Fins - Does it really make a difference?

[*Floater*]

Ok, so I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but does fin chioce really make a huge difference?

I mean, apart from competition swimming or diving against the most torrent drift dives, is there much point in spending over the odds for the most technologically advanced pair of fins on the market?

Just curious.

Apart from fit and comfort, your fin choice can have a major impact on your ability to perform alternate kicks (frogkick, backkick, helicopter turn,...), your gas consumption, speed, maneuverability and trim.

But as others have said, "the most technologically advanced pair of fins on the market" (most expensive) doesn't necessarily mean better, so be careful about the hype in the ads. Most DIR divers, for example, still use the scubapro jetfins that have been around since the mid-60's (or turtles if jets don't fit) - but DIR divers also use the frogkick almost exclusively. On the other hand, split fins and force fins also have their advocates too...

 

[Dive-aholic]

I don't think there's much "technology" to fins, at least not like some of the manufacturers claim. Technologically advanced just means you're going to pay more.

But there is a difference in how fins perform. Personally, I'm also a jet fins user (and I got mine free). I also have a few other pairs sitting around in the garage. The most I paid for any one pair was $15 including shipping. However, jets aren't for everyone. My wife can't dive them because they're too heavy for her and put her in a head up orientation. Even after changing tank position, etc, the jets drag her feet down. Light fins allow her to stay horizontal.

Aside from those, the main differences in fins are the splits vs. paddles. You'll find supporters of both. I've used both and I prefer the paddle fins. They provide me with better maneuverability and control than the splits did. They allow me to expend less energy than the splits did.

 

[mwhities]

I'm 6' 6" and 315lbs (mostly fat) and I had a pair of Volo's. I thought that these were great. After I dove in Cozumel and Belize, I figured out that I'm to strong or to heavy for them. Here is a picture of how the fins bend to much. I know that should accelerate me through the water, but it doesn't. Plus in Cozumel, I couldn't even fin into a slow current to see what the DM was trying to show me.

This weekend I went to Alabama Blue Water Adventure and tried a pair of Jets. Talking about different. I was able to last longer with with the Jets than with the Volos. My first dive was for 31 minutes with the Volos. The second dive with Jets was 38 and than the third was 40 minutes with Jets. I could tell that I had more propulsion with the Jets than the Volos. Only thing I could think of why my time was better was that I would kick once with the Jets and I moved forward more than if I had the Volos on. I would constantly kick with the Volos and that'd cause me to suck more air down.

Michael

 

[BuoyantC]

I don't want to steer this off on a tangent, but someone suggested getting full foot fins. This is pretty much going to limit you to warm water boat dives. Open heels are much more versatile.

I've seen some of the DM's here use full foot fins for shore dives, but they are very clever at wading out over coral in flip-flops and changing out, tucking the flip-flops in their BC's. I can't do it and wouldn't recommend it to holiday divers.

Dennis

 

[TheTrickster]

In answer to your question:

Yes, fins do make a difference, however:

I feel its about getting used to a pair and adapting your finning to that fin...

 

[Jimmer]

As an example I'm a former competitive cyclist, and my legs are big, and solid muscle, at my last pool session my instructor told me to try out his new Cressi's, which he claimed to be quite stiff. I folded those things over so easily, no matter how I tried to kick in them, conversly, he felt my Beauchat X-Jets were like pieces of plywood on his feet. Moral of the story, try things out, and if you find fins that you just love, pay the money for them, you'll be happier in the end.

 

[ClayJar]

There are many types of fins, not one of which is best in every conceivable situation. It falls to each person to choose appropriately for their style of diving (and, to a lesser extent, their physical constraints).

If you're doing a lot of quarry, lake, and spring diving -- the style of diving that most often describes me -- you really have no reason to care about speed. Of vastly greater importance is precise control. Non-silting kicks are also of great significance. The control afforded by Jets and the ease with which they can be used for non-silting kicks combine to make them the perfect fin for me. The wearing-yourself-out, cramping-calves problems are irrelevant, as you're really not going anywhere, so a little kick here, a little kick there, and that's about it.

If I were doing a divemaster-led drift dive in warm, tropical waters, perhaps I would go with some type of split fin, from which I could gain both in ease of use and top speed, but that would be a vastly different style of diving with vastly different requirements.

 

[lmorin]

For more than you probably want to know about comparing fins, click HERE . The bottom line is that it is not a simple task to discriminate between "good" and "less good" fins and it is very hard to determine what's "best." Personal taste, use and physique differences may play a big role.

 

[EvaL]

I think it pretty much depends on your kicking style (for example, flutter, bicycle or frog kicks, and small continuous kicks or big kicks with rest) and your physiology (such as muscle type - sprinter or long-distance muscles), and there might be differences between kicking on the surface (face-up or face-down) or underwater as well. Overall, Grier (in Imorin's post above) and Rodale's Scuba Diving seem to concur that splitfins are marginally more efficient for flutter kicks underwater.
I use smaller flutter kicks and my muscles don't like big, hard kicking, so I like splitfins best. I have owned at least one of the major types - a stiff paddle fin, a flexible paddle fin, Forcefin (Pro) and splitfins (Tusa X-Pert Zoom). The paddle fins are gone now (gave me cramps). I use the forcefins for shorediving (they are more powerful in the surf and don't get scratched as much) and the splitfins for boat diving (more eficient over long distances).
Dive safely.

 

[djanni]

Ok, so I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but does fin chioce really make a huge difference?

I mean, apart from competition swimming or diving against the most torrent drift dives, is there much point in spending over the odds for the most technologically advanced pair of fins on the market?

Just curious.

Fins make a big difference.

Scubapro's latest and greatest is their updated "Twin Jet" split fins. They still sell the old paddle style Jet's but it looks like all the R&D is going into splits.

Reading some of the other posts people talk about matching the fin to ones leg strength. Makes me wonder why that would be important. Could they really be saying paddle fins require more leg strength to get the same result??? I imagine that's the case.

They say the frog kick is desirable in silt situations (caves, wrecks and apparantly the PNW) because the fin is further away from the bottom. They say a paddle fin works better with a frog kick but I wouldn't know for sure but I can say that when I try to frog kick with my splits I move forward.

There is some interesting reading at http://www.scubadiving.com/fins

I dive with Atomic Split's - the original yellow ones.