*Floater*
Contributor
I have recently acquired a whole set of used jets, plus a pair of (new) turtles for use with my drysuit. During this process I realized that there are many variations of this fin out there which is why you have to be extra careful when buying a pair - I hope this post will be of some help.
Lightning bolt: First note that there are jets with a lightning bolt across the SP logo, and then there are ones without the lightning bolt. My understanding is that the lightning bolt ones are made of a newer rubber compound still in use today whereas the other ones are some 20+ years old and use a thermo-plastic compound. My analysis is only for the lightning jets. I haven't tried the older ones.
Next you could look at kidspot's page for sizing: http://www.kidspot.org/personal/scuba/#fincomparison
His stats for the jet foot pockets are the following:
...........depth........width........height
M.........6.5"..........3.25"........2.75"
L..........7.5"..........3.5"..........2.75"
XL........8.5"..........3.75"........2.75"
Turtle...8.625".......4.375".......3.5"
The funny thing though is that my measurements came out different. Either we measure them differently, or his are of different model. For comparison, below are the measurements for my fins and some photos of how the measurements were taken (also see my gallery for width and height measurements):
...........depth........width*........height**
M.........7.5"..........3.5"............2.75"-3"
L..........8.25"........3.5-4".........2.85"-3"
XL........8.6"..........4-4.5".........3-3.25"
Turtle...8.75".........4.5-5.1"......3.2-3.5"
*the first measure is at the base, the second is around midway where the fin is widest
**the first measure is when fin is naturally shaped, the second is for when I pushed the bottom of the fin down to floor to straighten it out (some of them were curved).
As you can see there are some major differences between our measurements. For example, my mediums have the same stats as Tim's large jets. So be careful when you buy these. You might end up replacing your mediums that are too tight with large jets that are just as tight.
Lastly you should note that the lightning jets may have differnt markings. Mine all have the size written on the fin, plus the patent number at the back, whereas some of the ones on ebay do not. Also, next to size you sometimes have a number. My M's have no number, my L's have 4 and 6, respectively, and my XL's have flipped 2's on them. I have no clue what these mean, but when I bought the large ones to replace the mediums that were too tight, I made sure that the replacements were of the lightning model with the same patent number and size written on them, plus I asked the seller about the foot pocket sizing.
Below are some pics: M,L,XL and Turtle, respectively from left to right. The pairs displayed are M and L, L and XL, and XL and Turtle, respectively. The turtle is of course not a jet fin, but the generally prefered substitute for those who do not fit into an XL jet. There's also the XXL, but they are huge and only for those that do not fit into the turtles. I've also included a pic (from ebay) of a pair without the lightning bolt.
Lightning bolt: First note that there are jets with a lightning bolt across the SP logo, and then there are ones without the lightning bolt. My understanding is that the lightning bolt ones are made of a newer rubber compound still in use today whereas the other ones are some 20+ years old and use a thermo-plastic compound. My analysis is only for the lightning jets. I haven't tried the older ones.
Next you could look at kidspot's page for sizing: http://www.kidspot.org/personal/scuba/#fincomparison
His stats for the jet foot pockets are the following:
...........depth........width........height
M.........6.5"..........3.25"........2.75"
L..........7.5"..........3.5"..........2.75"
XL........8.5"..........3.75"........2.75"
Turtle...8.625".......4.375".......3.5"
The funny thing though is that my measurements came out different. Either we measure them differently, or his are of different model. For comparison, below are the measurements for my fins and some photos of how the measurements were taken (also see my gallery for width and height measurements):
...........depth........width*........height**
M.........7.5"..........3.5"............2.75"-3"
L..........8.25"........3.5-4".........2.85"-3"
XL........8.6"..........4-4.5".........3-3.25"
Turtle...8.75".........4.5-5.1"......3.2-3.5"
*the first measure is at the base, the second is around midway where the fin is widest
**the first measure is when fin is naturally shaped, the second is for when I pushed the bottom of the fin down to floor to straighten it out (some of them were curved).
As you can see there are some major differences between our measurements. For example, my mediums have the same stats as Tim's large jets. So be careful when you buy these. You might end up replacing your mediums that are too tight with large jets that are just as tight.
Lastly you should note that the lightning jets may have differnt markings. Mine all have the size written on the fin, plus the patent number at the back, whereas some of the ones on ebay do not. Also, next to size you sometimes have a number. My M's have no number, my L's have 4 and 6, respectively, and my XL's have flipped 2's on them. I have no clue what these mean, but when I bought the large ones to replace the mediums that were too tight, I made sure that the replacements were of the lightning model with the same patent number and size written on them, plus I asked the seller about the foot pocket sizing.
Below are some pics: M,L,XL and Turtle, respectively from left to right. The pairs displayed are M and L, L and XL, and XL and Turtle, respectively. The turtle is of course not a jet fin, but the generally prefered substitute for those who do not fit into an XL jet. There's also the XXL, but they are huge and only for those that do not fit into the turtles. I've also included a pic (from ebay) of a pair without the lightning bolt.
