Split Fin Bashing?

[TSandM]

If I still had my splits, I'd go out and demonstrate. I believe it can be done, if body positioning is good enough and you kick gently.

 

[BDSC]

It's pretty hard to find someone with good frog kicking technique wearing split fins. It would have to be done for the purpose of demonstrating it for your benefit. I think anyone who has had the proper training will agree with what I wrote without hesitation.

I agree with you 100% but since I was challenged to provide video proof I thought I'd pass the buck.

 

[eelnoraa]

Disturbing silt is primarily a result of kicking technique. A flutter kicker near the bottom will stir up silt regardless of the fins being worn. I am quite sure I can go through a silty area with spit fins without stirring up silt. I won't do it as efficiently as I would with good, stiff, paddle fins, but I can do it.

It's pretty hard to find someone with good frog kicking technique wearing split fins. It would have to be done for the purpose of demonstrating it for your benefit. I think anyone who has had the proper training will agree with what I wrote without hesitation.

I think this summed it up really well. It is not about bashing the splits, but more like divers who emphasize on this kind finning technique, who value the result of this kind of technique, they ended up using blade fins because blades are more effective and efficient in these aspects.

 

[victorzamora]

If I still had my splits, I'd go out and demonstrate. I believe it can be done, if body positioning is good enough and you kick gently.

As has been said before, and as was said by John most recently, doing it is very inefficient. You alluded to it. I think that's the key.....they're not as efficient at anything other than a flutter when compared to a flutter. With a set of paddle fins, you have a higher diversity of kicks WITH WHICH YOU CAN MOVE EFFECTIVELY. I've stated that you "can't frog kick" in splits. I think that's incorrect, technically. However, stating that one "can't frog kick efficiently" in splits is what I believe to be a completely reasonable and factual statement.....and it seems to be what most are agreeing upon.

What I'm saying is that yes, you can move your legs in a motion identical to a diver wearing paddle fins. The ease and rate of actually propelling oneself forward via frog kick is drastically different between the two styles of fins, with paddle fins typically severely outperforming splits.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Alrighty then. So you have some sort of experience with split fin divers that don't silt out an area that has difficult bottom?

Can you provide video proof that a split fin diver can fin near the bottom without disturbing the silt?

It's not the best example, because it's a poor quality video (several years old, before they made digital cameras with decent video capability) ... a friend of mine on her first-ever dive in doubles. It didn't take her long to decide to switch to paddle fins, but not because of silting ... this is in a place called Cove 3, which is quite easy to silt out.

Valerie's First Doubles Dive Vid1 Video by NWGratefulDiver | Photobucket

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[fnfalman]

There is still a pressure differential.

Yep. There are subsurface high performance crafts nowadays that have wings similar to airplanes.

To a certain velocity threshold, hydrodynamics begin to separate itself from aerodynamics, but for many conditions they're about the same.

---------- Post added May 30th, 2014 at 08:25 AM ----------

As far as split fins go, most divers don't know how to use the proper kicking techniques with them. Hell, most divers don't know how to use the proper kicking techniques with paddle fins either.

For every split fins divers kicking up silt, I see at least two or more paddle fins divers doing the same thing. Why? Because paddle fins are cheaper and most new divers would rather buy a pair of $90 paddle fins than $180 split fins.

Plenty of true dive professionals from the US Navy use split fins just fine. They're the ones who actually have to dive for a living, some of them even use split fins when they dive for combat operations.

So, pick a set of fins and learn how to kick with them. It's as simple as that.

It ain't the split fins that cause silting, it's YOU.

 

[TSandM]

I TOTALLY agree that frog kicking in splits is inefficient, and back kicking is difficult to do at all. I was addressing the concerns that splits are obligatory silters. I don't think any fin unavoidably slits, but it is more difficult to avoid it when you can't completely control the vortices coming off the fin tips.

 

[Garth]

Combat divers use split fins? Can anyone validate that?


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---------- Post added May 30th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ----------

It's not the best example, because it's a poor quality video (several years old, before they made digital cameras with decent video capability) ... a friend of mine on her first-ever dive in doubles. It didn't take her long to decide to switch to paddle fins, but not because of silting ... this is in a place called Cove 3, which is quite easy to silt out.

Valerie's First Doubles Dive Vid1 Video by NWGratefulDiver | Photobucket

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I like your video Bob.

It's the first dive in doubles and looked better than I did.

It's proof that when properly weighted, properly trimmed, calm, collected any diver can use any fin they want.

Troubling issue is that many divers use their fins to stay either in trim or buoyant.

If a fin is present only for propulsion then it's effective.

Does anyone do training without fins? I think this could encourage people to learn buoyancy without a paddle or split.

Thanks
Garth


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[MXGratefulDiver]

... I spent most of my first dive in doubles trying to get my head out of the mud ... and I was wearing Jet fins ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Yep. There are subsurface high performance crafts nowadays that have wings similar to airplanes.

To a certain velocity threshold, hydrodynamics begin to separate itself from aerodynamics, but for many conditions they're about the same.

---------- Post added May 30th, 2014 at 08:25 AM ----------

As far as split fins go, most divers don't know how to use the proper kicking techniques with them. Hell, most divers don't know how to use the proper kicking techniques with paddle fins either.

For every split fins divers kicking up silt, I see at least two or more paddle fins divers doing the same thing. Why? Because paddle fins are cheaper and most new divers would rather buy a pair of $90 paddle fins than $180 split fins.

Plenty of true dive professionals from the US Navy use split fins just fine. They're the ones who actually have to dive for a living, some of them even use split fins when they dive for combat operations.

So, pick a set of fins and learn how to kick with them. It's as simple as that.

It ain't the split fins that cause silting, it's YOU.

I wish I could like that post more times! The part I have bolded and enlarged is the answer to the "debate" in a nutshell:worship: