OMS slipstream best fin for me?

[adimi24]

I'm looking for new fins. Here's some potentilally useful info:

I am AOW and sidemount diver, likely to pursue cave/tech in the future. I did my sidemount training in cenotes in the Yucatan.

I was wearing 3/2mm long wet suit, 5mm booties (pretty buoyant) 2 AL80s. I showed up with Cressi Frog Plus fins which are garbage and way too buoyant. I was always head down and back finning was impossible because I just went up.

Over the next couple days I tried out various fins. Jetfins were way too negative, and so were the HOGs. Backfin was better than having my feet up but swimming forward was also a lot harder. Dive Rite EXP's were the best but still not perfect, a little too buoyant, especially at the end of my dives when my tanks were emptier.

My instructor recommended I get OMS Slipstreams ( he didn't have so couldn't try ). There isn't much info about them and none of my local dealers stock them so i just want to check with you guys and see if you think they would be good for me before i go through the work of trying to get them.

I know fins are not what is going to fix my trim, but they will help a bit and I need to replace my flimsy frog plus fins anyway.

I am a size 12 with a large foot and was going to try out the XL, sound good?

Thanks in advance!

 

[rongoodman]

They're my favorites for diving wet, with Dive Rite EXPs next. The Slipstreams are a little more compact, very good for back kicks.

 

[ElGaucho]

I believe, unfortunately, that the Slipstreams have been discontinued. I can´t find them anywhere (Scubatoys, LeisurePro, Northeast Scuba, etc).

Bummer. I thought they were great and NOT heavy, which is a perfect combo for wetsuit diving.

 

[tracydr]

How about the Edge Transcend fin? It appears to be a plastic ( lighter) fin. It also comes with the spring strap and is a plain, rectangular shaped fin.
Fins are something I find you really need to try on. The foot pocket needs to fit pretty well. I have a hard time with fins fitting because my foot is so small that the foot pocket swallows my foot up past the beginning of my ankle, especially with wet boots. Not so much with my dry boots.
I have this problem with nearly every fin I've ever found. If not this problem, then the opposite problem, the fin is too narrow in the pocket.

Most likely, if you're going to be diving caves or tech diving, you'll need to get used to diving in your drysuit for most dives.

 

[phoenix31tt]

I got my OMS Slipstreams here, i got them for $69 at the time though... which was earlier this year

 

[John_B]

I've never gotten a satisfying definition of "monoprene" but my Slipstreams seemed to almost be made of a type of lightweight, hard plastic. In short order they "folded" (for lack of a better word) where the footpocket meets the fin. When I tried to contact OMS about the problem, I got the silent treatment. I know guys who love them because they aren't negatively buoyant like the Jetfin design they resemble, but I wouldn't give you a plug nickel for a pair. YMMV

 

[elan]

the fact that they are close to neutral is actually their problem. if the fin is neutral you cannot use it as a tool to adjust your trim. with a heavy fin like SP you can adjust the trim by extending the legs more or less. You cannot do it with a neutral fin.

---------- Post added July 16th, 2013 at 03:58 PM ----------

I did not follow you comment about fins being to buoyant aspecially at the end of the dive. Fins do not change buoyancy as you deplete your gas supply. It looks like you need to work a bit on the weight destribution before you factor in the buoyancy of the fin into it. For me I always preffer negative fins for the reson indicated in my previous post.

 

[phoenix31tt]

the fact that they are close to neutral is actually their problem. if the fin is neutral you cannot use it as a tool to adjust your trim. with a heavy fin like SP you can adjust the trim by extending the legs more or less. You cannot do it with a neutral fin.

maybe for cold water/thick wetsuits... but thats not a problem in warm water its a major benefit... typical heavy/negative jetfins are a problem in warm water as even when your leg's are 90 degrees they will still tend to push you're legs down...

 

[elan]

It does not matter which water it is. If the fin is neutral you give away a usefull trim controlling tool.
In warm water you could go with a less negative fin or re-arange your weights to slightly counterbalance the fins.
Very often from what I observe the problem of sinking legs come from dropping the knees not from heavy fins. I know people who dive jets in warm water in a wet suit with no issues.

maybe for cold water/thick wetsuits... but thats not a problem in warm water its a major benefit... typical heavy/negative jetfins are a problem in warm water as even when your leg's are 90 degrees they will still tend to push you're legs down...

 

[phoenix31tt]

It does not matter which water it is. If the fin is neutral you give away a usefull trim controlling tool.
In warm water you could go with a less negative fin or re-arange your weights to slightly counterbalance the fins.
Very often from what I observe the problem of sinking legs come from dropping the knees not from heavy fins. I know people who dive jets in warm water in a wet suit with no issues.

just as me and others dive slipstreams with no issue... Either way moving your legs back and forth will adjust your trim regardless of even if you have a fin on (because from your shin down has its own weight...


thin wetsuits means that foot weight is not offset as much as when you wear thick wetsuits... Thus with slipstreams moving your legs back and forth CAN adjust your trim... If its even needed that is


despite all this, the slipstreams aren't neutral, they are just slightly negative