How to tell if I'm using the wrong fins for me

[wreckchick]

I just finished my OW cert and I think I hate my fins. That may seem like an odd phrase, but without much to compare the experience to, I don't know whether or not what I experienced was "just the way things are."

I have a pair of avanti x3 fins and after my dives, my legs were tired and crampy and I felt like I was using maximum effort for minimum forward motion.

Do I suck or do my fins suck? If my fins suck, any recommendations in the <$1,000,000 range would be nice. I'm a 5'7", 130ish lb., reasonable fit, strong swimmer with narrow feet and no arch.

Thanks in advance for your sage advice!

Rachel

 

[srkdvr]

:mean:

Oh yeah, try the Scubapro Twin Jet Fins, they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. They are very easy on your legs and everyone who I know that has changed to them no longer get leg cramps and they take a lot less effort to propell you in the water. I love mine, I think they are around $150 to $180.

Rich

 

[Zept]

If you're a strong swimmer, you're probably used to propelling yourself with your arms. Also, the flutter kick most people use for swimming isn't right for fins -- with fins you need to use big, slow strokes, rather than small quick ones. So... it could be that you just aren't used to fins and need to change your technique. OTOH, you might be happier with split fins, which are designed for a flutter-style kick.

Also, do your fins fit? I have narrow feet, and I found the Avanti X3s way too wide. If your feet aren't held securely, you're going to waste a lot of energy, which might explain why you're working hard without going anywhere.

Can you borrow a different pair of fins and see if you notice a difference?

Zept

 

[MightyDiver]

I thought my first fins were just two boards tied to my feet during my OW lessons and certification dive. I also have narrow feet with no arch (nor instep) and I have tried 4 or 5 different fins before I hands-down chose the ScubaPro Twin Jets. Holy Cow what a difference! Feels like virtually no effort and I get maximum speed when needed and they frog kick great as well.

I wear a size 5 boot with the size Small Twin Jets. The fin material is very nice and soft and forms to the boot very well and my foot doesn't move around. I chose the slightly positive buoyancy hi-viz yellow ones and I really like them.

 

[wreckchick]

Thanks to all who have chimed in so far.

I looked around after the positive twinjet comments and have found some vastly differing opinions. I know I'm reopening a huge can of fin worms but since I'll hopefully be doing a lot of ocean diving, one of the concerns with these fins has been working against the current.

Have any of you taken these fins into medium to strong current conditions and how did you fare?

I look forward to your always sage advice.

Rachel

 

[srkdvr]

Rachel,
I will tell you like I tell anyone I talk to about diving and the gear that you buy..... it is what best suits you. I had the old "Jet Fins" that have been around for years and thought there were nothing better. When I first saw the twin jet's I thought it was just a big scam to get more money out of me.... Well I was wrong. These new twin jet fins have been built and designed to better move you through the water with less stress and strain on your legs.... I took them when I went on a trip just last year to the Bahamas and one of our dives just happen to be at a reef with a very strong current and I had no problems at all propelling myself through the water against the current. I will tell you this about them, at the very first start it will seem like they are not moving you throught the water but get use to them if you decide to get them and you will be surprised at how much better they are than the normal solid fin. Hope this helps....

Rich :mean:

 

[MikeFerrara]

Let me tell a long sad fin story. My first pair of fins were a pair of $120 force fins my instructor said were the best. Then I got a drysuit so I needed a bigger pair for another $120. Then my wife started diving so I got her a pair for $120. Then she got a drysuit and we got another $120 pair of fins. Then I got a chance to try the Apollo split fin. They were much better so I got a pair for $180. My wife tried them and we got another pair for $180. Then as I learned to dive and used various fin types I found that I liked them all better than the split or the force and they were all 1/3 to 1/2 the price. Now I am an instructor, a trimix diver, a cave diver and I own a dive shop. I am not the best and I don't know everything but.. I do know something about how to use a pair of fins. I have several pair of split fins on the rack. I had to get them because everyone was switching to them. I have had them for two years and have not sold a single pair. Why? My advice to everyone is...get a pair of conventional fins that fit and are not too stiff for you and learn to use them. When you can do a reverse frog kick and swim backward and when you can hover horizantaly and do helicopter turns and can skull to move in any direction at the speed you choose and do all of this inches from the bottom without raising any silt then.. try split fins or tiger fins or whatever you want and buy them if you choose. None of the people who take this advice ever come back to get the splits. If you do want them I have some real cheap.

 

[buff]

"You suck"...not your fins.

That's harsh but it's usually true. Most people do that "bicycle" kick thing-they have relatively weak hip/leg muscles to hold a fin straight in the water-especially women-just an anatomical fact. It is no reflection on the diver other than the human body was not meant to have a long peice of thermoplastic attached to it.

The result is a very inefficient kick and most new divers become very tired after a short period of time. The solution is to get a pair of fins that are not as stiff. You end up doing the same amount of work but in smaller sections-like walking up smaller stairs instead of big ones to get to the same height. You get there expending the same amount of energy but in different way.

It is difficult to to get a large immediate burst of thrust with pliable fins. I have Mare Avanti Quattros and love them-I have very strong hip/thigh muscles from lifting weights. The Mares are just stiff enough and just pliable enough. If I were to buy fins again I would get rocket fins and put steel springs on them like the DIR's. I have already had a buckle break and end my diving for the day. And steel springs are just easier to get on and off.

Practice your kick. Hold your leg stiff in the water-not bending at your knee and kick from your hips not your legs. Gently rotate your body as you do this-just like good swimmers do.

I thought proper finning was taught in dive class??? It's been so long since I was certified I can't remember.

 

[pipedope]

Before giving up on the fins you might want to get more kicking time on the ones you have.

Swimming with fins is unlike anything else you do. When I started diving I was a high mileage cyclest and the fins stressed my legs in a different way that I had to adapt to.

If you can get in the water twice a week, mid-week and on the weekend and swim with the fins you will adapt to the fins much faster. When your body is adapted you will not get the problems you are having now.

Developing better technique will also help as you will move the way you want with much less effort and this only comes with time in the water.

Yes, some fins are better for some tasks but you will want to build skills and muscle adaptation anyway.

Keep at it. We all probably felt the way you do when we first started. Some not so bad, some worse but everybody has to adjust.

 

[stokes]

out of topic...

i use the avanti 3. 5 months from my last dive i started getting intrigued by the whole jet fins vs split fins issue. last week, i dove again, and the whole split/jet temptation lessened. not that this applies to you RACHEL, just a thought that popped up... constant/frequent gear changing or even the temptation to change gear is more evident in people who do not dive as much as they'd want to.

not that my opinion matters... just me blabbing