Should I buy from my LDS?

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I'll just throw in that in about '08 I bought the spring straps at the LDS for about $40. And that's in Canada (where almost everything is more expensive than in the U.S. AND in Can. dollars which are worth a little less), and in an area where there is very little choice as to what shop to use.
 
And that's in Canada (where almost everything is more expensive than in the U.S. AND in Can. dollars which are worth a little less)

Give it a little time and your Canadian dollars will be worth a little more than USD...
 
oh and one more thing... if you do decide SCUBA is for you... get your gear asap... you will find that you dive more often when it's your own gear. The best way to become a good, safe diver and dive buddy is to dive, dive and then dive some more!
 
Yeah my mind was blown when I was in the shop and one of the guys said that the springs were like an $80 upgrade. There was a set of fins that were less than $100, but by the time you added the springs to them, he said I may as well buy the split fins that came with them for $200, since they were also a better fin. I didn't know any better at the time, it was my first time talking to anyone, but it didn't make a ton of sense to me. I came home that day and logged onto this site. That's when I discovered all of the, ahem, very strong feelings about fins. lol
 
Yeah my mind was blown when I was in the shop and one of the guys said that the springs were like an $80 upgrade. There was a set of fins that were less than $100, but by the time you added the springs to them, he said I may as well buy the split fins that came with them for $200, since they were also a better fin. I didn't know any better at the time, it was my first time talking to anyone, but it didn't make a ton of sense to me. I came home that day and logged onto this site. That's when I discovered all of the, ahem, very strong feelings about fins. lol

The feelings about the fins are like you said feelings. I'm not on any side of the ever ongoing war, but 200$ for split-fins is way to expensive

Jord
 
Yeah my mind was blown when I was in the shop and one of the guys said that the springs were like an $80 upgrade. There was a set of fins that were less than $100, but by the time you added the springs to them, he said I may as well buy the split fins that came with them for $200, since they were also a better fin. I didn't know any better at the time, it was my first time talking to anyone, but it didn't make a ton of sense to me. I came home that day and logged onto this site. That's when I discovered all of the, ahem, very strong feelings about fins. lol

If someone can up sell you to a set of split fins as a better option then I have some lake front property (swamp land) in Florida to sell you.
 
You can get a set of Hollis F-1's, HOG tech Fins, or Dive Rite EXP Fins, and probably a couple others that come standard with spring straps for way less than 200.00. The F-1's can be had for under 175 and the HOG's and Dive Rites for under 150.00.

Now I am a HOG dealer and if you knew you wanted a short, maneuverable fin for wrecks or caves that is what I'd recommend. But if I were you living in SoCal where you are likely to be doing open ocean with moderate currents IMO there is one choice out of the three. The Hollis F-1's. I do not sell them and not a Hollis dealer. But I was one of the original consumer testers for the F-1's and subsequently the F-1 yellow tips. That is your best choice for an all round fin for power, control, and the type of diving you are likely to do. And you don't need to add anything to them.
 
You can always ask the LDS to price match what you find online. I have a brick and mortar shop as well as Robert as my 2 LDS's. Robert is also my instructor of choice.

Take into consideration the diving you will want to do in the future as that can affect your personal items as well. I've just run into a fin issue that wasn't a problem for me in a bcd but has recently popped up when I switched to bp/w. Literally my feet float with my current boots and split fins to the point where I am upside down. The problem is corrected with ankle weights but I'm thinking of getting heavier boots and fins. Definitely do as much research as you can and try everything on.
 
You can get a set of Hollis F-1's, HOG tech Fins, or Dive Rite EXP Fins, and probably a couple others that come standard with spring straps for way less than 200.00. The F-1's can be had for under 175 and the HOG's and Dive Rites for under 150.00.

Now I am a HOG dealer and if you knew you wanted a short, maneuverable fin for wrecks or caves that is what I'd recommend. But if I were you living in SoCal where you are likely to be doing open ocean with moderate currents IMO there is one choice out of the three. The Hollis F-1's. I do not sell them and not a Hollis dealer. But I was one of the original consumer testers for the F-1's and subsequently the F-1 yellow tips. That is your best choice for an all round fin for power, control, and the type of diving you are likely to do. And you don't need to add anything to them.


I am going to agree with Jim on the choices he suggested. Keep in mind that I have owned split fins and I do not have anything against them BUT having been caught in a strong current split fins ARE NOT my first choice. I own a pair of Hollis F1's, and I love them. I dive dry in Oregon and Washington and the extra weight is great. The power I get from them is really good and they don't stress out my knee's. The spits I had were very easy on my knees also. If you go dry make sure you buy fins that are a size bigger than what you wear with wet suit boots. For example, I wore a thick soled boots with my wet suit and used fins that were size XL. When I went dry I had to bump up to XXL because I went with rock boots, just something to keep in mind. Oh hey, check out BP&W rigs also. I am not saying this is the only way to go but it is a good option. Easy to work with, comfortable and does not flop around on your back when you invert or roll over to look at something.

Oh and if your shop says something like, "I sell X brand because I only dive the best", WATCH OUT!!! You are doing the right thing by asking people here. You will get the widest range of answers which can be hard to sift through sometimes but you will get honest accounts on different styles of gear.
 
You can always ask the LDS to price match what you find online. I have a brick and mortar shop as well as Robert as my 2 LDS's. Robert is also my instructor of choice.

Take into consideration the diving you will want to do in the future as that can affect your personal items as well. I've just run into a fin issue that wasn't a problem for me in a bcd but has recently popped up when I switched to bp/w. Literally my feet float with my current boots and split fins to the point where I am upside down. The problem is corrected with ankle weights but I'm thinking of getting heavier boots and fins. Definitely do as much research as you can and try everything on.

Who is this Robert guy? LOL! It took me a min to figure out who you were! The fin story gave it away.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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