Question Shopping for new fins

[Ivar Diver]

Hello, I'm a cold water drysuit diver in Minnesota. When I purchased my DUI Yukon II drysuit I needed new fins to fit the drysuit boots. Upon recommendation from my local dive shop I purchased the Apeks RK3 (heavy) fins to offset any concern about inversion (floating feet). It turns out the RK3 fins are counterproductive and are negatively affecting my trim (drooping feet). With guidance from some more experienced buddies, I've tried everything else to correct my trim. I've come to realize on recent dives that it might be my heavy fins. On a rare occasion of floating feet, I'm going to use my skills to correct my trim in the water, and not rely on my heavy fins. I'm looking for a recommendation for lighter fins that would be appropriate for drysuit diving. Thank you!

 

[Landau]

Fins have a lot of personal preference involved. So take my and any other suggestions with several grains of salt.

I’ve tried several types with my Drysuit and settled on Scubapro Seawing Gorillas. They are easy to don and doff and stiffer than regular seawings. I find it easy to feel where the blade is positioned which helps a lot with frog and back kick.

That said, have you tried a few contortions at the start of the dive to get the correct size bubble of air in your feet to get yourself level and trim? Many divers find it easy to control trim by moving the air bubble around in a Drysuit.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

I think RK3 are on the lighter (more buoyant side). I dive Holis F1 and know loads of people who use Scubapro Jetfons which are equally negative. Is it possible that you for example have too much gas in your suit? Do you dive doubles/twinset?

A buddy of mine had to toss his SeawOng Gorilla as they were not nice for proper fin kicks.

 

[happy-diver]

People with above average feet have some angst shopping for fins that fit

 

[lexvil]

Look at some scubapro super nova or S tek, you can adjust the buoyancy of the S tek.

 

[Ivar Diver]

Thank you for all of the tips! This past weekend I was trying my new Faber Steel HP100 tanks. I only dive a single tank with a DiveRite steel backplate and wing . With the new tanks and less lead weight, my trim was already improved. But, I'm still not perfectly dialed in. It's best to make incremental changes, so I'm going to use my RK3 fins again this coming weekend (Lake Wazee, WI). I only ever have enough air in my drysuit to offset the discomfort of any squeeze. I don't use my drysuit for buoyancy control. I will try to reposition the air bubble in my drysuit in an effort to improve my trim. I'm also going to reposition my tank so it rides a little higher on my back. This is why I like scuba diving: Always learning, always tweaking, always improving!

 

[Marcozx]

I love my RK3, theres 2 versions HD and non HD, one being slightly lighter

Borrow a friends to try perhaps ?

 

[GJC]

Thank you for all of the tips! This past weekend I was trying my new Faber Steel HP100 tanks. I only dive a single tank with a DiveRite steel backplate and wing . With the new tanks and less lead weight, my trim was already improved. But, I'm still not perfectly dialed in. It's best to make incremental changes, so I'm going to use my RK3 fins again this coming weekend (Lake Wazee, WI). I only ever have enough air in my drysuit to offset the discomfort of any squeeze. I don't use my drysuit for buoyancy control. I will try to reposition the air bubble in my drysuit in an effort to improve my trim. I'm also going to reposition my tank so it rides a little higher on my back. This is why I like scuba diving: Always learning, always tweaking, always improving!

Where is your lead weight?

If it's on your belt, have you tried moving some to a tank cam band?

 

[Ivar Diver]

On my second dive last Saturday I only used a total of 4 pounds of Sea Pearls soft weights. I have a collection of soft weights in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 pound sizes. I'm experimenting with weight placement in my hip pockets and tank band trim pockets to get my trim dialed in.

 

[stretchthepenn]

I've had great success using OMS Slipstream fins. They've got the classic Jetfin profile and propulsion characteristics, but they're only slightly negatively buoyant.