Why are jetfins so good?

[Thalassamania]

Thalassamania: We called this fin the "polio fin". I know that is not very PC. That fin was a total mess. We went diving with the old Ed Brawely crew and tried it over and over again, never worked.

Ralph, with his mind racing, as usual, thought that "locking" the ankle and having the fin deliver thrust from a full leg extension would make for a better fin.

At least he tried.

I actually dove those fins for about 6 months, Ralph had convinced me that I'd build my legs up to where I could use them. BS, my legs were already built, I was just stupid. If the "angle lock" had been adjustable they might have been a great fin.

Did you dive Ed's "pillow BC" with the fins?

 

[Jason Ooi]

I prefer Jet fins.... instead of Force fins

 

[cmalinowski]

Dude,
I've used that fin, it has amazing thrust, and is great for heavy currents ( I think I posted about it earlier). I've done frog kicks with it. The one that retails for $629 is this one ( the Extra force Fin Tan Delta).
C-Dawg

:11: Must be some sort of social experiment to see if people will actually pay. I am sure the gov't is behind it somewhere

 

[Soggy]

I prefer fins that don't cost as much as a steel tank, especially when they have no additional benefits over the $60 variety.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I prefer fins that don't cost as much as a steel tank, especially when they have no additional benefits over the $60 variety.

$629 will almost buy me the set of HP100 Worthingtons I've been lusting after ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MarkUK]

Retail is only $[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]389.95.[/FONT]

Nope, C-Dawg is correct - it is $629 for the Tan Delta version of both the Extra Force and the Excellerating Force.

The Tan Delta version of the normal Force Fin Pro is the one that is $389.95.

I personally love my Force Fins, but I wasn't going to post about that - each to their own and all that.

I see all these posts about how great Jet Fins are - the best fins for this, the best fins for that, the best all-round fin, etc, etc.

However, it is interesting to note that in all my years of travelling all over the world on assignment, I have never, ever seen a dive guide/instructor/dive centre owner wearing them on a dive. I would say that 95% or more of them are wearing Mares Avanti Quattros, and the remainder are wearing a selection of Scubapro, Aqualung, Cressi, etc, etc. But no Jet Fins.

Now I am not doubting that they offer plenty of thrust, control, etc, but I just find it interesting that these guys - who are often racking up 600 plus dives a year in some extremely demanding conditions (strong currents and swell, having to race after errant students, etc, etc) - mainly choose the Quattros.

Mark

 

[Diving Doc]

Nope, C-Dawg is correct - it is $629 for the Tan Delta version of both the Extra Force and the Excellerating Force.

The Tan Delta version of the normal Force Fin Pro is the one that is $389.95.

I personally love my Force Fins, but I wasn't going to post about that - each to their own and all that.

I see all these posts about how great Jet Fins are - the best fins for this, the best fins for that, the best all-round fin, etc, etc.

However, it is interesting to note that in all my years of travelling all over the world on assignment, I have never, ever seen a dive guide/instructor/dive centre owner wearing them on a dive. I would say that 95% or more of them are wearing Mares Avanti Quattros, and the remainder are wearing a selection of Scubapro, Aqualung, Cressi, etc, etc. But no Jet Fins.

Now I am not doubting that they offer plenty of thrust, control, etc, but I just find it interesting that these guys - who are often racking up 600 plus dives a year in some extremely demanding conditions (strong currents and swell, having to race after errant students, etc, etc) - mainly choose the Quattros.

Mark

Thought you might get in on this one bud!!

 

[Soggy]

However, it is interesting to note that in all my years of travelling all over the world on assignment, I have never, ever seen a dive guide/instructor/dive centre owner wearing them on a dive. I would say that 95% or more of them are wearing Mares Avanti Quattros, and the remainder are wearing a selection of Scubapro, Aqualung, Cressi, etc, etc. But no Jet Fins.

They aren't cool and shiny and most DMs/Instructors/Divers that I've seen couldn't kick their way out of a mud-puddle and only use the flutter. If they need to back up, they wave their hands....They are also often diving in incredibly benign environments (warm, clear water, no silt). It's sad, but generally speaking when I see "DM" or "Instructor" next to someone's name in the recreational diving world, my default reaction is "incompetent." Thankfully, I am sometimes proven wrong, but most of the time my gut reaction is on the money.

What I find is the typical recreational diver buys all their stuff at the dive shop because the big-bad instructor or owner told them it was good stuff. If they can sell you a $200 fin over a $100 fin, they will.

When you need the control to turn, back kick, prevent silting by frog kicking, etc, Jets are the shizzle. I'm sure there are other fins out there that would work, but none of the ones I've seen have the right stiffness and shape to be able to shove the fins backwards at the beginning of the back-kick and helicopter turn.

Come to New England or go to Cave Country and you'll find most people doing any sort of technical diving are using Jet fins. If they work in the most demanding environments, they'll certainly work well in the easy Carribean open water environment.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Forget about force fins and split fins, I'm curious how come the jets are considered the best even among paddle fins?

Sorta hard to answer as I'm one who doesn't think my jets are my best paddle fins.
Rick

 

[*Floater*]

Dude,
I've used that fin, it has amazing thrust, and is great for heavy currents ( I think I posted about it earlier). I've done frog kicks with it. The one that retails for $629 is this one ( the Extra force Fin Tan Delta).
C-Dawg

Hey C-dawg, did you end up buying a pair of scubapro jets off ebay?

If so I'd like to hear your review once you've had a chance to get used to them? In particular, please tell us how they compare to your favorite force fins?

The jets are best (imo) used with the frog kick and modified frog. Often I just flick my ankles to do a mini-frog when I'm cruising slowly. The idea is not to use the larger leg muscle (thighs and quads) much, but mainly the calves. Once you get used to that with the scubapro jets please let us know how your air consumption on them (when frog kicking) compares with your air consumption on the force fins. Also, I'd like to know how they compare in currents while wearing doubles and a few stages (one complaint I hear about split and force fins is that they don't generate enough trust when carrying lots of equipment).