Jet Fin vs Rocket Fin

[Nemrod]

It is often my belief that people confuse these two fins. I hear it all the time, I used those once and they were too stiff, stiff as boards etc and recently it comes up again. Rocket Fins are not deserving of the name at all and they are among the worst fins ever made whereas the Jet Fin is among the very best if not the best and the choice of serious divers the world over for four decades. Here are a few pictures, first a comparison of the one size fits all USD Rocket Fin circa 1975ish vs ScubaPro Super Jet XL circa 1978ish:

As you can see, they really do not look alike at all and the vents on the Rocket are upside down!

Ok, stiffness, no, no, no, the Jet Fin is not a stiff fin, that is why they work so well and are so completely different from the Rocket which is in fact, stiff as a 2X4. First is a picture of the Jet Fin hanging under it's own weight at about 1/3 blade:

Now a picture of a Rocket Fin hanging on it's own weight, again about 1/3 of the blade:

Having used both fins extensively, these are MY fins BTW, I have owned them since new, the Jet Fin is not a stiff fin and is nothing like the Rocket fin in any way other than some distant similarity in terms of shape when viewed from about 100 yards. Not the same fin at all in any way .

Jet Fins, over and over, in swim tests against virtually every type of fin come out on top or at the top, they are the universal, do everything well fin for scuba divers. The Jet has the perfect blend of stiffness, a supple blade to allow fine control and effortless speed and plenty of backbone down near the foot pocket for digging in under heavy load as in swimming a scuba diver against a current or frog kicking. The Jet will not fold up like so many fins when kicked hard or over kicked--if you can even over kick them--they just keep delivering thrust! The supple tip carries the energy of the kick through increasing the efficiency of the Jet. I know of no fin that combines the capabilities of the Jet. Some like the Quatrro are as powerful, some like the UDT frog kick as well, splits are as fast, FF are as maneuverable but NONE of them combine all of the attributes of top performance into one fin except for the ScubaPro Jet Fin, the choice of more serious divers the world over since the early 60s. The Jet Fin, then, now, thirty years from now it is highly unlikely it will be dethroned as the worlds best all around scuba diver flipper.

N

 

[Scuba Cowboy]

Yep, no doubt about it, the Jet is the best fin on the planet. I've tried a lot of others over the years and keep coming back to Jets. My pair of Rockets are hanging on the wall where they belong.

 

[Nemrod]

There is one other thing about Jet Fins, they are also factually the worlds toughest fin. They require no care, they are as tough as a truck tire and can last a lifetime.

Just in case, I have a spare pair of XLs. Maybe if these ever wear out I will use them, if not I will leave them to my great nephew, yet unborn. They are going to be twins so maybe I should buy another set so they both can have a set, hmmmm.

The first thing I do when I meet a diver is check his/her fins out, if I see some Jets with battle scars, yeah, I will dive with you.

Jet Fins are vintage, Jet Fins are modern, Jet Fins are state of the art, Jet Fins FOREVER.

N

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Aha, interesting.

My first snorkeling gear was stuff I bought at a garage sale. It included (what I now know are) Rocket fins. I appreciated the toughness, and that I could wear them with booties, but... ow, ow, ow, my legs! I bought a pair of full-foot fins and on I went.

But then I got into diving and people said "Oh, those are classics; they're great fins!" So I went back to using them. Also, my feet were cold in the full-foot fins I owned. But...ow.

So, maybe you've just explained it, because mine are an old pair of Rocket Fins by U.S. Divers.

They are tough; I'll give them that! But it sounds like I might enjoy trying a pair of Jet Fins.

(I did rent a more modern pair of open-heeled fins last time I went diving; much less painful but I have not yet bought anything to replace the rocket fins for wearing with booties.)

B.

PS: I did kind of wonder why they fit me, since they were obviously made during a time when they would not have been sized for women. Strange how they are so small for a one-size-fits-all-men type size. Maybe they were supposed to be worn with bare feet?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'm not sure about that but there are ones with bigger foot pockets. They are known as the Super Rockets. I have a pair of both. No jets but I like my Hollis F1's and Aqualung Blades. And using Nemrod's test the Hollis's have the same amount of flex as the Jets.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I'm not sure about that but there are ones with bigger foot pockets. They are known as the Super Rockets.

So how do you find the Super Rockets? Do they have that stiff-board feel that makes your legs go "ow!"? (I can't actually remember which part of me says "ow" when I'm using them... selective memory perhaps )*

Of course the Super Rockets might have a different flex/rubber anyway, so maybe even if you do find them fabulous, it won't directly compare to the regular rockets.

I was thinking it was just me.... now wondering if it is the fins.

B.

*I think it is either the front of my ankle right where it joins my foot, or maybe my calves. How could I have forgotten so soon?

 

[Nemrod]

So how do you find the Super Rockets? Do they have that stiff-board feel that makes your legs go "ow!"? (I can't actually remember which part of me says "ow" when I'm using them... selective memory perhaps )*

Of course the Super Rockets might have a different flex/rubber anyway, so maybe even if you do find them fabulous, it won't directly compare to the regular rockets.

I was thinking it was just me.... now wondering if it is the fins.

B.

*I think it is either the front of my ankle right where it joins my foot, or maybe my calves. How could I have forgotten so soon?

Super Rockets were a slightly longer version of the Rocket that was as bad or worse than the Rocket in my picture. I had some of those too and am very familiar with them. I lost one of them in Gulf I think it was around 1975.

BlueSparkle probably needs some Jets. There again, what I call a "Super" Jet is just the old name for the Jet in XL size. As the Jet moves from Large size to XL size the blade gets longer. The M and L size Jets swim very similar to the Jet XL but just smaller and slightly less powerful.

I hear tell the Jet is out with a new size, what was XXL is now XXXL and there is a new XXL size.

Let me say it again, Rocket Fins of any sort, be they the Mini-Rocket, Rocket or Super-Rocket are possibly the worst fins ever made and Jet Fins are possibly the best all around scuba fins ever made.

N

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I think I got it this time, Nemrod

(Seriously, thanks for posting this. I kept hearing how great my [Rocket] fins were, and wondering what was wrong with me.)

 

[Gillty]

There are still quite a few folks out there that believe Jets and Rockets dive similarly. Here is what happened to me.

I used split fins for the first several years after I started diving. I liked the splitfins but never really knew anything about other fins and never even questioned why I chose splits in the first place.

I eventually ran into scubaboard and then found all the posts about how jet fins were great and I thought hmm...I ought to try some. I was talking to a friend about it and he was like yeah I have some Rocket fins and they dive just like the Jets, you can take them to the pool and try em out if you want. So I go down to the pool and swim a couple of laps in the rockets and HATED them.

So at that point I'm thinking, if the Jets are just like Rockets I don't even want to try them. A year or more goes by and I still see the lovefest for Jets on scubaboard, I finally decide to try out a pair of Jets and the difference between them and Rockets was HUGE.

Since then I have exclusively dove the Jetfins with a recent short stint in the Hollis F1s. The only complaint I have with Jets is that the foot pocket digs into the top of my foot and causes quite a bit of discomfort when I'm drysuit diving with thick socks and turbo soles.

 

[duckbill]

James, I completely agree with you that the Jets are much, much better than the Rockets.

However, to be fair, you really need to show the flex of a standard Jet compared to the standard Rocket. Of course the longer SuperJet will flex more, just by virtue of it's length. Not fair. That said, I know the Jet would still win!

Also, you had me going to double check mine. What made you say the jet ports on the Rocket fins are upside down? The ports on both my Jets and Rockets direct the water the same way- to the rear on the downstroke.