Fin Experience in Bermuda - Blades vs. Tusa Zooms

[Daylonious]

Hi All -

What follows is certainly not a scientific study by any means, just my impressions while on a recent trip to Bermuda.

I took a pair of Tusa Zooms along with my trusty US Divers Blades on a recent trip to go wreck diving in Bermuda. I've heard a lot about split fins and how much easier they are to use in terms of leg fatigue, efficiency, power, etc.. ANYWAY

The first dive, I put on the zooms and as luck would have it (I was using a U/W camera for the first time, so I was eager to get some good shots of the wreck) the guy I'm partnered with is some kinda hellacious triathlete that insists on going full speed from one end of the wreck to the other, around it, through every hole... basically like running a sprint for the entire 45 min of bottom time that we had.

I was diving with 8 pounds of weights, a Deep Outdoors backplate with single tank adapter, 3ml, and 80 al tank.

I couldn't keep up with the guy. I would kick and kick and kick and not even get close to catching up with him.

Next dive, put on my blades, and had no problem keeping up.

When I snorkled with the Zooms, I had a great time, great power, almost no effort for the "return" leg stroke, great propulsion. But in full gear, I felt that I wasn't getting anywhere.

Anyway, just my two cents - I'll stick with my Blades for now.

D.

 

[pescador775]

What to make of that, I have not a clue. The Blades are fairly efficient and rank somewhere in the upper middle of the pack. The Zooms rank higher but are definitely not freediving fins because of the offset blade making surface swimming problematical. However, with SCUBA gear, every one of Scubalab's six test divers achieved higher speeds with Zooms compared with Blades. My buddy swears by his Zooms. I prefer BioPro splits for SCUBA, Oceanic Caribe and Avanti Tre for surface swimming and diving.

 

[Wayward Son]

Did you change your kick method when using the splits?

 

[Daylonious]

Did you change your kick method when using the splits?

Ahh..that could have been it. I wasn't frog kicking with the splits... but still kicking normally should have got me going right?

D.

 

[Wayward Son]

Doubt it. I have NO experience using splits, but everyone I've talked to has said that you must kick differently. If you don't, they don't work well & you'll hate them.

The description given to me is that you need short strokes from the knee. If you try longer strokes, especially powered from the hip (what I've been doing since 1972), the fins don't do well. If you need more speed, the trick is supposed to be higher RPM's, not stronger strokes.

If it were me, I'd try to find someone who uses them that I could get in the water with & learn from. Make sure I know how to use them, then do some comparing.

 

[mdb]

Ahh..that could have been it. I wasn't frog kicking with the splits... but still kicking normally should have got me going right?

D.

Daylonious: I have lifted this quote off our web site. The same principle, as pointed out before, works for the ATOMIC, TUSA, SCUBA-PRO and other split fin versions. a short flutter kick, in the slipstream of your body, should give you plenty of propulsion with far less effort.

Would a stiffer fin be more powerful?
A stiffer fin will give the feel of more power. However, this feeling can be deceptive. Divers have often commented that they cannot feel the fins when kicking and some have equated this with a lack of power. However, if they were diving with others that were not using all rubber split fins more often than not they found themselves far ahead of the pack. The same result has occurred time after time in fin tests. It has been proven that Bio-Fin divers are moving quicker while using less effort and less air!

We have also heard the comment that the PRO is not stiff enough to work well in current / surge. Again look back and see how much effort your buddy is making in comparison to you. If for some reason he is actually ahead then take a moment to consider how you are kicking.

A stiffer fin or paddle type requires a wider kick to get moving. Divers that have used paddle fins or stiffer split fins in the past are conditioned to kick hard and wide when faced with current or surge. Subsequently, they are using much more effort and air to move which decreases comfort reduces time underwater.

The Bio-Fin requires much less effort. A small kick creates a propeller type effect; if your kick is too wide then you will lose the momentum and power the fin is designed to provide. The Bio-Fin series allows you to relax a little. Don't try so hard; it is no longer necessary. The series was designed with the optimum angle, weight, and stiffness. It requires less effort, less air consumption, and will in reality provide far more power and speed than the wide kick required with other fins.

 

[pescador775]

mdb, refreshing to hear a few facts, thanks. I always get a chuckle about the stiff fins/power claims. Harder to pump doesn't mean more thrust. The only fin review that I have seen (one diver involved) wherein a paddle produced as much thrust as the BioPro is the 1999 Divernet test in which the Bio and Quattro tied at 16.8 kg. these being the highest thrusts produced out of a group of twenty some types including jets. I wager the Quattro was demanding a lot more effort, and without the scale to offer proof I bet the diver would have sworn that the Quattro was producing far more "power".

 

[RICHinNC]

I have a pair of zooms....and zoom they dont.

You have to modify your kick to ensure you dont kick outside your slip stream. And, even being very careful about that.....I still was not pleased with them

I find my Mares Avantis are the best for me.

 

[nessum]

I'll take my Blades over splits for diving anyday. Snorkelling I find the splits are great. But the Blades are so responsive, whether I frog kick, flutter kick or any kick I want.

 

[BubbleBunny]

I have Zooms and I gotta admit I fall into the LOVE 'EM :inlove: category. Most of my diving is in the Puget Sound region where we average a 14' tidal exchange twice daily. More than once, I've been caught in kicking current and have been able to make the dive and safely get back to shore. Not to mention, as a dive master, the Zooms make sheparding the students a much less exhausting task.

It is true, you have to change your kicking style a bit. Just think slow and easy...let the fins do all the work. Most divers tend to "overpower" the fins in the beginning. But once you get it, you'll become a believer too. I also dabble in underwater photograph and have found the Zooms a great accessory. I have had no trouble staying stationary on drift dives. I can frog kick inside of wrecks and not stir up a thing. Granted, I believe that's due more to buoyancy, but point being the Zooms can handle different kick patterns. Though I have no problem admitting they are not designed to handle surface fining and the dolphin kicking very well. I have learned to compensate by not breaking the surface while surface swimming and I just don't dolphin kick enough to worry about that one.

My only complaint, they are BIG. Not a problem when diving at home. But man they take up a lot of bag space when you travel. Sigh!! Trade-offs!