Whats the deal with fins these days

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But they are made out of rubber not graphite. The power plana graphites were from either the late 80s or early 90s. A friend gave me a pair when he left diving.

I have had most of these fins, including the Power Plana Graphites. They were an okay fins but I could cause them to buckle, over driving them. Maybe it is just me but the only fins that I can recall besting my lap times with Jets are the FF Pro. I can basically haul axx in Jets. Maybe it is all of the cycling and swimming but I can flutter kick the Hades out of them and they do not buckle under load.

That said, I tend to prefer Mares Quatrro/Avanti type for warm water. Summer before this one, I got blown off a wreck, West Palm area, it was a bad drop anyways and I had my camera but when I put the power to my Avanti Quattros they buckled when I called Scotty for warp factor 9. If I had been wearing Jets, I would have made it.

I plan to get some free diver fins, I have used various types and while I am not sure I am faster in a sprint, I do believe they cruise at lower effort. For open water and drift diving and current, they make sense. Those Makos are looking cool.

N
 
But they are made out of rubber not graphite. The power plana graphites were from either the late 80s or early 90s. A friend gave me a pair when he left diving.

Yes. The OP asked about Graphites OR Power Planas so assumed he was talking about two different fins.
 
I plan to get some free diver fins, I have used various types and while I am not sure I am faster in a sprint, I do believe they cruise at lower effort. For open water and drift diving and current, they make sense. Those Makos are looking cool.

N

Maybe Volker is rubbing off on you too. Leisurepro has some deals on Cressi freedive fins.
 
I have had most of these fins, including the Power Plana Graphites. They were an okay fins but I could cause them to buckle, over driving them. Maybe it is just me but the only fins that I can recall besting my lap times with Jets are the FF Pro. I can basically haul axx in Jets. Maybe it is all of the cycling and swimming but I can flutter kick the Hades out of them and they do not buckle under load.

That said, I tend to prefer Mares Quatrro/Avanti type for warm water. Summer before this one, I got blown off a wreck, West Palm area, it was a bad drop anyways and I had my camera but when I put the power to my Avanti Quattros they buckled when I called Scotty for warp factor 9. If I had been wearing Jets, I would have made it.

I plan to get some free diver fins, I have used various types and while I am not sure I am faster in a sprint, I do believe they cruise at lower effort. For open water and drift diving and current, they make sense. Those Makos are looking cool.

N

Warp factor 9,that is code for a large scooter, right.. That's what you needed there, not different fins ;-)
 
My GUE friends like to say that if Jets are not fast enough, you need a scooter....In theory, this may sound like the answer, but after many thousands dives off Palm Beach, I can tell you that a scooter becomes a pain on many "types" of dive...it is too much bother for many dives where you don't expect to cover much distance, and or where none of your buddies will have one....They are a lot of extra work in charging and cleaning and carrying, and they don't fit well on many dive boats without being in the way of divers--and then there is the crew that handle your scooter improperly( like the time a DM that I handed my gavin to, took it to the fart end of the enclosed part of the boat, stood it on it's nose, and with people in the way I did not see this till after I sat down with my tank, and a large wave rocked the boat, tipped the scooter over, and the impact destroyed the trigger handle. Then there is the $2500 to $3500 cost of a decent scooter....fins are easier on the wallet.

Many times you just want a fin that can do anything. That fin is the excellerating Force Fin....I can even freedive with them, and that is mind boggling. While I still like the fun of using freedive fins, I know for many divers they won't be willing to walk in them, deal with transport or storage, or learn the different kick shapes best used for freedive fins. For me, I use either of these, depending on wreck penetration, or open reef. But I could use this model of Force Fin for anything.

Bob Evans is getting Force Fin manufacturing back up to speed now, so my guess is that this is a fin that will be available soon , to most divers.
 

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