New Drysuit Fin Time, Want Updated Opinions

[Bierstadt]

In short: I need new fins for sidemount drysuit diving, I'd like about -1lbs negative at most, what is the best fin for a steady diet of modified frog kicks and helicopter turns in wrecks? My lead choices right now are the Hollis F1 LT, the Apeks RK3 HD, and the DR XT.

Long Version:
I recently started drysuit diving and somewhat unsurprisingly I need new fins. These will be drysuit-only fins for technical diving primarily sidemount, but also twinset. I have a lot of lead to trim myself how I want, but I want a negative buoyancy fin for the drysuit. I have been using Deep6 Eddy fins for wetsuit diving and I like them a lot, but as we all sadly know Eddys are not available in a negative buoyancy model. They are also a bit slow when I need to stop smelling the roses and catch up with the flutter-kicking underwater scuba racers.

I have read every thread I can find and there seems to be a lot of different opinions on what is best. Most of the recent threads are from 2018. With three more years of experience, I want to see if anything has changed.

My understanding of fins from reading reviews and threads:
Apeks RK3 - Good foot pocket, many opinions say they are too floppy.
Apeks RK3 HD - Good foot pocket, some people consider them a bit floppy
Hollis F1 LT - Good foot pocket, some people don't compare them well with other paddle fins, some do @stuartv , -1lbs buoyancy
Hollis F1 - Good foot pocket, long, -2lbs buoyancy
Force Fins - Some people say that they are great tech fins, others say they are flutter-only fins, but mostly they cost twice as much as anything else without being sure they would work
Scubapro Jets - Poor foot pocket, good performance, negative buoyancy close to F1's
Deep6 Eddy - Great foot pocket & performance, very stiff, neutral buoyancy
DR XT - Long, extremely stiff, very powerful, -0.4lbs buoyancy

There are other Jet fin knockoffs but nothing that looks (or reviews) well enough to make it on my list, as far as I have seen.

 

[Marie13]

Deep6 Eddy. I’ve just switched to the stiffer, large size as my size small/medium ones were too tight with the new drysuit. The small/medium size are lighter material and floppier than the size large and up. I only had a short dive yesterday, but I was pleased with how the stiffer fin worked well for my frog kick. The foot pocket is very comfortable. They are very close to neutral.

 

[M-Cameron]

ive been running the RK3 HDs...im happy with them.

 

[stuartv]

I have not tried the Apeks HD version of that fin. The regular version felt soft and floppy, to me, but I have no idea on the HDs. Nor on their buoyancy.

When I tried the Dive Rite XTs, they were too stiff for me and my legs. Normal frog kicking around in the pool had me feeling on the verge of calf cramps the whole time. I tried them back to back to back with Holls F1 LT and Apeks RK3 (non-HD) in that same pool session. The XTs were the only ones that made me feel crampy. The XT foot pocket was comfortable. They were only 0.7# negative, IIRC.

The Hollis F1 and F1 LT fins both work very well for all technical kicks and give good power.

When I dive dry, my feet are floaty, no matter what rig I'm diving (single tank, doubles, or CCR). So, I always use the F1s, for that 2# of negative buoyancy on my feet. I have not tried the F1 LT in my drysuit as the pair I have are sized to fit me in wetsuit booties.

ScubaPro Jet fins are just not that comfortable, to me. I find the Hollis (and Deep6 and Dive Rite) fins to be WAY more comfortable to wear while diving.

When I have dived sidemount in a wetsuit, I found that neutral fins worked well for me, whereas with backmount doubles in a wetsuit, I need fins that are a bit negative to counteract the head heaviness of BM doubles.

Personally, I'd rather be a little bit foot heavy, than a little bit foot light, so I would probably go with the regular F1s (not the LTs). With a SM rig, you should be able to position your lead so that it still trims out well.

 

[Bierstadt]

I have not tried the Apeks HD version of that fin. The regular version felt soft and floppy, to me, but I have no idea on the HDs. Nor on their buoyancy.

When I tried the Dive Rite XTs, they were too stiff for me and my legs. Normal frog kicking around in the pool had me feeling on the verge of calf cramps the whole time. I tried them back to back to back with Holls F1 LT and Apeks RK3 (non-HD) in that same pool session. The XTs were the only ones that made me feel crampy. The XT foot pocket was comfortable. They were only 0.7# negative, IIRC.

The Hollis F1 and F1 LT fins both work very well for all technical kicks and give good power.

When I dive dry, my feet are floaty, no matter what rig I'm diving (single tank, doubles, or CCR). So, I always use the F1s, for that 2# of negative buoyancy on my feet. I have not tried the F1 LT in my drysuit as the pair I have are sized to fit me in wetsuit booties.

ScubaPro Jet fins are just not that comfortable, to me. I find the Hollis (and Deep6 and Dive Rite) fins to be WAY more comfortable to wear while diving.

When I have dived sidemount in a wetsuit, I found that neutral fins worked well for me, whereas with backmount doubles in a wetsuit, I need fins that are a bit negative to counteract the head heaviness of BM doubles.

Personally, I'd rather be a little bit foot heavy, than a little bit foot light, so I would probably go with the regular F1s (not the LTs). With a SM rig, you should be able to position your lead so that it still trims out well.

Being head heavy is no fun at all. The F1 LT's have that desirable negative buoyancy, but could you describe what you give up to wear the F1 LT's compared to the Eddys? (Eddys being a frame of reference I am very familiar with.) Is there anything besides weight that you gain? Precision, power, etc.

 

[lexvil]

I’ve tried a lot of fins over the years, a lot! I have Eddys, had 3 pair and down to one that I modified and they are excellent now but with a new heavy freedom plate my trim has changed so heavier fins are the choice for local cold diving. I have Hollis F1, not a fan but nice for frog kicking if you ever need a burst of speed by flutter kicking, forget it in the largest size.

I started diving with Jets (50 years next month) and I’m back to Jets, they have some great versatility in kicks very powerful yet not demanding on my legs. I use bungee rather than springs. For drysuit I wear various rock boots/booties having a stiffish sole negates the fort pocket shortcomings (as perceived by many) I have the newer xxl and the older xxl which has a looser pocket, with the newer ones I drill holes at the front of the pocket which breaks the vacuum when pulling them off and drain as you walk out of the water.

I’m a total re-vert on jet fins.

 

[evandroairton]

Dive rites are my choice by now
Have not tryed deep6 and hollis
But i do prefer it over the Rocket 2 (same as rk3) Poseidon triton, jets, twinjet Max (splits ) and quattros

 

[Bierstadt]

Thank you all. I decided to go with the Hollis F1 LT's. I was concerned about the DR XT's stiffness and awkwardness of their length inside wrecks, and I was able to get hands on the Apeks RK3 HD's and they are floppier than I'd like. I don't know if the Hollis F1 LT's will actually be any better, but at least I'll get to find out. Besides, RK3's are everywhere and at least this way I'll be able to spot my fins in the pile.