Split fins worth the money?

[fookisan]

On my last few dives my left ankle has been acting up and wonder if split fins would take off some of the strain? Been using standard fins all my life and wonder if I should make the switch...they seem so overpriced at $140 and $160 a pair which is what my local dive shop gets for them. What are the best values?

Thanks,

Dan

 

[BrianS]

I picked up a pair of Trek's for $90 at Sport Chalet.

 

[dmpaq20]

On my last few dives my left ankle has been acting up and wonder if split fins would take off some of the strain? Been using standard fins all my life and wonder if I should make the switch...they seem so overpriced at $140 and $160 a pair which is what my local dive shop gets for them. What are the best values?

Thanks,

Dan

To be honest Dan I would say yes.
Especially if you have used the standard thrust type of fin

I have both. The splits are great and as important for me they are smaller and pack well as my trips take me from Texas to Micronesia most of the time.

I find that they do not pack the punch that stanard thrust type fins have but then again I do not use that much force most of the time anyway.

Mine were $119 and I purchased them a couple of years ago.

That is my $.02 worth,

Dave

 

[mdb]

Dan:

The old saying "you get what you pay for" certainly applies to SCUBA gear. When you buy a car you can easily see the difference between "entry level" and higher quality better performance models. The better fins use higher grade materials, superior design etc. The difference between the lower end and the best models is not that much $40-$50 or less. Go for the best. Don't buy it twice.

 

[JustinW]

Split fins are worth the money.....sorta. There are a lot of split fin designs that are junk (DIR guys would argue all of them). You want a split fin with a stiff spine so its not too floppy. Scubapro twin jets are a good example, there is another that I can't remember the name of right now but it has a smaller fin surface area. Ankle problems can be a sign of several different problems. Could be a fin with a foot pocket that is too large, a blade that is too stiff or something else.

 

[gzscuba]

Caveat: I've never used split fins before. Some people really like splits, and some people think that they're worthless. My wife just bought a new pair of fins because the ones we bought while certifying are developing cracks in the plastic. She went with Scubapro Jet Fins - we probably paid retail list, but it was still "only" about $100. I think she was swayed by the fact that a lot of really experienced divers swear by their Jet Fins (that and the rubber will never wear out, literally).
I've heard that certain types of modified kicks are very difficult if not impossible to perform in split fins. If you're never going to do anything besides a flutter kick, then splits will not be a problem.
What kind of UW activities were going on that caused your ankle to hurt? Lots of swimming, turning? As a previous poster mentioned, you may have a fit problem. The stiffness of my fins causes let cramps sometimes, but I've never had ankle pain. Do you ankles hurt after exercise, such as jogging?

 

[Mark Vlahos]

On my last few dives my left ankle has been acting up and wonder if split fins would take off some of the strain? Been using standard fins all my life and wonder if I should make the switch...they seem so overpriced at $140 and $160 a pair which is what my local dive shop gets for them. What are the best values?

Thanks,

Dan

Here is my take on split fins, and fins in general.

When I started I got a pair of Tusa Imprex fins, pretty good fins, they worked, they fit my booties. All was good, or so I thought. I dove these fins for several years and would have hamstring and calf cramps. After a while I noticed that the booties did not fit well. I got bigger booties that fit my feet better but now the new booties were too big for the pocket in the fins. I could cram them in but getting them off was a REAL struggle.

I decided that the fins needed to go... So I went to a shop and asked what would be a good choice. The answer and what I ended up with were ScubaPro TwinJets. WOW these were great, the pocket fit my booties perfectly, and I found that I stoped having any leg cramps. I felt that the fins would propel me through the water more easily than my old fins did. I had always used the only kick style that I had ever been taught, the straight leg scissor kick. Well at least I sorta did that kick, I would from time to time get lazy and bend from the knees rather than keep my legs straight. The TwinJets did not seem to care, I was quite happy.

Fast forward a couple of years of purely recreational diving... I decide I want to progress a little into technical diving, I start with a deco class. My instructor is quite diplomatic and tells me that the split fins will most likely not be the most appropriate fin for my future aspirations. I like the fins and they work for the deco class just fine, but with the added bulk of double tanks I can see that the instructor is starting to make sense.

Fast forward another year... I have the money and time to take my cave class. In preparation I have done A LOT of research. The traditional old school style of fins are the most popular for cave divers. ScubaPro Jet fins, Turtles, and other similar "throwback" type fins were the ones that many cave divers really went wild for. I figure that they must know somthing I don't so I plunk down some money and get some good old ScubaPro Jet fins with spring straps.

The big difference that made the Jet fins more appropriate for the cave was not as much the fin as the kick. In a cave the old straight leg scissor kick would end up churning up the silt from the bottom and destroy the visibility. The frog kick is the kick of choice in a cave and the split fins do not do this kick very well, while the goofy old Jet fins really work well.

This has been a long story, but it illustrates that one fin may work well for one kick style and environment while another works poorly, but change the kick style and a different fin will excell. I have changed my kick style for all dives to the frog kick. I think the frog kick is easier to keep up for a long dive without tiring. It affects my position in the water less, and even on a coral reef it disturbs the bottom less. The straight leg kick, if you are making the nice large sweeps like you are supposed to, tends to roll your torso from one side to the other slightly with each kick. You kind of spiral left and right in the water as you move forward.

If you are looking at a fin that will work with the scissor kick on recreational dives I can reccommend the ScubaPro TwinJet fin. If you are looking at caves, penetrating wrecks, or just want to frog kick instead of scissor then I like the ScubaPro Jet Fin.

best of luck,

Mark Vlahos

 

[mdb]

Dan: This thread will now morph into jet fins, DIR fans etc. The reality is that the Natures Wing design- split fins- are the most efficent fins with the least effort and the highest return on energy expended. The split design replicates the fins of marine mammals, whales, seals, sea lions etc, as well as long distance fish such as tuna. These sea creatures use the basic principle used in an aircraft wing that provides lift and forward movement. The best split fin is the Apollo bio-fin using all natural rubber.
Other good versions of split fins are sold by Aqua-lung, Atomic, Oceanic and Scuba-Pro. Some divers still prefer paddle fins. The paddle fin is based on the design of a ducks foot or marine birds such as seagulls. When the paddle fin was the only fin available divers were trained to fin with a wide slow scissor style kick. I have been diving since 1971. My first fins were Scuba-Pro jet fins. Once I realized that the vents were useless-how many fish have vents in their fins?-I moved on to Aqua-lung blades, Mares Plana and Avantis, Cressi Frogs etc. These models all worked well with the wide scissors kick. If you try several styles and models, as you should, you will find that the split versions do not "feel" as if you are getting any resistance-That is just the point. You are moving faster and more efficently with less effort. If you want a stiffer version of a split fin they are available. The Apollo bio-fin XT can be used with a wider kick, any style kick, and still provide the benefits of the split fin design. Atomic, Scuba-Pro and Tusa also have stiffer versions of their split fins. The Apollo bio-fins have been tested by SCUBA LAB every year since they were first introduced. The fins have ranked #1 every year in both objective and ergo testing. Apollo has never spent one cent in advertising in SCUBA DIVING magazine. The SCUBA DIVNG testing is comprehensive and well thought out. The latest tests just were completed; http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/tripreports.php?s=3052. Dive a lot and dive often and make up your own mind.

 

[DIVEMASTERROB]

DAN

I too think that the split fins are worth every penny you pay for them. They are a little strange at first because you dont feel the resistance you would be accustom to with non-split fins. I have 2 pair, scubapro splitfins and tusa expert splitfins, I really like the tusa better only because it fits better on my feet. The tusa fins I have are the black ones, I think they are a stiffer compound and provide a little more thurst than the other tusa splitfins. I got them from LP for about $120.00. I think you will be very pleased if you do switch.

Robby

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

Try backwards kicking with a split fin and try doing a frog kick with them. Next, put on a set of large volume, double steel tanks and a couple of deco bottles, and try to go anywhere in split fins. Split fins are not nearly as efficient in these circumstances.

Even if you think you won't need to do this kind of diving, by getting split fins, you have certainly limited where you can go in the future if you ever decide to get into more technical diving. Also, if split fins don't have enough power to do all kicks efficiently, what's the point in having them at all?

The flutter kick is good for short bursts of speed and power; the frog kick is good for long distance at moderate speed. All the fancy do-dads on fins are not needed if you just go with simple fins and a simple kick that won't tire your legs or stress your joints.

Look at it this way: If someone told you that you had to swim ten miles in the ocean, you wouldn't do it using the crawl stroke. It would make better sense to use the breast stroke. If someone wanted to race you across the pool, that's when you would use the crawl stroke. The same principles apply to your kick for diving. Make the frog kick your primary kick, and use the flutter kick when needed instead of getting a fin that will increase your flutter kick efficiency at the cost of the frog kick.

You'll also find that you won't blow out the visibility for everyone else in the ocean when you aren't blasting sand all over the place using an un-modified flutter kick. Last, you will likely reduce your gas consumption rate using the frog kick.

For all these reasons, you don't need a split fin. Save your money.