Need some help from the pros!!!

[Ca_Ghost]

Figures I would find this site right beforegoing to work tonight!

Getting back into diving and have found out that there are no LDS that will me kick their fins. I have a pair of Mares Avanti Quattros that are great fins but not for my style of kicking.

Now I've called all the LDS in my area and have heard a different story at each about fins. Of course each store said they had the best fin and that no other fin was worth a pile of beans so now I'm more confused than I was when I first started.

I like to do small flutter style kicks from the knees rather than slow, long kicks from the hip. I went to a LDS yesterday and was told that the Scubapro Twin Jets are the best fins on the market for this style of kicking. Of course this was the same speech I received in 2001 when I bought my Quattros. I can't find a LDS that has Twin Jets to kick so now I'm on the hunt for a decent LDS that has a selection of fins to kick before I drop the $200 for fins. On that same note I thought $200 was WAY too much for a set of Twin Jets but then I've been out of the diving community for a few years now so anything is possible I guess.

Ok this is my first real post and I'm rambling already so thanks in advance for all the help!!

- Ghost

 

[farrakhan]

I reckon $200 is a good price for a set of good fins. Personally I wear Cressi Frogs when I'm pleasure diving and Scubapro Jets (not the split fins) for my more serious diving. I can highly recommend the scuapro fins to you.

 

[ScubaSixString]

Figures I would find this site right beforegoing to work tonight!

Getting back into diving and have found out that there are no LDS that will me kick their fins. I have a pair of Mares Avanti Quattros that are great fins but not for my style of kicking.

Now I've called all the LDS in my area and have heard a different story at each about fins. Of course each store said they had the best fin and that no other fin was worth a pile of beans so now I'm more confused than I was when I first started.

I like to do small flutter style kicks from the knees rather than slow, long kicks from the hip. I went to a LDS yesterday and was told that the Scubapro Twin Jets are the best fins on the market for this style of kicking. Of course this was the same speech I received in 2001 when I bought my Quattros. I can't find a LDS that has Twin Jets to kick so now I'm on the hunt for a decent LDS that has a selection of fins to kick before I drop the $200 for fins. On that same note I thought $200 was WAY too much for a set of Twin Jets but then I've been out of the diving community for a few years now so anything is possible I guess.

Ok this is my first real post and I'm rambling already so thanks in advance for all the help!!

- Ghost

The tech guys and gals (some of them, anyway) swear by scubapro jets (NOT THE TWINS) because they're good for low silt propulsion kicks (mod frog, etc).

I have a set of aqualung rockets (a knock off, some would say) . I'm rather happy with them.

 

[Snowbear]

For your preferred "style" of kicking, any fin can accomodate it, including your quattros. I'm not sure there is a "best" fin for the style of kick you prefer, but I have found that style is the best one to use for some fins.... does that make sense??

I used to use (and swear by) the Apollo Biofins I had. They are an expensive split fin. They perform best when using the "modified flutter" kick you prefer. In no or little current, you can zip along quite well and with very little effort (or so it seems). There is no "glide" component to this kick or this fin, so you pretty much need to fin continuously to keep going forward, no matter what kick you use. It's also possible to learn to use little fin flips for fine control when you're mostly hanging out looking at the small stuff and not covering much ground. Unfortunately, they fall far short if you attempt to use most any other kick.... like frog, full flutter, or backup. These kicks *can* of course be done with split fins, but not nearly as efficiently as with some others.

Anyhow, once I tried and learned how to use a pair of Jetfins (yes, it took a few dives to learn to not use them like a pair of splits :11: ), I found I could still use the modified flutter kick quite well.... and it even ended up having a bit more power to it, so I didn't have to fin as fast!

Then I learned how to do the frog kick. After more practice than I thought it should take (I'm a bit slow :blush: ), I found that I could frog kick just once and then glide about 6 or 8 feet!! My gas consumption improved dramatically as well, since I spent more finning distance gliding than kicking! One down side, though.... diving so much more efficiently burns less energy so I end up getting cold faster

Anyhow, the point of this long and rambling post is to say ~ you can learn to use the quattros you have now and have them work just fine for the kick you prefer. If you later decide to try new things and other kicks, they'll accomodate you much better than spending $150 or more on a pair of "high tech" splitties...

But even better, as others in this thread have noted, ScubaPro Jetfins and their copycats are the cat's meow. They're also about the cheapest fins on the market to boot! They are shorter and wider than the Quattros, so provide better "traction" in the water as well as fine control when you want it. In my personal experience, they do work better and with less effort than the longer, narrower fins like the quattros.

Hope this helps at least a little

 

[Scuby Dooby]

I have a set of avanti quattros myself and, like snowbear, mostly used a frog kick to get around. When i compare them to borrowed jetfins I think that for open oceac cruising I move a bit quicker in the quattros. true that the jetfins turn better and also provide more propulsion when i'm just frogging with my ankles but when i have space and get my whole leg involved I think the quattros are better. Learn to frog kick and give them another chance - $200 for a set of fins? I'd spend that money diving and getting used to what i have!

 

[Padipro]

Dived the Quattros for several years and hated them. IMO it was the worst $100 I ever spent. I couldn't keep up with anyone and was always being left behind. I'm a pretty big guy, 6'1" and about 200 pounds and have always had strong legs so I figured it had to be the fins. Bought me a pair of the SP Jets and I'm now leading the pack, or at least keeping up with them. Quattros are to soft and really don't provide much thrust. Mine have been relegated to the bottom of the dive locker collecting dust. Anyone want to buy a good used pair of fins?

If you're looking for a new set of fins but don't want to spend $200 on a pair take a look on Ebay. I picked up my set of XXL Jets (To use with my Drysuit) complete with spring straps, shipping included for about $65. Not even Leasurepro can touch that price.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Aside from the dislike some have for plastic fins, I think the quattros are a good fin and I think they've been one of the more popular designs. I like my turtles when diving in my dry suit and I have a pair of diverite fins that I like when diving wet...they just fit my feet better than jets.

There are dive shops that will let you try fins but so much of the result is dependant on your technique that you still might buy a pair that your not happy with later after you've spent some time in the water.

 

[rpodos]

Slightly different answer here.. I am not a SP Jet fan... I use Cressi-Sub Rondine Pros, cut down a bit at the end. Hard to find, though.

 

[gregor1234]

I have used quattros and didn't like them. Not enough whoosh for your push and not very stable.

I now have a pair of Atomic Aquatics split fins (which reviewer have rated nearly the same as Showbear's Apollo Biofins). Both of these are excellent fins especially for the small kick you describe but they're both fairly expensive.

Before I had the Atomics, I had a pair of Aeris Velocity fins. My son's feet grew and so he got my old Aeris Velocities and I got new Atomics. He uses them now and both of us really like them (the Aeris Velocity)... They are not quite as good as the Apollos or Atomics but they are really inexpensive. You get nearly the performance of a $200 fin for less than half the price. My wive uses a pair as well. For the Aeris fins, though I found it worthwhile to invest in better, EZ-release straps because the rollers kept breaking/falling out of the releases that come with them.

 

[Jim Ernst]

Figures I would find this site right beforegoing to work tonight!

Getting back into diving and have found out that there are no LDS that will me kick their fins. I have a pair of Mares Avanti Quattros that are great fins but not for my style of kicking.

Now I've called all the LDS in my area and have heard a different story at each about fins. Of course each store said they had the best fin and that no other fin was worth a pile of beans so now I'm more confused than I was when I first started.

I like to do small flutter style kicks from the knees rather than slow, long kicks from the hip. I went to a LDS yesterday and was told that the Scubapro Twin Jets are the best fins on the market for this style of kicking. Of course this was the same speech I received in 2001 when I bought my Quattros. I can't find a LDS that has Twin Jets to kick so now I'm on the hunt for a decent LDS that has a selection of fins to kick before I drop the $200 for fins. On that same note I thought $200 was WAY too much for a set of Twin Jets but then I've been out of the diving community for a few years now so anything is possible I guess.

Ok this is my first real post and I'm rambling already so thanks in advance for all the help!!

- Ghost

ghost, dolphin scuba center just opened a new store in stockton, a great friend of mine from here in sacramento is the manager,(patrick) is also a fantastic instuctor and NOT A PUSH THIS PUSH THAT SALES PERSON, if you go and see him tell him what you are looking for even if he dosent have it he will help you find what YOU WANT!! that i can say for sure, and yes you may tell him i recomended you come to him!!! i think you will be pleased!!! jim