working with students
and 1 for tech diving and crawling down hole in the ground.
they both have 1 feature I demand in a fins. a solidly attached spring coil for the strap with a internal safety cord in case the spring should ever fail. these are easy to get on and off in any situation and will never slip off. Start with a good comfortable boot then find your self a good stif fin and practice taking your time.
one of my students put it best when he was watch me and some other DMs during a class "diving is a lazy mans sport".
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
I like what I see in you post about streamlining your gear. if you feel that your are exerting too much effort in swimming; well you might be doing just that. most new open water divers feel like they have to be constantly swimming. if you actually watch some tech dive videos on ( heaven forgive me) YouTube. you will actually see most technical and experienced divers swim to a cadence. it goes something like this :
kick - (glide), 1, 2, 3, Kick - (glide) 1, 2, 3, Kick.
new open water divers are more of :
kick, kick, kick, kick.......
as for actually looking for a good set of fins. first don't fall for the marketing. Split fins are a solution for improper finning they reduce the force on your legs because your kicking to fast (remember water is 25 times denser than air, slow down), free dive fins are for just that free diving not scuba diving. beyond that its proper size and use.
I personally have 2 sets of fins. 1 for recreation diving and working with students
and 1 for tech diving and crawling down hole in the ground.
they both have 1 feature I demand in a fins. a solidly attached spring coil for the strap with a internal safety cord in case the spring should ever fail. these are easy to get on and off in any situation and will never slip off. Start with a good comfortable boot then find your self a good stif fin and practice taking your time.
one of my students put it best when he was watch me and some other DMs during a class "diving is a lazy mans sport".
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
yardpro
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i have an old set of scubapro jet fins... love them....
i have tried others, but i have longish smooth slow kicks and the jets are fantastic... i can't get use to flutter kicks...
i have tried others, but i have longish smooth slow kicks and the jets are fantastic... i can't get use to flutter kicks...
Good fins aren't expensive. If you pay more than $100 for a pair of fins you're paying for bull**it.
Try a pair of ScubaPro jets. They're inexpensive... and probably the right fin for 90% of people in the world. Most of the people I know who don't like them are the same people that have an irrational need to swim fast. They also tend to be the same people that complain that they are air hogs. Hmm...
There are a lot of different qualities of fins to consider, when trying to choose what will work for you.
One thing to consider is price. I don't think new divers should buy the most expensive fins out there -- you don't really know what you're eventually going to like, and most of the "high end" fins have odd characteristics that might delight one person and annoy another.
Another is weight. If you are diving in light exposure protection, a light (positive or neutral) fin may be just perfect for keeping you balanced. If you are diving a dry suit, or very heavy neoprene, you may need a negative fin on your feet to keep you from emulating a lawn dart.
Another is what the fin is primarily FOR. In my experience, the biggest problem new divers have is trying to stabilize themselves in three dimensions when they are in the water column. They tend to go head down or head up, or try to turn turtle. Floppy fins, like very inexpensive fins or most split fins, are too soft to let a diver use them for stabilization. A stiff paddle fin will "bite" the water, and make it much easier to stay in the position you want to be in.
More advanced divers may choose to use their fins for precise maneuvering, either to look at small critters or to take photographs. Again, paddle fins are most useful for this, and splits or more complex designs are rarely ideal for it.
If you are unsure, I think you can't go wrong with buying a reasonable pair of paddle fins at an inexpensive price. I have a pair of Deep See Pulses that I use in the pool for teaching -- they are cheap, light, and useful, although I don't ever dive them in open water, because I prefer something stiffer. Put a set of spring straps on them, and you have a very nice basic fin that you won't cry over discarding, if you eventually decide you want something else.
One thing to consider is price. I don't think new divers should buy the most expensive fins out there -- you don't really know what you're eventually going to like, and most of the "high end" fins have odd characteristics that might delight one person and annoy another.
Another is weight. If you are diving in light exposure protection, a light (positive or neutral) fin may be just perfect for keeping you balanced. If you are diving a dry suit, or very heavy neoprene, you may need a negative fin on your feet to keep you from emulating a lawn dart.
Another is what the fin is primarily FOR. In my experience, the biggest problem new divers have is trying to stabilize themselves in three dimensions when they are in the water column. They tend to go head down or head up, or try to turn turtle. Floppy fins, like very inexpensive fins or most split fins, are too soft to let a diver use them for stabilization. A stiff paddle fin will "bite" the water, and make it much easier to stay in the position you want to be in.
More advanced divers may choose to use their fins for precise maneuvering, either to look at small critters or to take photographs. Again, paddle fins are most useful for this, and splits or more complex designs are rarely ideal for it.
If you are unsure, I think you can't go wrong with buying a reasonable pair of paddle fins at an inexpensive price. I have a pair of Deep See Pulses that I use in the pool for teaching -- they are cheap, light, and useful, although I don't ever dive them in open water, because I prefer something stiffer. Put a set of spring straps on them, and you have a very nice basic fin that you won't cry over discarding, if you eventually decide you want something else.
I'm all for stiff fins and the control they provide, but the Jets and Hollis F1s are heavy, and if all you're using for exposure protection is a skin, they might tend to drag your legs down. There are lighter fins which are still stiff enough to do what you need, such as the OMS Slipstreams or Dive Rite EXPs. It will take a while to learn the frog kick, back kick, and helicopter turns, but being able to position yourself wherever you want with just a flick of your ankles will be worth it.
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