How do you judge or form an opinion on gear you have not tried?

[JeffG]

Funny. Most accidents happen on the surface as we enter/exit the water. I would think PARTICULAR attention should be given to this in terms of skills and equipment.

Well, I didn't say never. I just said I would think twice.

But look at the word I bolded in your quote. What part of that has anything to do with "Opinion of gear"?

and if we go farther? what gear are you thinking of that "saves" us on the surface?

 

[RonFrank]

Gear is not difficult to judge. Try it, and either buy it, or don't??

With the flip fins, it's hands down do you dive in conditions that make it difficult to remove the fins before having to walk out onto the beach. If the answer to that question is yes, then the next logical progression is do these fins work well for you?

I don't dive a BP/W because it's cool, I do so because it's heavy! I DON'T dive a BP/W for travel because I have a nice light travel BC, and my BP/STA combo is over 12lbs, so not so good for travel.

Gear decisions are just not all that difficult. Sure some things come along that defy the norm, but it's not difficult to judge these things, go try them out!

 

[Melicertes]

 

[UncleJoes]

There is the right way and the other.

by other you mean your way?

 

[The Chairman]

Well, I didn't say never. I just said I would think twice.

But look at the word I bolded in your quote. What part of that has anything to do with "Opinion of gear"?

and if we go farther? what gear are you thinking of that "saves" us on the surface?

The WHOLE POINT of the Flip Fin was to make exits and entrances easier. Didja miss that? Then there are BCs. I first learned to dive without them (or an SPG). I didn't die and I never got hit by fire coral either. Using your thought process then, who needs either?

 

[JeffG]

by other you mean your way?

Nope...Its a play on term DIR.

 

[JeffG]

I want to add a step to my list

1: What problem does this piece of gear solve?
2: What additional problems does it add when it is used?
3: Can the problem be solved by another piece of gear?
4: Can the problem be solved by a change in skill?
5: Is the problem caused by a previous gear selection?

Weighing the pro's and con's you should arrive at a reasonable solution.

(and here is the additional real life issue)

6: Cost/Benefit


Important Note: The answers to Points 1-5 might not be apparent until the piece of gear has been used in the water.

5: Is the problem caused by a previous gear selection?

 

[Melicertes]

Ok, my concern about the Amphibian fins, and no I've not tried them out, is that my wife and I do surf entries a lot here in SoCal. I have nothing against innovation providing solutions to problems and certainly can see that, for one thing, with the flipups there's no more need to put fins on on the beach and waddle back first towards the water (a very bad idea IMHO anyway) as you enter the surf to go dive (we always only put our fins on after we've entered past the breakers). Ok, so the flipups solves at least one issue: now I could potentially watch the waves face to face, so to speak, as I enter, but I still have a problem: Those waves are often quite strong and I can just not see how an increased surface area in front of my shins is going to help me, or my wife, stand any more solid in the sand as we make our way slowly past the breakers. My logic then is - increased surface area = a lot more risk of having your feet taken out from under you (and I hope you have your regulator (not your snorkel) in your mouth as the Maytag spin cycle will just have started then for you. I agree that this is my subjective opinion in that I do mostly shore dives these days and this shapes a lot of my opinion towards this product. I could see this being a product boat divers could potentially love however; provided it's hinges are reliable and strong and does not worry about sand/other gunk getting trapped in it's swivel mechanism but with proper care I suppose that's true for any gear.

The bottom line is - for the majority of my type of diving I think I'd spend the $$ on something else, like getting a spare battery for my video camera when I donate my apparently useless non-USDOT stamped tank to Mythbusters for a Boom!

 

[JeffG]

The WHOLE POINT of the Flip Fin was to make exits and entrances easier. Didja miss that?

another thread bubbalouie...Didja miss that?

I haven't read the thread because its in the "I couldn't care less pile", but I will give you my two cents because you can't seem to separate threads.

I would hazard a guess that this fin offers some above water convenience, with the loss of some in water performance.

Big woop...if you need it...you need it. I doubt its going to kill ya. But if you don't need it, I wouldn't recommend it.

Then there are BCs. I first learned to dive without them (or an SPG). I didn't die and I never got hit by fire coral either. Using your thought process then, who needs either?

Woooooooosh

 

[BarryNL]

I agree ... but the answer to ANY of the above is subjective ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Not really. To take the flip-up fins, I think it's a pretty objective opinion that the piviot points and the catches on the fins are potential failure points. You are therefore adding an extra 6 potential failure points to your equipment by using them (plus, they seem to have a strange button on, so maybe more). That seems like a pretty objective observation, and reponse to Jeff's second point, to me.