Jet Fins fun fact

[JThompson]

Fun fact about jet fins. They were originally a full foot design and the patent was given to George's Beuchat in 1965.

 

[David Wilson]

Indeed, but were you also aware that one version of Georges Beuchat's original French Jetfin design was manufactured with a heel strap as well as an enclosed heel:

Full-foot fins were standard wear for European divers in the 1960s. Many divers owned two pairs back then, one for wearing with booties and a smaller pair for barefoot use.

There is still one full-foot fin with a heelstrap in production:

They resemble the original Beuchat Jetfin both in appearance and in material (rubber) and are made in Turkey.

 

[gekodivebali]

What happened to Georges anyway and how come so many manufactures have been making them for years? I'm pretty sure he did not get licensing fees for most...

 

[danvolker]

And back in the 70's, I found I liked the Jet fins much more than the soft and stupidly floppy fins sold by other manufacturers...the Jets were the fins for REAL Divers back then
So around maybe 1980 or so, Farallon comes out with the Fara fin, Quite a bit stiffer than the Jet fin, and quite a bit longer....it created so much thrust if you had the leg and hip power, that your ankles could not take it--so they were built with a big ankle brace to let the blade ankle go on the up kick, but to lock the blade on the down-kick----taking the ankle out of the torque.....
In actual fact, a strong diver could sprint with these and reach incredible speeds when pushing them hard enough to get optimal bending of the fin for max speed and efficiency.....the downside of this, is that doing this was about as taxxing as doing full twenty five 90 degree squats in 30 seconds....and after 30 seconds, your legs hit complete failure, and were jello for the next minute, and full of lactic acid. The other side of this, is that they were so stiff, that if you were NOT kicking hard, there would be zero bending of the fins, meaning the efficiency was terrible...like diving with strapped on wood planks!!

 

[socaljohn]

So around maybe 1980 or so, Farallon comes out with the Fara fin, Quite a bit stiffer than the Jet fin, and quite a bit longer....it created so much thrust if you had the leg and hip power, that your ankles could not take it--so they were built with a big ankle brace to let the blade ankle go on the up kick, but to lock the blade on the down-kick----taking the ankle out of the torque.....

I always wondered what happened to those, they came out about the time I joined the AF and started my really long SI. I never got a chance to buy or try them but was surprised not to see something similar when I started up again a couple yrs back. (I dive Jets now) Now I know why. Thanks.

 

[David Wilson]

What happened to Georges anyway and how come so many manufactures have been making them for years? I'm pretty sure he did not get licensing fees for most...

There's plenty online about Georges Beuchat (1910–1992), e.g.
Georges Beuchat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.beuchat.fr/index.php?id=131
The link above credits him with the invention in 1953 of "the first isothermic diving suit", a foam-rubber wetsuit:

So the USA did not make all the running in the early 1950s when it came to the development of wetsuit technology!

As for Beuchat's vented "palmes à tuyères", the Jetfin (note spelling!), he sold the design to Scubapro and the rest is history. Scubapro didn't come out with a full-foot version.

Georges sold his Marseilles-based diving equipment company in 1982.

 

[danvolker]

The Lamborghini Gallardos of Dive Fins....DiveR Freediving fins.....Pricey, but I can keep up with most scooter divers just using my DiveR's with an al80 and 18 pound Halcyon Bp/Wing, slick gear. Less effort on your muscles than Jet fins, more than twice the resultant push and speed.....or, no work at all to keep up to your buddy, almost like lying still on the bottom for 60 minutes--huge bottom time result....
https://www.facebook.com/DiveRAustralia

 

[rhwestfall]

any source links other than the "stupid" F-book?

 

[danvolker]

any source links other than the "stupid" F-book?

DiveR Fins good info but in australia

Dive R Carbon Kevlar Blades where I got mine in Palm Beach, but they have no photo or info online..... You also buy the foot pocket separate....best for these is the Riffe silent hunter...it is sort of a hyprid Open heel, with some of the shape of a full foot, and much more structural integrity for the huge power transfer these blades deliver--each full foot pocket make I tried, folded up to much--they needed a stiffer bottom under your foot....think sneakers on a road bike riding at 25 mph for an hour, then carbon soled road shoes going 25 mph for an hour.....with sneakers, even if your legs and aerobic were good with this, the sole of the shoe would flex so much you would not be able to deliver the power to the pedals...the speed and duration difference would be staggering--in favor of the carbon soled bike shoes

yes, they are pricey...but...way cheaper than a scooter, and faster than many....you can smoke people on Sea Doo scooters, and plenty of the teknas