Split Fins?? Controversial Topic???

[tracydr]

I gotta get me some of these "Death Fins."

That's pretty funny.
i was at the lake with Jax and my husband. I was trying some of Jax's fins along with her DSS bp/ wing.One set of fins was too large. There was a very nice gentleman chatting with us while wading his dog in the water. He was very close to our gear so I asked him if he could swap out a set of fins for me since I was in deeper water.
He started going on about how wonderful his new split fins were. Jax and I sort of just nodded and politely said they wouldn't work for our purposes but that they were probably fine fins. I just explained that I already had split fins and was trying to find something else for more advanced kick styles and possibly cave training.

---------- Post Merged at 09:13 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:10 PM ----------

Yeah I thought it was sort of odd... she quite literally sat me down at a table by the dock and started with "we need to talk about your equipment...." I could have understood it if I was a student but I had close to 70 dives under my belt by that time. I wasn't offended because she seemed to be genuinely concerned with my safety but it sure made my wife who bought them for me as a father's day present feel like heel.

I've had about 300 dives in TUSA split fins. I've found they no longer meet my needs and I'm trying to find a new fin that works for me. But, they were fine for quite awhile, before I needed something more.

 

[Rooster59]

Arguing split fins for OW is like arguing which rear cog you use when you ride your bike.

Splits -> Las aletas del Diablo

 

[diver_dj]

I have a pair, but they seem to be useless. Is there a secret button I need to push for the death part to happen, or is it more like a particular pattern in the kicking style?

 

[koozemani]

I have a pair, but they seem to be useless. Is there a secret button I need to push for the death part to happen, or is it more like a particular pattern in the kicking style?

On their own they are not dangerous. The danger lies when used in conjunction when used with a snorkel, spare air, air II, and the catalyst is placing your mask on your forehead. When used in the proper sequence death is sure to follow. Rumors of jackets style BCs Being part of this death sequence are unfounded, but hey, why take a chance.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Arguing split fins for OW is like arguing which rear cog you use when you ride your bike.

Splits -> Las aletas del Diablo

Ideally, split fins would have bungee straps on them so they could be called "bungee fins of deaths" to both compliment and pay homage to the famed "bungee wing of death".

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Beyond that, I think you have a great analogy - split fins are a little like pedaling around in first gear as it requires very little muscle but demands a high cyclic rate to get any useable speed out of them.

They also do not allow much precision in terms of terms and back kicking in them is anemic at best to pretty much impossible. And if you dive doubles, etc, they just don't offer enough thrust to effectively deal with the extra mass and drag of that configuration. Thus the vitriolic hatred of them among the technical diving crowd.

 

[beaverdivers]

If they fit you and work for your diving, then keep diving them.

The DM was way out of line.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If they fit you and work for your diving, then keep diving them.

The DM was way out of line.

I agree. The DM should have taken the more subtle, "Friends don't let friends dive split fins" approach. "Death Fins" is too melodramatic to be credible and carries the risk that the student will ignore it and spend their entire career not knowing what it's like to dive a good set of fins. That borders on professional irresponsibility.

 

[Shftrdog]

Some people love them some hate them, as far as them being unsafe that is crazy. Some people just dont like change, I acctually heard someone say the other day the dive computers are not safe, that everyone should dive with dive table otherwise you will get bend. It is crazy

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Some people love them some hate them, as far as them being unsafe that is crazy. Some people just dont like change, I acctually heard someone say the other day the dive computers are not safe, that everyone should dive with dive table otherwise you will get bend. It is crazy

I love change....good change. But change just for the sake of change isn't good.

Believe me, over the years I've tried lots of fins and nothing has ever replaced the basic Scubapro Jet Fin design for the types of diving I do - except the OMS Slipstream, which is a lighter monoprene version of the neoprene rubber Jet Fin.

I tried various split fins when they came out and they never out performed my jets. I've tried numerous other fins by various companies and while some were very good, not were better for the diving I did. I even spent several dives giving a very thorough evaluation to the Force Fin SD-1 fins that Bob was kind enough to loan me - and they are about as innovative and different as it gets (they worked a lot better than a split fin, but still did not offer the thrust I needed for technical diving, nor did they frog kick as well as jets, or offer the same precise level of control in helicopter turns).

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As for the dive computer comment, in the right context, I agree with it. I use a Predator on every dive and it offers a lot more flexibility and accuracy in cave diving than even a multi-level capable table. But I am also aware that it can fail, so on a decompression dive well beyond the NDLs, I either carry 2 of them to provide redundancy, or I ensure I have tables (cut with deco software) to provide a back up to possible computer failure.

 

[BabyDuck]

i had some tusa xpert zooms. then, really early one morning when i got up to go pee, i found them poised outside my bedroom door. they tried to look like they were just going to get something to drink, but i saw the really big knife they had in one pocket and knew they were fins of death, trying to do me in. plus the music from 'psycho' *and* the music from 'jaws' was playing.

so i sold them to a friend and bought jets. haven't heard from that friend in a while, but i assume he's fine...