Split Fins, best bang for the buck

[grebisx]

Stay with the Apollos. Have had them since they came out - added steel straps later. Dove with Mares Avanti Quatros before that. I also have a pair of Force fins - like English ale, an acquired taste. (My wife bought them for $20 at an estate sale- virtually unused). Have used a variety of ins over the years going back to raw rubber fitted US divers. Simlpy put, the Aploolos are the best. If you can't find a deal on ebay, craigslist or whatever, you would still be better off even if you had to pay stone cold retail. Cannot address the orthopedic issue; however, prior to the Apollos I had occasional leg cramps (calf). Zero cramps since then. That tells me that here is much less strain. All that with far superior performance (speed, efficiency, reduced air consumption).

 

[scubafanatic]

I would give the floppy bio fins to your injured knee friend and upgrade to a stiffer split fin. I used my sister's bio's and felt like I had no power or precise turning ability. I now dive with the Scuba Pro Twin Speeds and love them. They are the stiffest SF and I can outswim most paddle finners in a stiff current (I beat a divemaster to a mooring in stiff current in PNG. He was panting, and I was not. I was QUITE a bit older, too). I use almost exclusively frog kick and they perform well. Maybe a little harder to back up with......

Yes, I am a convert to splits....even after almost 35 years in jet fins.

I've got 3 pairs of the 'floppy' Apollos, and 1 pair of the much stiffer 'XT' version, and if you're really wanting a 'stiffer' feel, the 'XT's will definitely provide that, so much so that I pretty much switched back to my 'floppy' versions....I was rather surprised at how much stiffer they were, I hadn't expected the substantial difference....my ankles definitely noticed it however! In a high current environment, I can see a time and place for the 'XT's, but honestly I've dove in plenty of high current environments and have always been 100% happy with the 'floppy' Apollos, and can easily keep up with anyone and outrun anyone too, if I want.

My only minor pet-peeve with the Apollos is that, being rather 'negative', it's best to be able to keep up at least a tiny bit of forward momentum to offset the tendency for the legs/feet to want to drop when in a completely stationary situation....so I wouldn't use them in a cave/wreck (tech) situation where keeping one's feet away from the bottom (siltout) is a critical concern.....a concern I never have in an open water/recreational (ocean) environment.

As far as 'maneuverability' goes, I can EASILY pivot/helicopter turn and back up with the best of 'em, even in my standard 'floppy' Apollos....those skills are diver reliant, not fin reliant, and I've never had any issues with the Apollos, even way back as a newbie.

 

[robbcayman]

I love my apollo bio fins. I have had them for over 5 years and never had an issue with the normal buckle strap. I bought an extra one just in case, but so far haven't needed it.

I bought my bio fins on ebay brand new for a steal. There are a lot of good deals if you look around.

 

[rebelrph]

I love my Apollos with SS spring straps. I accidentally discovered something that makes them even more comfortable ( for me at least ) . I forgot my dive boots one day while diving in Coz the week of Christmas and substituted the DM's crocs. The buoyancy of the crocs exactly counteracted the negative aspects of the fins. That evening I went to Mega Market and bought me a pair of crocs and finished the week using them.

 

[Allison Finch]

Yes, I do love the Scuba Pro Twin Jets! Frog kicks and helicopter turns ARE easy! Performing back kicks I found fairly easy as well, but you need to practice a bit. I have the Hollis F1 for my drysuit diving, like the those fins, but the Twin Jets ARE easier on the knees and legs overall. My LDS I work for sells the Apollo and Atomics, Not sure about them really, but to me comfort and performance is critical and the boss hasn't made any comments about me using them, yet... ;o)

I have the twin SPEEDS, not the twin jets. The speeds are longer and narrower and much stiffer. I preferred them, personally.

 

[Hemlon]

I have the Atomic split fins...love them!

 

[tangler]

I've been using the XT bio-fins for about 3 yrs and love 'em. I struggle with frog kicking now due to knee issues, and so have my own mutent kick. The bios power me along really well. They are heavy but that works for me underwater, though not so great for luggage allowance. All up expensive fins but I'm happy.

I recently had to get a pair of Tusa x-pert zooms as the foot pocket on the bios wasn't large enough for my new drysuit boots. The Tusa are very good fins too, but I prefer the "feel" of the bios. The x-perts are quite long so you have to be careful not to knock things, however I like the angled blades cos you can kick closer to the bottom without kicking up silt, and the Tusa spring straps are the best I've seen.

 

[Offroad]

Aeris Velocity Duo can be gotten for about 50 bucks(they've recently DC'ed them but who cares....lol)......I've used them now for almost 3 years, wife used them a time or 2 & liked them so much(has 'bad' squeaky knees @ age 57) she bought a pr for herself(in a different color thank goodness)

My wife and I have used Velocity Duo's for the last four years and like ours as well.

 

[mdb]

The bio-fin XT model is manufactured with a 75 durometer hardness, 15% stiffer than the bio-fin pro black. The bio-fin XT is for the diver who prefers more "feel" or low end torque, likes alternate kicks such as frog, back kick etc.

The overall most efficient bio-fin, with the least effort and best top end propulsion is still the original bio-fin pro.