Split fins or not

[BigHarryDiver]

Hi.. this has probably been discussed to death but since I'm relatively new to SB I'll ask anyway.

What are the pros and cons of using split fins versus non-split fins? Assuming there are pros and cons.

Thanks!

 

[RJP]

Hi.. this has probably been discussed to death...

Ya think?

When my buddy and I were diving the U-869 on air with John Chatterton and Richie Kohler last year, my buddy's split fins silted the place up so bad that I couldn't find my Spare-Air. I got so nervous I mistakenly hit the "up elevator" lever on my SeaQuest i-3 BCD. Ordinarily, this would have sent me shooting to the surface, but fortunately some monofilament got tangled around my Air-2. When I cut the line with the 11" knife strapped to my calf, I mistakenly poked the purge valve in my HydrOptix mask. I tried to use my tank banger to get my buddy's attention, but by that time he had gotten one of his suicide clips tangled up in the retractor I use to attach my dry snorkle to the transmitter of my air-integrated wireless compass, which I bought on-line instead of at the LDS that I stopped supporting ever since I signed up for e-learning. I believe that was right about the time I had the regs I bought at Leisure Pro serviced at the local Jiffy-Lube but didn’t actually test them myself before going on a special “Storm Tracker” live-aboard trip that I signed up for because in addition to free nitrox they were offering a special "take Fish ID, get your IDC free" promotion. Unfortunately I missed that trip because of the systemic fungal infection I contracted when the Halcyon p-valve I installed myself in my cave-cut trilam dry suit failed while I was solo-diving for golf balls without a scooter. Which I only did for the money, ever since the captain of the boat I DM on started making me tip the passengers $10/tank on every charter that I work.

My buddy and I are writing a book about it...

Shallow Divers: The true story of two Americans who risked everything to solve the mystery of every "you're gonna die" cliche on ScubaBoard

Ironically, it seems that Gary Gentile is now claiming that I actually did not experience EVERY cliche myself, based on a series of interviews with the girlfriend of the brother of a guy I shared a room with on Spring Break in 1987 and is now threatening to expose the REAL story of how all the trouble started when I kept radioing the Coast Guard to ask whether I could log pool dives as "real dives".

I will happily refute Gary's assertions in an on-line interview on ScubaBoard, wherein I will respond to any and all questions with "get a BP/W" while wearing my mask on my forehead.

PS - it's not the agency, it's the instructor!

 

[dmoore19]

Some folks on this board will advise you not to buy split fins. I have some and like them just fine but my experience is limited.

 

[rsilva708]

It's more of a preference. I dive twin Jets because I hated the blades I had first, but my Nephew now dives my old Blades because he doesn't like the split fins. I have noticed the splits can be a little harder for me to move through a high current.

 

[Texasdivechick]

Splits or not, you ask? NOT!!!!!!!
Save your money, they are worthless. Anyone who tells you that they are "fastest" fins on the market is working on commission. Who needs to be the fastest diver? What is important is power (if in a current and need to get to the line). The splits do nothing for this. I learned this the hard way when I was talked into buying $250 split fins w/ spring straps by my LDS who assured me that "all the real divers wear them". Well, all the kick-ass, highly qualified divers that I know would NEVER wear them for very good reasons. The spring straps are excellent but I quickly learned that I had to work twice as hard kicking in a current as my buddies in their Jet fins, Slipstreams, or Quattros, thereby making my SAC rate increase and my air decrease significantly by the time I got to the line. Do yourself a favor by getting plain paddle-style fins with the spring straps. Nothing fancy. Save your money and skip the fins with all the bells and whistles and get what is proven to work.

But if you're really intent on getting the split fins, I have some Atomic Smoke on the Water splits with spring straps I want to sell.... cheap!

 

[heritage80elite]

I dive Apollo Bio Fins, and they are fantastic IMHO. Never had any problems in current, and I suspect some of the people who have are just out of shape or don't know how to kick properly. I also swim competitively, so I may not be the best one to advise you since kicking against a current is pretty easy for me regardless of what type of fin I use.

 

[Deep-6]

It's a matter of personal preference like rsilva said. I dive twin jets with my wetsuit and twin jet max's with my drysuit. I personnally like them so they work for me. I'm not going to get up on a soapbox or anything and say they're the best or fastest but like i said, they work for me. You should maybe try some out before purchasing your own set. Just to see if you like them. See if you can rent some for a day and give them a few dives, try them out in different conditions. Maybe you'll find that they're good in some conditions but not so good in others. Then compare that with the type of diving you do. But don't let anyone scare you out of them with their "horror stories." The type of equipment you choose for yourself is a personal decision.

 

[DiveMaven]

IMO you need to try both splits and paddles and DECIDE FOR YOURSELF!

Personally I don't like splits because of my kicking style. I consistently over kick splits, rendering them completely useless and basically ribbons of rubber hanging off my feet. After being a competitive swimmer for 10 years, there's no way I want to consider changing my kicking style to accommodate a specific style of fins (whether that's split or Force Fins), thus I stick to blade type fins. I also prefer to frog kick, which although is "possible" in splits, they really aren't designed for it, thus I stick to blade type fins.

A dive buddy of mine found out the hard way that the split fins he bought (on the strong recommendation of his LDS) don't work for him in any kind of current. His natural kicking style is big and when he gets into any current, he naturally increases the strength and size of his kick, which completely destroys the effectiveness of splits. Not to mention when he tried to do frog kicks...again, the splits just didn't do the job for him.

These are just MY experiences with splits (and a buddy's), you really should try the different types of fins and decide for yourself what matches your kicking style and comfort. Good luck!

The bottom line IMO is that the fins that work best for YOU are the right fins to buy and use.

 

[Louie]

It's best to try them out and then decide.

The answer is, it depends on a few things:

Personal preference - whether you like the type of "kicks" that work with splits

Your finning style - I personally like the frog kick and find it's impossible with the splits

The type of diving you do (I've spoken to people who wanted to throw theirs away after diving in very strong current claiming they were inefficient)

Your body type and strength - I've met many people with knee or hip joint problems who said split fins were the greatest dive equipment ever invented as the fins enabled them to use lighter strokes and take the pressure off the problem joints

 

[TSandM]

I think split fins reduce the resistance against which you kick; it seems much easier to kick in them than in paddle fins. But by the same token, they don't take the same "bite" of the water, so it's harder to do precision maneuvering in them. You CAN frog kick and back kick and helicopter turn in splits, but it's not very efficient, and I think you pretty much have to learn the kicks in another sort of fin. At least, I can't conceive of learning to back kick in splits -- it was only because I absolutely knew the kick that I could do it in them.

Right now, if I were going to recommend a fin for a brand new diver who is not using full foot fins, I'd recommend the Deep See Pulse fins. They're cheap (currently on sale at LeisurePro for 25.99, I think) and reasonably stiff, but not as stiff or as heavy as ScubaPro Jet fins, which are what I use most of the time.