Obvious split fin question

[TMHeimer]

I gather the split fin question has been discussed to death. I won a pair last year. I'm sure they make me go faster. What is the safety problem with them?

 

[TSandM]

The only safety issue I am aware of with split fins is in relation to diving in close proximity to line. They offer an additional mode for picking up and getting entangled in the kind of line used inside wrecks and in caves. If you are not doing this kind of diving, I don't believe there is any safety issue with splits. There is an issue with full-leg flutter kicking, which is the most common way of kicking in splits, in that it is a very good way to disturb a silty bottom and reduce the viz for anyone who comes behind you.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I gather the split fin question has been discussed to death. I won a pair last year. I'm sure they make me go faster. What is the safety problem with them?

Wether they make you go faster is an ongoing perpetual debate.
I have tried them on several occasions and have dismissed them. In my experience they seem to work OK for someone that bicycle kicks or does a half assed flutter kick. I also found that they max out at a certain movement or speed and if you over kick them they will actually lose performance. I could not sprint in them no matter what technique I used or if I finned with them gently or aggresively, they only worked so well. I needed something with more positive power hook up, that's why I use either regular jet fins or freediving fins.
This is my two experiences with safety issues.
(1) I was freediving for abs once with a buddy who was using split fins. we were doing the one up one down technique. The vis was good that day and I could clearly see him on the bottom at 30 feet. He went down and pulled a nice ab. He stayed a bit longer than he was used to and realized he needed to get up to breath. I was watching him struggle finning furiously with his split fins trying to get off the bottom and get to the surface. As he was trying harder the split fins were working less effectively. I realized what was going on when I saw him looking up at me and I remember the look of panic in his eyes. I started breathing up to go down and help him but he made it back to the surface before I had to go down and get him. After he caught his breath he said a few choice words about the fins and we quite for the day and went in. He swore he would never use split fins for freedivng again because he couldn't get enough power out of them to get off the bottom. Yeah the dumping of weight belt, I know, but don't start OK till it happens to you.

(2) The last and final time I used them was on a shore dive on a remote rocky cove in Northern California. The ocean was fairly healthy that day with swells and wind but it was within our perameters for diving. I had rented split fins to try them out one more time to make a final decision. The dive went OK. I remember lots of kelp stocks getting hung up in the split of the fin and I was constantly looking back at my feet trying to untangle the fin. When we came in the tide was going out and I almost did not have enough power to get back to the cove we left from. The rest of the shoreline was too exposed to land with big waves smashing on the rocks. The entrance of the cove was spilling out and I sat in one spot for what seemed like 10 minutes finning my butt off and when I looked up I made no headway. Again, the natural impulse is to fin harder but with splits you lose power. Somehow I made it into the cove but then there was other problems with my long hose configuration I was using at the time and kelp wrapping around everything in the surf zone (another story and why I have turned to minimalism). Somehow I got in and swore I would never use split fins again. So there you go. I don't know if that helps, but the biggest safety factor I see with them for the type of environment I dive in is lack of reliable power.

 

[Gen San Chris]

I have used slit fins for many years without complaint, I cannot see any safety issues with them especially if you are not carrying too much lead! I know lots of people who use them as they are popular, why blame you gear if you have problems!

 

[RJP]

I gather the split fin question has been discussed to death. I'm sure they make me go faster.

I can't ever understand "the need for speed" in diving. The vast majority of divers in the world would benefit greatly from going SLOWER.

I won a pair last year.

I think I saw that contest...

1st Prize: One pair of split fins.
2nd Prize: Two pairs of split fins!

What is the safety problem with them?

Everyone knows that if you dive with split fins...you're gonna die!



.

 

[Pearldiver07]

I can't ever understand "the need for speed" in diving. The vast majority of divers in the world would benefit greatly from going SLOWER.



Besides, if you dive with split fins...you're gonna die!

Amen - I understand that if you've gotten yourself into a position of having to swim against a current, but most could benefit from slowing down.

Like all types of equipment - splits have their pluses and minuses. If you don't weigh them out you're going to be disappointed. But how many shops have a 'swim with them before you buy them' policy? I knew one shop that did, and they sold many more high-end fins for it. Before most people drop over $100 they would like to feel a bit more secure than the sales person's claims can provide.

Splits have both advantages and disadvantages. I use them for most applications. but as far as being a safety hazard? I don't believe so.

But then again, I know that I'm just a "dead man swimming" anyway.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I've tried split fins. They are great for some people... Not me.

I have a fairly strong kick and had to really reduce the "regular" power of my kick to have them work properly.

I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I will try. The body has a natural way of doing things, or a set gait, pace, step whatever.

If you walk naturally it sets a pace that you can stay at all day. If you shorten your step or change the pace it throws your body out of its natural way of doing things and you can no longer walk to your body's natural pace.

In the case of split fins, the natural power of my kick needed to be reduced in order to get the full effect of the fins. This threw my body out of its natural way of doing things and made using the fins difficult for me. I could do all the finning moves and all mannor of kicking styles, but it was difficult to reduce my natural pace of doing things to have them work for me

I hope that makes sense in some way for you.

 

[fairybasslet]

I only use my ankles to flutter with my splits, not my whole leg.

 

[BuoyantC]

Yeah this splits vs. whatever has pretty much been beat to death. The only thing I'll add is onto what CoolTech said, and that is everyone has their OWN ergonomics and finding what equipment matches that is what's important. If splits match your natural gait they will be the best for you, as they are for me. If not, try a different stiffness , length etc. until you find the right one. Heck I love my twinjets, but there are other splits I've hated.

As for safety, there is nothing inherently unsafe about them. You have more chance of snags on just finstraps than anything else with a fin. I would agree with the silting issue however, as splits can send a pretty strong vortex toward the bottom.

 

[SparticleBrane]

There is an issue with full-leg flutter kicking, which is the most common way of kicking in splits, in that it is a very good way to disturb a silty bottom and reduce the viz for anyone who comes behind you.

It is also a wonderful way to beat the coral and marine life to death.