Fins, Fins and more fins!

[avfcmichael]

Hi all,

I am looking at purchasing my first pair of fins, but I am stuck with the dilemma!

I need ones that are going to be ok for me in cold UK water and also good for me to take on holiday with me into the warm water.

I have been looking at the Apeks RK3's - do you think this will do me fine?

An what other bits of equipment would you suggest - i.e. Fin Socks/boots for warm water.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

Hi all,

I am looking at purchasing my first pair of fins, but I am stuck with the dilemma!

I need ones that are going to be ok for me in cold UK water and also good for me to take on holiday with me into the warm water.

I have been looking at the Apeks RK3's - do you think this will do me fine?

An what other bits of equipment would you suggest - i.e. Fin Socks/boots for warm water.

The Mares Avanti Quattro is a good all-rounder for UK diving but also light enough for foreign travel. Also come with sprung straps, instead of buckles, which I would definitely recommend you getting. Heard good things about the Apeks RK3, but not sure about the weight.

I use Hollis F1's, but they are very heavy, especially in XXL, so not practical for holidays.

If wearing a wetsuit all open healed find will require booties.

 

[avfcmichael]

The Mares Avanti Quattro is a good all-rounder for UK diving but also light enough for foreign travel. Also come with sprung straps, instead of buckles, which I would definitely recommend you getting. Heard good things about the Apeks RK3, but not sure about the weight.

I use Hollis F1's, but they are very heavy, especially in XXL, so not practical for holidays.

If wearing a wetsuit all open healed find will require booties.

Thanks for the advice - I will put them on my list to review.

Looks like they are about 2kg in weight for the pair & the RK3's are around 2.5kg a pair!

 

[Neilwood]

Similar to @Graeme Fraser I use Hollis F1's at home but I wouldn't consider them suitable for holiday use - far too heavy for taking as luggage. Something like the Mares Avanti Quadros always get pretty good reviews.

I would tend to stick to a proven, straightforward design without gimmicks as they tend to give the best overall performance. I made, in hindsight, a mistake buying Mares Xstreams - while being great for propulsion, they are not very good for manoeuvrability. They are very light but the flexible "channel thrust technology" translucent middle section and hinge design make for very easy forward progress but make it very hard to achieve accurate manoeuvres. Trying to back fin or do a tight turn are very difficult.

 

[aquacat8]

It’s a really personal choice like shoes. I’m a huge proponent of Scubapro Jet Fins, and since I am small I wear a “medium”, which is their smallest size; in this size they are BETTER for travel because they are short/compact. They don’t weigh that much more than others, and for warm water, swimming in a bikini I find the booties and jet fins cancel each other out and feel neutral. In full scuba gear they solved my light feet issue. I just got rid of my other two pairs of scuba fins and I’m going to buy another pair of jet fins. For me this is an “accept no substitutes” thing!!

What I really like about them is the foot pocket, which is funny because for years I read people complaining about the foot pocket. They do require a break in period , like good boots, then they are yours! I like that the underside of the foot pocket leaves the heel free, which enables me to point my toe like a ballet dancer without the heel compacting my Achilles tendon where I once had an injury from another pair of fins. I also prefer them with the original rubber straps, again for my tendons. Massage thick silicone lube into them all over and they are no problem to adjust and look sexy!

Importantly the pocket is soft enough to conform to the foot, yet firm enough to drive the fin. No other tech fins that I know of have this heel free design. I had cut the heels out of my other fins but this left an uncomfortable hard edge and sacrificed performance. There is a reason these have been THE tech fin for over 50 years.

 

[aquacat8]

P.S. I suspect many people that complained about the foot pocket never broke theirs in. For me this took at least three sessions of lap swimming for 45 minutes to an hour each time. When I first got them there was a little bit of foot cramping but after the break in period suddenly they became super comfortable!

If you are concerned about weight that’s another reason to skip the springs. Again, lube solves the strap adjustment problem.

 

[avfcmichael]

P.S. I suspect many people that complained about the foot pocket never broke theirs in. For me this took at least three sessions of lap swimming for 45 minutes to an hour each time. When I first got them there was a little bit of foot cramping but after the break in period suddenly they became super comfortable!

If you are concerned about weight that’s another reason to skip the springs. Again, lube solves the strap adjustment problem.

Thank you very much for your advice.

 

[Sbiriguda]

The Mares Avanti Quattro

My favorite too...the main alternative would be the "jet fin" type which has quite different features
Mares has several patents for the specific type of plastic, the 4 channels, the bungee strap, etc. etc.
Anyway frankly speaking, what really makes the difference in a fin is probably the skills of the diver...most of nowadays fins of the Avanti 4 type are relatively similar one to the other

 

[Gjoyce3]

For the all rounder - I have two suggestions.
In the jet fin style, look at the Deep 6 Eddy fins. They are a bit lighter than the jet fins I have held, with a similar power profile. I have taken my XLs (1125 gms) on trips a couple of time. I tried the RK3, but the stock ones were too floppy for me - not enough thrust in a drysuit - with smallish foot pockets (I have big feet). Apeks has come out with a stiffer version since that buddy of mine seems to like a lot for drysuit diving.

My second suggestion would be to take a look at the Force Fins. I use the Excellerating and Hockey fins. The Excellerating is kinda of a hybrid flutter/frog kicking fin while the Hockey fin is, at least for me, a frog kick fin. Either fin would be great for double duty as primary/travel fins. One nice thing about the force fin is the inserts that allows the use of the fins in two sizes (rockboots/booties or booties/bare feet).

 

[blake7]

Best info on buoyancy of some of the fins being discussed that I have found.

http://www.tfmengineering.com.au/Fins testing report.pdf