Better fins: Twin Jet or X-Pert (Both splits)

[The Great Orca]

Thanks for the input gang.

Today, I own and dive Dacor Tiger Fins. These are bladed, hinged fins. Quite often, after 3-4 dives on the day, I am in pain. So I'm looking for a second pair of fins.

I tried both splits I mentioned earlier (Twin Jet and Blue X-Pert), and liked them both.

I already have hinged blades, so this would be my lake/quarry fins.

I'm thinking of getting the Red X-Perfs, as I don't know that the extra stiffness of the blacks would be much better than just using my Tigers, but I could be wrong. I'm just trying to find something that kicks easier, until I can build up the calf muscle.

Here's yet another question... If I get the red X-Perts, would they work OK in Cozumel on a drift dive? I don't think I'll be trying to swim against the current, but I have never been down there.

Thanks again!

Charley

Not sure hwo the reds do in current, black ones work perfect in current, as I've read and heard, when swimming they feel the same(black, red, blue all feel the same).

 

[CharleyT]

On the black ones... Are they easier than bladed fins to use? I'd rather not buy another set of fins that may cause the same issues I'm looking at now (calves). But then again, if the black ones are all-around better, and still work easier than bladed fins, maybe I should go for them. Wow, how hard a decision can this be?

 

[The Great Orca]

On the black ones... Are they easier than bladed fins to use? I'd rather not buy another set of fins that may cause the same issues I'm looking at now (calves). But then again, if the black ones are all-around better, and still work easier than bladed fins, maybe I should go for them. Wow, how hard a decision can this be?

Yes, black ones are light on your feet, I bearly feel them on.

 

[CharleyT]

Excellent! That's what I wanted to hear... I'll order some black ones tomorrow or Monday. Unrealfind.com will sell any of them for $89.99 plus about $13.00 shipping. Sadly, on this one, they even beat Larry and the gang over at Scubatoys. I'd rather drive over and pick them up, but for something like $40, it's worth the wait to order them in. Then again, they say on their website they'll match prices. I'll give them another call tomorrow now that I have a website to show them (vs. an ebay auction).

Charley

 

[The Great Orca]

Excellent! That's what I wanted to hear... I'll order some black ones tomorrow or Monday. Unrealfind.com will sell any of them for $89.99 plus about $13.00 shipping. Sadly, on this one, they even beat Larry and the gang over at Scubatoys. I'd rather drive over and pick them up, but for something like $40, it's worth the wait to order them in. Then again, they say on their website they'll match prices. I'll give them another call tomorrow now that I have a website to show them (vs. an ebay auction).

Charley

Yea and if you don't like them you can always switch them

 

[Carlos Danger]

The Zooms are an excellent product, and I would highly recommend them to anyone. I dove the black X-Pert Zooms in Coz this past July/Aug; they worked great, and were always very comfortable and easy on the legs. The only time that I had to work them hard was when we were crossing from San Fancisco Wall over a 50 yard gap to the gardens side in a stiff current, but having another type of fin would not have made much of a difference in that situation. The key to getting the most out of the split fin design is to use a shorter "flutter-style" kicking motion. The combination of the split hydrofoil design and the flutter-kick produces excellent forward motion with less effort.

One thing to look out for on the X-Pert Zooms is to NOT use the quick release clips when removing the fins from your foot at the end of your dive. This separates the female portion of the clip from the rest of the strap, and leaves the female part of the clip hanging by its' attachment point. This can result in a situation where you could potentially lose this part, thus making the fin unusable. Better to just loosen the strap buckle and pay-out the slack until it's long enough to remove the fin from your foot with all the parts still attached.

As far as the Scuba Pros are concerned, the thing I don't like about the Jet Fin is the width of the blade. If you tend to kick with your legs/feet close together they can hit eachother in mid kick, plus I personally don't really care much for the look.

 

[The Great Orca]

They also worked well for frog kicking and backing up for me.

Just my $.02.

 

[yukoneer]

Excellent! That's what I wanted to hear... I'll order some black ones tomorrow or Monday. Unrealfind.com will sell any of them for $89.99 plus about $13.00 shipping. Sadly, on this one, they even beat Larry and the gang over at Scubatoys. I'd rather drive over and pick them up, but for something like $40, it's worth the wait to order them in. Then again, they say on their website they'll match prices. I'll give them another call tomorrow now that I have a website to show them (vs. an ebay auction).

Charley

here's what's on scubatoy's website:

If you find a better price anywhere - we'll meet it or beat it!

they do price match...

 

[RonFrank]

I have a pair of the Tusa X-Pert fins and a pair of black Twin Jets. Both are excellent split fins and it seems like I'm hardly working at all when wearing either pair. The first pair of Twin Jets that I purchased was the cobalt blue that float. I found out that the blue and the yellow Twin Jets are slightly more flexible than the black one that some dive shops market as the more stiffer "professional" fin. When I switched to the black Twin Jets I did find that they provided more thrust than the blue ones. I was fortunate enough to win the pair of X-Pert Zooms in a treasure hunt and found that they perform almost identically to the Twin Jets. If I'm diving someplace where there is very little or no current I prefer the split fins. However, if I'm diving in current, especially if I'm pulling a dive flag or float ball, I find that my Mares Quattros work the best and provide the most thrust in that situation. I can definitely feel the difference in the work level between the splits and the traditional paddle style fins. My advice - try each of the fins if possible for a few dives and see what feels best for you and the type of diving you plan to do. Also, keep in mind that with split fins, you get better performance with a swimmer's style flutter kick rather than the wide kicks that some divers seem to use with the paddle fins.

While I certainly agree with tha adivce that people should use what feels best, the twins don't work in current logic escapes me.

If one can do 2 mph using a split, and 1.5 mph using a paddle, current is irrelevent...right? Basic physics says that using the split at 2 mph adding a .5mph current results in a 1.5mph speed, while the paddle at 1.5mph with the .5mph current results in a 1mph speed.

I've been researching fins. Rondales tests which are conducted using a very valid approach, show that twins are the fastest, and perform better or as well as any paddle fin in the alt kick catagory. The Mares Volo was the ONLY paddle fin that really competed with the top splits but did no better in the alt kicks catagory vs. a few of the top splits.

In fact the Mares Volo was the only fin to show up in the top five, the others being split.

An aside, my dive instructor is rather anti-split being a rather old school type, and a tech diver, however the divemaster did have the Aquatics which test out at the top.

The ONLY big disadvantage I found in choosing splits was the price!! I'm unsure why they are so much more expensive vs. most paddle fins, but whatever.

Ron

 

[The Great Orca]

Hmmm, I saw a couple of tests, Tusa was always second, the top ones in 3 polls where,

1st test
Apollo Bio-1st
Tusa-2nd

2nd Test
Twins-1st
Tusa-2nd

3rd Test
Apollo Bio-1st
Tusa-2nd