Hollis F2s

[RonFrank]

I have a pair of Manta Ray fins and they have a Very similar design. They are a smooth finish and were nice looking when new if you can call a fin nice. OK a bit dorky! The white did not stay white long, and they now look dirty. Any other color would look good longer than the white. I have had mine for 5 years or so.

I visited the factory where they are made, and after talking with John Wagner (co owner) we learned the molds are very expensive. It is a two piece injection mold. At the time we visited they had three molds for three sizes. Unlike Hollis the APS are made in the USA. They are so similar I have to wonder. The APS have a standard buckle post that I attached spring straps on. The Hollis have built in spring straps.

I paid $90 for the APS. The Hollis are $160 and made in China. APS may no longer be in business, I can not tell.

From a performance standpoint they work well with all the traditional kicks, and are very lightweight for travel.

 

[buddhasummer]

I have a pair of Manta Ray fins and they have a Very similar design. They are a smooth finish and were nice looking when new if you can call a fin nice. OK a bit dorky! The white did not stay white long, and they now look dirty. Any other color would look good longer than the white. I have had mine for 5 years or so.

I visited the factory where they are made, and after talking with John Wagner (co owner) we learned the molds are very expensive. It is a two piece injection mold. At the time we visited they had three molds for three sizes. Unlike Hollis the APS are made in the USA. They are so similar I have to wonder. The APS have a standard buckle post that I attached spring straps on. The Hollis have built in spring straps.

I paid $90 for the APS. The Hollis are $160 and made in China. APS may no longer be in business, I can not tell.

From a performance standpoint they work well with all the traditional kicks, and are very lightweight for travel.

I think you are mistaken the F2s are not made in China they are made in the USA. I paid and have only seen them sold at $129. APS is still in business, Hollis did a deal with them I believe.

 

[JTinSD]

I bought APS Mantarays after John Wagner lent me a pair when I dived on the HMCS Yukon with him. I found them easy for frog kicking and highly maneuverable in the overhead environment and thought they would be good travel fins. They have proved to be so.

I was on a boat in Cozumel during the Scubaboard Invasion and another diver noticed them, and said that Hollis had bought APS Mantaray. I'm not saying it's so, but the source was someone well placed in the industry, and whose opinion I respect. They sure look just like the Hollis F2, maybe the Hollis rep can shed some light.

I dived some cenotes, and the APS Mantarays were perfect, especially for Pet Cemetery, max depth 17 ft, avg depth 13 ft. Easy to maneuver the tight spaces, well suited for hovering. On the shallower Palancar dives with mild current, they were great, too.

But, occasionally the current on deeper Cozumel sites was ripping, and I was wishing for my Mares Avanti Quattros. I had a similar experience in the Similans with the smaller fins two years ago, where I felt I could have used more blade surface.

The Mantarays feel somewhat underpowered in strong current to me, but it could be that I am what's underpowered, not the fins! I will continue to pack them, as they are adequate in most situations.

 

[gypsyjim]

[h=2]Hollis F2 preliminary review[/h]

OK, I promised Henrik a review of the Hollis F2 fins when I got them. Here goes nothing.....
nothing terribly accurate, that is.

The new F2's I ordered from Scuba Toys arrived today, and I have been doing a little comparison with my IDI Power Fins, and the 1/2 pair of SP Jet Fins.

First, let me say when the USPS delivery arrived I could not believe there was a pair of fins in the box, it just seemed too light. When I opened the box though, it was the F2'S! That was a good sign, as weight was an issue with the jet style fins for air travel.

I had read on another SB thread that the finish was so-so, to poor on the F2's, but I see no issue at all. Admittedly, I am perfectly content to purchase good, well used gear, such as my Power Fins and the Jet Fin.
Attaching pics for you all to judge, but I see no problem at all with the finish, but then......

, a princess I am not.

Next I decided to weigh the fins. Not terribly accurate, because I had to use the old analog bathroom scales, so I will just say that the pair of F2's together(!!) weigh slightly less than ONE of my Power Fins, or the Jet Fin. (if my scale is anywhere near true, the pair of F2's weighs almost a pound less than just one of either of the other two Jet style fins, which traveling by air is a BIG deal!)

This means the F2's are definitely going to be the ones going to Bonaire next week!

Stiffness: the Jet, the Power fin and the F2 seem very very close. The very tip of both of the two older fins have just a tad more flex than the F2. Really seem extremely close to me. I don't think there will be a lot of difference due to that one tiny area, but we shall see.

I purchased the Medium-Regular size which matches up pretty well with my Power Fins, large, and the fit on my size 11 White Dry suit boot was very much the same as with my Power Fins.

Pics attached of all three fins, plus a side and rear view of the F2 and the Power Fin side by side. Pic #1 is the 3 fins together (l to r, Jet, F2, Power fin), #2 is the Jet and F2, #3 is F2 and Power fin. #4 is reverse side of F2 and Power fin, and pic #5 is a side view of the F2 and Power fin.

All in all, not a terribly scientific review, but so far I am quite satisfied with what I see. In the water? who knows, but I am not the master of the key kicks that the Jet style fins make possible, so my review in that department may be just as unscientific as this one!

Attached Thumbnails

---------- Post Merged at 06:49 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:17 PM ----------

After I posted the highly unprofessional F2 review above, I did notice one difference I had not spotted earlier.

The foot pocket on the F2 Medium-Regular and Large IDI Power Fin are quite similar in size, but the foot pocket on the Large ScubaPro Jet fin is quite a bit smaller looking, so I tried the jet on over my size 11 Whites Dry suit boot, and it was quite a bit tighter a fit, and cramped my toes, unlike either the F2 or the Power Fin.

Pics attached below show the significantly smaller foot pocket on the Jet, compared to the F2 and Power fin, all size Large, although the power fin is not actually marked with a size like the F2 and the jet are.​

Attached Images

---------- Post Merged at 07:17 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:17 PM ----------

I also just noticed that the F2's have two small drain holes near the toe of the foot pocket, which is a nice feature for quickly handling the fins on boat ladders, without having to stop and tip the fin over. My Power and Jet fins lack this hole, and I have been seriously considering drilling my own.