Jet Fin vs Rocket Fin

[John C. Ratliff]

Hedgehog47,

Yes, it is pretty easy to see and distinguish a Jet Fin from others. If you are looking straight down on it, you cannot see through the fin's vent, as there is a blade under it. With the Rocket Fin, you will see through the fin through the slots.

By the way, this is a copy of the Scubapro catalog which explains the theory behind the Jet Fins.

SeaRat

 

[John C. Ratliff]

In 2010 I conducted my own trails of several fins I had available. The tests were averaged over five swims, 100 yards per swim. I was in a 25 yard pool, and so this involved three flip turns. I was swimming with a flutter kick (crawl kick) but no hands and my arms to the side. I was swimming hard too. As you can see, the Rocket Fins stood up to the Jet Fins quite nicely. But neither compared well with my modified Super Stag fins that were converted to scoop fins.

I had found a Scubapro Split Fin (which had slots and a split) in the river after it had been on a rock for the winter. It had a spring heel strap, and that strap was caught on a rock. Over the winter, the river had flooded, and that spring had been stretched out to almost three feet each side! The power of water! Anyway, I used one Scubapro Lightning Jet fin with this fin, and it was a bit faster than the Jet Fin pair tests.

The main difference seemed to be not the times themselves, but the strokes per mile, with the Jet Fins doing better than the Quattro Excel, but the Scoop Super Stag fins out-performing all of them.

I would add that the problems with the Jet Fins and the dolphin kick, as I recall, had to do with the Jet Fins "sticking" to the wall on my turns, due to a seemingly suction that kept me for pushing off easily. In that respect, this was not a representative of the performance of the Jet Fins, but an anomaly in the testing technique.

SeaRat

 

[captain]

Mares Power Plana graphite fins rock. I gave up all others. Rubber fins are heavy, heavy = more inertia to overcome when kicking= more work.

 

[DiveDoc87]

I still use the same Jet Fins I bought in 1987. I've had to replace straps once.