Disappointing fit on Scubapro Jet Fins

[MXGratefulDiver]

The OMS were a really close and near copy of the Jet except lighter and unfortunately they have gone out of business it seems. And the Jet soldiers on and on.

N

I believe the Slipstreams ... or a reasonable facsimile ... are now being produced by XS Scuba ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Texasguy]

The new scubapro seawing gorilla are a trade off between jet fins and "normal" ones. Give you thrust ability to frog kick, but also flutter with very good results. Of course it's not jet for thrust and frog kick, but a nice compromise.

I swear by scubapro gorilla fins (new current version). It is exactly what I am looking in a fin, light and super firm. You can make course adjustments with a slight movement of the fin, granted that you need more muscle for that. I tried Jets once, I found them to be "mushy" and heavy.

 

[ccx2]

If any of you all are interested i have a pair of Seawing Gorillas 2nnd Generation that i dove 1 time and my little old chicken legs can't do anything with them. they are in new/pristine condition , 200us new i will sell them for 100us plus shipping, i live in Va Beach VA

 

[Splitlip]

I recently bought some used jetfins with springstraps for cheap on scubaboard. Dove them for the first time this weekend. Amazing thrust with each kick, I'm blown away! However, they hurt the bottom of my foot real bad. And they're very negative. Despite the awesome thrust it made for the worst dive I've made in a long time. My trim was terrible, the bottoms of my feet hurt pretty bad. I ended the dive early, and went back and switched out to my Mares for the rest of the day. It struck me the whole time how much less thrust I had with the mares.

I assume the pain in the bottom of the foot is due to poor fit. These were XL, I wear size 13 sneakers. Should I bother trying to find a larger size? Could it be the spring strap is too small?

As for trim.. my Mares are light. Probably 1/4 or 1/8 lb positive. I guess I could adjust my tank position to compensate some. Are there any other brands of fins with a similar thrust but less weight?

hundred dives
South west fl. Are you diving caves in a drysuit pushing doubles and a stage or two? Otherwise forget the Jet Fin hype. There are dozens of fins better suited for whatever. Get a real kick out of people swearing that a smelly old outdated '50's sneaker is the best boot for these dinosaurs. How about a fin that works with even a 20th century fin.
i had my first pair of jets 40 years ago. For tropical diving they suck. For tech, there are so many better alternatives.
Flame suit on.

 

[Doc Harry]

Your feet may hurt because jet fins add so much torque to your legs and feet. Dive more with the fins to strengthen your legs/feet, or laps in the pool with jet fins to strengthen your legs/feet.

If the problem is truly a fit issue, try turtle fins, they have a larger foot box. I use jet fins with wetsuit booties and the larger turtles with my drysuit boots. Turtles are just as heavy as jet fins and give you the same power

Trim issues are a matter of experience. Dive more, you'll solve your trim issues with more experience and time in the water. Dive more.

There are no better fins than the jet/turtle fins. They give you power and control, whether you're doing a wet tropical dive or a cold cave dive. When you need power, jet fins deliver. When you need control, jet fins deliver. Dive more to get used to them.

 

[DaleC]

Yes, it may be that your feet simply aren't used to the amount of resistance that the jets create (which equals greater thrust). You will experience failure at your weak point, either the calf, ankle or the arch of the foot. Strengthening and better soles will help.

I bought my jets for $10 before I started diving and they are still the go to fins I use, except for vintage fins. I suspect I will still be using them when I stop diving.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

hundred dives
South west fl. Are you diving caves in a drysuit pushing doubles and a stage or two? Otherwise forget the Jet Fin hype. There are dozens of fins better suited for whatever. Get a real kick out of people swearing that a smelly old outdated '50's sneaker is the best boot for these dinosaurs. How about a fin that works with even a 20th century fin.
i had my first pair of jets 40 years ago. For tropical diving they suck. For tech, there are so many better alternatives.
Flame suit on.

Enlighten me.

I've been trying to find something else besides Jets for years but still can't seem to find a fin that does everything a Jet can do. I'm not saying the Jet is BEST at everything, I'm saying that the Jet can do more different things than other more style specific fins. Although some of the things the Jet can do are mediocre compared to other fins that are specifically designed to do one thing, but then the specific fins maybe won't work at all for another style of kick that the Jet can cover.
For instance, I like Quattros underwater but they suck for surface swimming while face down because of the way the loose center panel at the tip of the fin flops back and forth when you change direction of kick. So as a result the kick needs to be more aggressive to be able to get past the flop transition to get enough resistance to go forward. That loose panel was designed to channel water off the end of the fin and not off the sides. It works well underwater with a full kick but on the surface a full kick won't work because half the time you will be kicking in air.
Jets have positive power through the entire kick on the surface but underwater they will wear you out if you try and do a full standard kick. So under water I do a variety of different kicks to avoid overwork. That's a perfect example of how the Jet is kind of a compromise - not the best at any one thing but will do everything.

The other fin that plain wins hands down for speed and power if I need that on a particular dive are freediving fins, but they are also very specific (and not really for scuba at all) but they kick ass for covering a lot of ground such as for lobster diving or hunting. They will also wear you out and don't work for modified frog kicking or backing up, but then for hunting there is no reason for me to ever have to back up. I also have full foot freediving fins and have to wear 7mm socks, so for shore diving it's a challenge because it's hard on tender socks and trashes them on beach entries.

Splits are good for one thing, going forward with a standard kick for people with weak legs, and they are even weak at that. I don't care for them.

So if you know of any other fin that works please let me know so I can rent it and test it. I'm always looking for something I may have overlooked.

BTW, I tried F1's and they were more mediocre than Jet fins to me. I found they didn't live up to the hype some people give them. They were just as hard to kick in a standard style but delivered less forward propulsion. They didn't work as well for porpoise kicks or toe kicks. They didn't work as well for frog kicks. I tested them on a charter boat dive and gave them an honest try because I'm REALLY TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING BESIDES JETS and can't seem to find an alternative.
The only fins I haven't tried yet are Bob Evans' Force Fins. I'd like to find somewhere that rents them so I can see how they work.

I'm blown away at how different the same fin can work for different people.
Fins are probably the most individual diver specific item than any other piece of gear.

 

[Texasguy]

Try modern Gorilla fins. They are great for scuba, I think they can do pretty much anything under water. However, they are too buoyant for snorkeling.

 

[kelemvor]

hundred dives
South west fl. Are you diving caves in a drysuit pushing doubles and a stage or two?

Very soon, yes. I'm doing academics for cave right now. Dry suit and sidemount double 108's, and an al40 deco bottle (well, at least until it's dropped).

 

[Tortuga68]

Unless you have clown feet...