FASTEST fins for SNORKELING and surface Activities

[Mario Chow]

Hi,
I am a videographer for UW activities such as whale shark tours and I seriously need the FASTEST fins in the market for surface activities. It's extremely tiring trying to be in front of customers all the time, specially when they are in the water for 15 mins intervals and I'm floating for 2 hours.

I was using the Tusa Imprex, and they worked fine until they got flabby after about a year of rough use. I tried 2 diferent fins last week:

• "Scubapro Twin Jet" felt really light, you don't have to make much effort, however they are not fast.
• "Twin jet pro" Felt just like the full blade Tusa Imprex. At least as fast, however I was not able to frogkick with these efficiently since they are split fins.

Without going much into detail there are 4 meta options:

• Full blade fins
• Power fins
• Split Fins
• Freediving long blade fins.

Remember that being in the Surface is a determining factor since you are usually kicking on top of the surface (even when you try not to). That's why I would discard the powerfins.

Anyone has experince on this?

Regards.

 

[Bellaco]

I am pretty fast in my SeaWing Novas without noticable fatigue

 

[danvolker]

Hi,
I am a videographer for UW activities such as whale shark tours and I seriously need the FASTEST fins in the market for surface activities. It's extremely tiring trying to be in front of customers all the time, specially when they are in the water for 15 mins intervals and I'm floating for 2 hours.

I was using the Tusa Imprex, and they worked fine until they got flabby after about a year of rough use. I tried 2 diferent fins last week:

• "Scubapro Twin Jet" felt really light, you don't have to make much effort, however they are not fast.
• "Twin jet pro" Felt just like the full blade Tusa Imprex. At least as fast, however I was not able to frogkick with these efficiently since they are split fins.

Without going much into detail there are 4 meta options:

• Full blade fins
• Power fins
• Split Fins
• Freediving long blade fins.

Remember that being in the Surface is a determining factor since you are usually kicking on top of the surface (even when you try not to). That's why I would discard the powerfins.

Anyone has experince on this?

Regards.

Without question the fastest would be DiveR Freedive fins....the biggest question is which stiffness is best suited to your muscles and aerobic base.
They have 3 versions. See DiveR Australia: Equipment Most likely you would go with the soft one or the medium, unless you are the equivalent in fitness and power to a competive cyclist at a high level...in which case the hardest stiffness version would be your choice.
There are plenty of freedive fins which are not efficient on the surface, but the DiveR's have the right design for them to be highly efficient even on the surface.

These fins will actually create something like a "gear change" by allowing you to change kick shape, and have this throw them to a bigger gear....the very highest speeds with a high frequency low amplitude kind of oscillating kick....normal freedive kicks are low frequency and high amplitude....( I have a pair of medium and a pair of the hardest ones)
Next best would be the C4 Mustangs, which are much softer than the DiveR's, and actually quite fragile( you would not dare ever doing a giant stride entry with them).
With the DiveR's( either medium or hardest) I can keep up with a gavin scooter( high end cave scooter) for 5 minutes or so

With the diveR's, I could probably drag a person wearing Scubapro Twin Jets faster than the average diver could swim at full speed using the Twin Jets

I believe Mako makes a very fast fin also from feedback from some friends of mine, but I have yet to try a pair.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

We would recommend that you take a look at our selection of fins.

If you are looking for the very best performance, our fiberglass blades, coupled with a full foot fin pocket may be exactly what you are looking for.

99.9% of serious freedivers and spearfisherman (who use bi-fins) are going to select a full foot fin. This type of footpocket supports the foot best and allows the best transfer of energy. In addition, there is no additional drag generated by a buckle and stap arrangement as is necessary with an open heel fin. Another, not so obvious benefit of a closed heel (full foot fin) in that there is nothing to entangle fishing line or rope. If you are pulling a float or working around lines, you know how easy it is to get a piece of line caught on a buckle.

Our fiberglass fins come in several hardness options and different colors too. If you are going to be swimming for long durations and are less than 200 lbs, we would suggest the medium or soft blades. The fiberglass composite blades are extremely efficient because when they flex, they store energy which is subseqently released.


MAKO Long and Extra Long Green Camo Competition Fiberglass Fins

 

[smellzlikefish]

See above. When I was doing swim surveys for marine debris, the people with the long blades were far and away the fastest swimmers. Those with split fins were by far the slowest.

 

[Mario Chow]

Thanks for all the information guys.

So, what everyone agrees on here is that free diving fins are the way to go. This discards splitfins, powerfins, and most regular full blade fins.

DiveR
Mako
Sea Wing Novas from Scubapro (not freediving)

Now, I went to the DIveR website and they don't even seem to have it complete.... I couldnt tell if I could buy right there, pricing or where in the world do they ship.
I know most of them are full feet fins, and I am wary about ordering a pair online since I would like to try them first. And the shipping cost to Mexico would be a pain...

Mako Spearguns:
Do you happen to have a distributor in Mexico?
Are the Makos good for the surface as well?


Again, thanks for all the useful information.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Agreed, the Nova is a fast fin for flutter kicking.
I've used them in the pool for underwater lap practice. They are pretty fast and smooth, especially once you load them up and hit their sweet spot.

The Novas aren't as good as free diving fins for the underwater stuff as my Cressi Garas or Mares Razors, but for shore entry/surface snorkling where you would be wearing a boot, the Novas are a good choice.

If you are diving from sandy shores, then a full foot free diving fin might be the way to go.
Just another aspect to consider.

I am pretty fast in my SeaWing Novas without noticable fatigue

 

[danvolker]

Thanks for all the information guys.

So, what everyone agrees on here is that free diving fins are the way to go. This discards splitfins, powerfins, and most regular full blade fins.

DiveR
Mako
Sea Wing Novas from Scubapro (not freediving)

Now, I went to the DIveR website and they don't even seem to have it complete.... I couldnt tell if I could buy right there, pricing or where in the world do they ship.
I know most of them are full feet fins, and I am wary about ordering a pair online since I would like to try them first. And the shipping cost to Mexico would be a pain...

Mako Spearguns:
Do you happen to have a distributor in Mexico?
Are the Makos good for the surface as well?


Again, thanks for all the useful information.

Hi ,
The DiveR's come as a blade, that can be inserted into many full foot pockets, and several open heel. While with 99% of freedive fins I have used has the full foot as structurally superior for power transfer for the big freediving blades, the medium hardness and hardest DiveR blades have too much torque for any full foot pocket on the market, and the only good choice that does not fold up is the Riffe Silent Hunter open heel pocket ( which is almost a hybrid full foot and open, but does require a real bootie, and will allow use with a dry suit).

You would really want a freedive shop to make the "marriage" for you if you went with the Silent HUnter pockets, because it requires a special glueing. Florida Freedivers does a great job of this, and you can buy from them, and have them assemble, glue and ship....see https://www.flfreedivers.com/store/index.php?cPath=218_216&osCsid=hs96clegl8hloveoo82k7tttr4

If this is disconcerting, then I would think the model that Mako has that is closest to the DiveR, would be the easiest way to go.

Avoid the Novas....they are not in the same league as freedive fins for what you want. See them in action in this video on a photographer freediving with me in a bait ball.....notice how much over flex he has, and the problem he is having going anywhere with them....and that the other diver using just the old style Force Fins is better off.....You can't see me( I am shooting the video) but you should be able to tell that my DiveR's are giving me speed and range totally off the chart compared to the Novas or the origonal Force Fins ( the Orignal Force Fins were not made for freediving, but even so are better than many scuba fins and all split fins).
[video=youtube_share;ZTdpxYSiv5M]http://youtu.be/ZTdpxYSiv5M?hd=1[/video]
One minute and 40 seconds in you can see both of these divers and how their fins are working, but you might want to see what comes before this, to see the differance I am getting with DiveR blades. The section dealing with this ends at about 2:05 in to the video, and right at this ending you can see how pathetically the Novas are folding up with just a little power being applied by an athletic diver. There is actually a ton of raw footage that shows the diver with the novas and how much they fold up, but I would need to render these clops and upload to you tube....I think this shows the problem, even though there is not a lot of time seeing it.