twin jets or jet fins?

[Splash-X]

here's me and my fins in action...

Hope thats not you in the yellow fins , just messing with you.

I moved from Twin Jet fins to Twin Jet Max to give myself more stiffness. I have also tried the JetFin you speak of and both are pretty much the same. What it is going to come down to is fitting to your foot.

Personal comfort is what should drive you decision

 

[vixtor]

I have went from Twin Jet Max fins to classic Jetfins. I had no propulsion issue with the Twin Jets Max, but it was harder to rotate, and almost impossible to kick back. I also wanted heavier fins, because my feet were floating too much.

P.S. the XS scuba spring straps are very nice for jets.

 

[KY_BOB]

I have the same Tusa fins as you and you are correct, they do not do well in current or with a lot of drag (doubles, drysuit, or both). They are great and very easy on your legs in still water diving a single tank it a wetsuit. In current they are like ridding a 10 speed bycle in first gear. Your not going anywhere fast and you going to pedal (kick) like crazy.

I've dove both Jet fins and Twin jets. The jet fins are powerful but take a lot of muscle to use. At your size, unless you have VERY strong legs, they will be rough on you. They are on me and I'm over 50% larger than you.

The twin Jets are a very good compromise. They are more powerful than your Tusa's but not near as brutal on your legs as jet fins. Unless your going into tech diving, I think that they will suit you well. I wish I had bought them instead of the Tusa's.

Another option for you since your dive shop is a Tusa dealer is the Tusa Imprex fin. They are a fairly soft blade style fin. As for the effort involved, they may be slightly harder to kick than the twin jets but not by much. I got a set of these thrown in when I bought my used drysuit. Since then, I dove them more that the Jet fins be it wet or dry. I still dive the jet fins some but I haven't had the Tusa split fins on since getting them.

 

[Splash-X]

Not all fins are meant for every diving situation. Some do better in different situations, no doubt.

There is nothing wrong with owning more than one set of fins for different purposes. You may end up with a set of split fins for clam diving and a pair of solid stiff fins for current diving.

With anything, using the right tool for the job at hand is the best thing you do. A swiss army knife is a great tool, has tools that would assist in every job... but if you were a doctor you wouldn't be using the knife on that thing would you? Would it do the job? Yeah, but as well as a tool that was designed to excel at the job.

If you're only going to be drift diving start with a fin that excels in those conditions. If you dive a huge range of conditions consider your fin selection by what conditions will be easier and which will be more difficult.


I don't do drift diving all the time so I know that when I head over to West Palm Beach I won't be able to manuver as well as some of the other divers with my split fins. I have two choices, get some fins for the job or acknowledge that my fins fall short of stellar marks in those conditions and deal with it.

 

[TSandM]

First off, I'm 5'4" and 120 lbs, so not much bigger than you are, and I'm not athletic.

I have used both Twin Jets and Jet fins. I prefer Jets, and this is why.

Twin Jets minimize the resistance of the water to your kick, so they don't require as much effort as Jets do. But, by the same token, they don't take the same "bite" of the water, and less of the effort you expend is transferred into forward momentum. Precise control is more difficult with Twin Jets, because they are floppy. I use back kicking and helicopter turning a lot when I dive, and both kicks are more difficult in splits (although possible, if you already know them).

A flutter kick in Jets is a VERY powerful kick, but takes a lot out of your legs. But if you want to move against current, you need a stiff fin that will transmit the force well. This is why you don't see cave divers going into high flow caves in split fins.

 

[ROMO DIVER]

Actually, while twins do not do well in any direction but straight forward the main and most important reason I don't use them in caves is that they are something that can and will get wrapped up in line. I don't believe you will ever see a cave diver with them no matter what the flow for that simple reason.

 

[Belce]

I have only ever dived split fins and I have a pair of Tusa xpert zooms. When I am headed into a current or want to go fast I up the tempo of my stroke and also reduce the stroke amplitude to be within my forward profile. When correctly used split fins realize their potential against current better than other fin designs.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

First off, I'm 5'4" and 120 lbs, so not much bigger than you are, and I'm not athletic.

I have used both Twin Jets and Jet fins. I prefer Jets, and this is why.

Twin Jets minimize the resistance of the water to your kick, so they don't require as much effort as Jets do. But, by the same token, they don't take the same "bite" of the water, and less of the effort you expend is transferred into forward momentum. Precise control is more difficult with Twin Jets, because they are floppy. I use back kicking and helicopter turning a lot when I dive, and both kicks are more difficult in splits (although possible, if you already know them).

A flutter kick in Jets is a VERY powerful kick, but takes a lot out of your legs. But if you want to move against current, you need a stiff fin that will transmit the force well. This is why you don't see cave divers going into high flow caves in split fins.

Very well put.
You'l also never see world class freedivers using any form of split fins because they need complete positive power. If split fins were so great and so fast they would have taken the freedive scene by storm. There are a few scuba divers I know that use freediving fins for scuba , but those guys are super hard core bug divers and they cover huge amounts of ground and use usually a very large single tank. Mileage isn't a consideration with their style of diving, covering ground is.
But regular jets are similar in power but designed better for regular scuba diving. Jets also offer much more versitility in kicking styles than any split fin.
Splits were a good idea for people who have no leg strength but the limitations make them not worth using for people with the ability to develop the skills and shape needed to use jets. I found it makes more sense just to exercise and practice with jets to develop the leg muscles and conditioning needed to use them.

 

[chachee99]

Jet fins all the way!
I owned a pair a Twin Jet Max fins and didn't particularly care for them. I found myself kicking far too much. I borrowed a set of jets and found them to be exellent, although a bit heavy. However, I decided to get a set of OMS Slip Stream fins, which are exactly like jet fins but only lighter and slightly more stiff.

 

[Belce]

I really think that someone could demonstrate a better fin with film documented proof again and still not be as good as jet fins.

again