Fins for Cavern and possibly beyond?

[contender]

I have Avanti Quattro fins right now. I have been diving with them for a year, they have worked great and really held up well. My fiancee and I will be signing up for a cavern class soon and although my fins would suffice for the class I am taking, I was wondering if it would be benificial to pick up some jets.

My question about the jets is this. As I dont have a lot of extra money, if I end up going past cavern into intro or full cave, I will defiantly be acquiring some new equipment. I would prefer to buy equipment that will work with my current setup, as well as future setups. Can the jets be worn with wetsuit dive boots as well as drysuit boots? If so I assume I would need to get a fairly large size (i wear an 11 shoe). Would getting a large size for a drysuit in the future make it uncomfortable for a wetsuit now?

The reason I am even considering different fins is because it is difficult for me to do some of the kicking styles required for close quarters/silty areas.

My only other issue with the jets is that from what i have read they are pretty heavy, which is good for diving dry. The problem I have now however is i already have heavy legs with my current setup and have to slide my steel tank pretty far up to get proper trim. I assume if I got the heavier fins it would amplify this problem. Again, if i decided to go on i would swap to a bp/w which would probably help, right now i have a rear inflation bc.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Most any fin will work. Just make sure it's fairly stiff to propel you with doubles, etc. I would install spring straps on them. I use 2 different kinds Dive Rite and Jet Fins, Jet fins are used when diving wet. Leave the Force fins alone.

 

[Underwater Ogre]

Again, everyone has their own opinion. Personally I wouldn't buy anything other then a Force Fin. But I do dive current with a drysuit, sling 30cuft and a full video system so I guess the Force Fins Pros wouldn't work for cave diving. hmmm?

Good luck

 

[SparticleBrane]

Here is a comparison of Jet fin length from dry to wet suit. In pic one, I am dry with XL Jets. In pic two, I am holding my Med Jets for wet.

Just out of curiosity, what size feet do you have? I can't see how you can switch from medium jets (which my twig of a girlfriend wears) to XL's. I know the boots make a big difference, but...sheesh.

I only use XL's and I have a size 12 foot. I attempted to use my girlfriend's medium Jets one day in the pool. They barely fit on my feet and I felt like I was going to break them.

 

[scblade27]

do you dive wet or dry or both? If both, do you have 2 different sets of fins?

 

[mempilot]

Great thanks. Thats the problem I am running into, too many options. It seems like DUI makes the top quality dry suits.

This is highly subjective and many feel there are better suits for about $500 less. They do have a nice selection and diversity, but do a search on some tech forums for DUI and pinhole and make up your own mind. Some love'm. Some hate'm.

I am a believer in buying right the first time instead of buying twice.

Touche my friend.

Hopefully as we get into the cavern stuff I can find people to let me try out their different gear. It seems no matter how much you read, there are still just tons of options.

You should have no problem finding someone to loan you set of Jets to try out. Especially in cave country. Heck, a shop will rent you set for the day. If you make it down this way, you can try a set of mine if you'd like. If you buy a set used, you can turn and sell them again at no loss one year later if you don't like them. They are for most intensive purposes, ageless.

As for all the options, I believe 80% percent of them are just copies and clones of what works. The stuff that is different is what I tend to be weiry of. It's hard to improve significantly on tried and true dive gear. What evolves in my opinion is philosophy and technique. There are products that have come out to capatilize on this though. Dive Rite seems to have a very good line of gear revolving around this shift in philosophy and technique. I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything from their catalog with the exception of just a few things.

 

[mempilot]

Just out of curiosity, what size feet do you have?

Size 8 US Male

I can't see how you can switch from medium jets (which my twig of a girlfriend wears) to XL's. I know the boots make a big difference, but...sheesh.

The blades are the biggest difference in size. The boot size does make a big difference. Wet, I wear a very thin form fitted neoprene boot. Dry, I have the equivelent of ski socks surrounded by a large rubber boot. If I were to measure the circumferance around the them both, you'd be amazed at the difference.

I only use XL's and I have a size 12 foot. I attempted to use my girlfriend's medium Jets one day in the pool. They barely fit on my feet and I felt like I was going to break them.

There is a big difference between a size 8 foot and a size 12 foot. I wouldn't expect you to be able to get into a Medium. I'm only 5'8" tall. I'm guessing you are about 6'2" or taller??

 

[scblade27]

I really appreciate all your information, this has been very helpful.

Not to threadjack my own thread here, but you say if I were to look into the dry suit game a good place to start would be DUI and any other suggestions?

 

[mempilot]

I really appreciate all your information, this has been very helpful.

Not to threadjack my own thread here, but you say if I were to look into the dry suit game a good place to start would be DUI and any other suggestions?

Right up the road from you my friend is a well known company called Dive Rite. Their 905 is a great drysuit and quite a bit less than a DUI. You could go get custom fitted at Cave Excursions or any of a number of shops in the High Springs area.

I dive an Otter/Zeagle, made in the UK but distributed from FL for the US market. I'll be replacing it soon with either a DR 905, a Viking/Trelleborg X-Treme, or I'm checking out a Pinnacle as well.

 

[scblade27]

Awesome, thanks a lot. I will definitely start to check those out so when the time comes I can make some sort of informed decision.

 

[Mitchell]

For the first time I've found a fin that works for both my dry suit bare trek boot size 12 and my henderson size 12 wetsuit boot. OMS Slipstreams all the way. They are lighter and perform just as good as my Jets did. They even look like them. The pocket size has been perfect for both. Also with Springs they are just about neutral in salt.