Fin Advice

[LoCz]

I have nearly come to a decision on all aspects of my new set of gear. One thing which i arnt too sure about are fins. I want to make sure i dont buy any fins which are too rigid basically. Unfortuanately though i need to buy some fins before i take my OW course. Try before you buy is obviously the best way to go but i fear that i am going to be unable to do that. I read alot of fin reviews and on the basis of these reviews i see myself buying some Mares avanti quattros. iv also heard good things about scubapro split fins too. Does anyone think that perhaps the quattros would be too rigid for me as a new diver? Afterall, i want energy efficient fins. I need to bear in mind though that i may be going to florida to train as an instructor as early as October 2001. I mean are split fins good for instructors, in an emergency i may need to save someone so i would need fins that can provide power when needed. or then again am i wrong to think in this way. I dunno but any advice is good advice so please post

 

[rainreg]

Hello LoCz, although past and present fin selection has been personnel choice there is a method to the madness.

1. Do your research (which sounds like you
have already started)

2. Choose your fins based on the type of diving
you will be doing (as an instructor your style
of diving will vary) therefore it is a wise
decision to buy 2 types of fins that cover a
wide variety of diving then as you gains
proficiency in diving and instruction. You can
then make your final selection that best fits
your needs.

I hope this advice helps you out and if you need more input feel free to post again. Good luck and let me know what you decide to do.

rainreg

 

[LoCz]

Thx rainreg but theres no way i can afford 2 pairs ;-O

 

[rainreg]

I can understand that. the only recourse is to evaluate the style / type of diving you intend to do. try out a few pairs of fins to verify the claims made by the reveiws and make sure that they meet your expectations. good luck and safe diving.

rainreg

 

[Rick Murchison]

Fin revues rarely rate fins on anything other than straight ahead propulsion. If you are going to instruct or take pictures or dive in caves or inside wrecks, you need to consider other things like physical size and skulls and flicks and such.. The new genre of split fins and hinged fins are wonderful, easy on the legs propulsion devices.
Personally, I use Frogs in open water, and good old Jetfins in tight quarters.
Rick

 

[Warhammer]

Are your leg muscles in fairly good shape? If not, then you may have a little soarness with the Quatros the first few times you use them. There not the stiffest fin out there, but they aren't the most flexible either. Either way though, sounds like you intend on alot of diving in the near future(going from OW to Instructor in 10 months?), so you should be fine with them. I currently use a pair of Genesis Aquaflex fins which are identical to the Mares Plana Avanti. The only difference in them and the Quatro is that the Quatro has 2 more channels and is higher.

 

[Mario S Caner]

As a person whom has sold both, and tried both in real world diving conditions, I can with confidence ask that you look more closely at the Genesis vs Mares fins. A good way to test this is to have both fins side by side, and grab the tip and pull back to simulate a fin kick. You will find that the Aquaflex buckles at the primary supports, suggesting that the fin will be counter-productive when over-kicked. It's suprisingly too easy to over-kick them in real world conditions rendering the kick totally useless. Given a choice between the two, the Mares is a clear winner.

There are more different types of fins out there than just about any other peice of gear. What's right for you may be different than anyone elses choices, just don't pick something cheap. A bad fin choice will result in more workload which will lead to more air consumption, which in turn will reduce your bottom time, while increasing your fatigue rate.

Mario

 

[LoCz]

Wow this board is great ...instant advice

Thanks alot guys. Warhammer yep from OW to instructor in 10-15 months time. You think this is bad maybe?

Er i used to do alot of cross country running as a kid,also i played ice hockey semi proffessionally at one point so i guess i have strong leg muscles yes, i also did taekwondo
for 2 years so iv got pretty supple legs also. Problem is i havnt exercised now regularly for about 4 years : /

 

[Warhammer]

Originally posted by LoCz
Wow this board is great ...instant advice

Thanks alot guys. Warhammer yep from OW to instructor in 10-15 months time. You think this is bad maybe?

Er i used to do alot of cross country running as a kid,also i played ice hockey semi proffessionally at one point so i guess i have strong leg muscles yes, i also did taekwondo
for 2 years so iv got pretty supple legs also. Problem is i havnt exercised now regularly for about 4 years : /

To soon? For me, it would be, but then again I have no desire to teach scuba or anything else. Mainly due to my impatience and liability issues. But still, even 15 months from non-diver to diver instructor sounds a little impractical to me, unless maybe your actually working somewhere in the industry and that allows you to dive quiet a bit. But maybe I just tend to hold most instructors to high on a pedastal and the thought of someone obtaining that "rank" so fast blows my mind.

As for your legs, I think you'd be fine with the Quatros, but the best advice I can give you is test different ones and pick the ones that are best for you. Use this forum and other avenues to narrow down your choices. Try those and go from there. I know you said you needed them before the class started, so that may limit your time somewhat. I've also noted that your doing alot of online pricing of gear, not that it's bad, and that may limit your testing options a little. For instance, you can't drive down the road to Simplyscuba.com and test out a few styles of fins. That's where an established relationship with a local dive shop comes in handy. Will they allow Joe Blow who walks in off the street, whom they've never seen before, to try out a new pair of Atomic Splitfins? Probably not, but if they know you and know that if you like them you'll most likely buy them, then most shop owners would be more than happy to allow you to try them. Well I'm rambling and have gotten off the subject, so I'll stop.

 

[Warhammer]

I never really did a side to side comparison of the 2. I did see that Rodale's gave the Mares line better ratings than the Genesis, but thought that was strange. Hey they look the same, built by the same people(or so I was told), doesn't that count?

If you keep downing my gear choices, I'll have a new setup soon. All I have to do is say, "Look, Honey, Mario says so."LOL. Doubt that'll work.