Mares Quattro Power Fins

[KeyLargoBrent]

Any input from those who have used the Mares Quattro Power (or similar) fins for scuba and/or freediving would be very much appreciated.

 

[techdiver2us]

Haven't tried them, but; have used Quattro's for years. The full foot fins I use are the Plana Avanti L's. Blade length is about the same, so seeing your query as replacing the L's I'd have to say they would be a good choice.

 

[rcohn]

I tried them in a pool, much too stiff for me. You'll need really strong legs for those fins.

On the freedivelist some of the serious underwater hocky players love the Avanti L fins. They prefered them to freediving fins for most open water diving too. However, they completely hated the Quattro Power fins and bought extra pairs of the Avanti Ls before they all disappeared.. I remember the title of the first post discussing the Quattro Power fins, it was "Is Mares high on crack?"

You should try the fins before buying them. You might also want to take a look at the Genesis Navigator fins if you can.

Ralph

 

[buff]

I love my Avanti Quattros-they are the perfect balance between stiff power fin(prototype rocket fin) and a long blade free diving fin. They are stiff for some divers-these divers typically like the split blade technology. But I have big legs and exceptionaly strong hip muscles(bike riding, weight lifting) and the Avanti Quattro is perfect.

I use them for both without problem. They have an enormously big foot pocket for my dry suit boots.

They are long enough for free diving but stiff enough to get a big burst of thrust when trying to position myself during U/W photography.

Basically, I do every type of diving and these fins are the best all-around fin I have found. I would get the Rocket fin for tech and photography or the long blades for free diving but the Quattros are the in-between. Perfect balance.

I have never tried them in the water but I also liked the fit of the Aqualung Blades. They too are rated quite high by Rodales. The Avanti Quattros are rated high by DiverNet.

And they both are cheap at www.diveinn.com

 

[rcohn]

I'm not talking about the Avanti Quatto fins. I have a pair and they work fine, although there are other fins I prefer so I never use them. I was talking about the Avanti Quattro POWER fin, which is full foot with a much larger and stiffer blade.

Ralph

 

[KeyLargoBrent]

What I'm looking for (if such an animal exists) is a fin that would be good for scuba AND freediving. Perhaps I'm better off with a different set of fins for each activity. I want foot pocket fins, as opposed to open heels. I've used the Quattro's (open heel) and like their performance, which is what led to my original question about the Quattro Powers (foot pocket). I appreciate all of your suggestions, and will certainly try to demo any suitable fins prior to purchase.

 

[pds1111]

I am currently using Q-Power full foot fins and really like the extra power available. I am fairly large and don't have any problems kicking the fins. They seem to be more efficient than the open model, I havn't noticed any increased air consumption. I am confident that trying to maintain a high speed for an extended perion you would expend more energy. I do like the option of having the extra thrust if needed or desired such as when swimming in current. I would also agree with the above comment about alternate fin kicks. These are very good with alternate types of kicks. I had tried the open foot quattros, volos, cressi splits, tusa splits, and atomic splits, and a couple of lesser blade types. The atomic was the only split fin that I had currently tried that I would consider due to a good fit, which is a high priority for me.