Why are jetfins so good?

[Mike Edmonston]

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.

Actually in Cave country, it's about 75% Jets and 25% single flat blade (Dive rites, quattros, OMS, etc... ) and I'm in cave country every weekend.

I believe that it's due to the sizing issues if the Jets, as some just don't fit. But I still see very experienced divers diving fins other than Jets. It all comes down to personal preference I guess. Nobody has the exact same kick, therefore no 1 fin is perfect.

Cheers.

Mike

 

[Soggy]

Actually in Cave country, it's about 75% Jets and 25% single flat blade (Dive rites, quattros, OMS, etc... ) and I'm in cave country every weekend.

75% would be "most"

 

[Mike Edmonston]

75% would be "most"

Yup... I agree.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Rick Murchison]

If you see me in cave country you're liable to see me diving my Jets. Depends on the cave... I use the Jets when I want a little shorter fin. If I want the best performance, however, I use Frogs.
Rick
Oh, hell... this is the DIR forum.
Disregard all my posts in this thread.
I'm outa here

 

[*Floater*]

I had a bad experience with the IDI fins, which may or may not be representative of the product itself, but I'll share it nevertheless.

<snip>

The rubber had flexed so much under strain that the clamp that holds the fin strap on had come loose. We tried for 5 minutes or so to fix it, but were unsuccessful, so he climbed his way back to the anchor line.

The IDI fins say MADE IN MEXICO and the rubber compound that they are made off feels a little softer than that of the MADE IN U.S.A. Scubapro jets (but I may be wrong about the softness). However, they still feel sufficiently rugged that I doubt the type of incident you describe is common. Maybe it was brought on by prior abuse or damage to the clamp, maybe someone had dropped a tank on it or something...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

anyway Scubapro if you're listening... MAKE AN IN BETWEEN SIZE BETWEEN XL AND XXL!!!! :007:

That's why God created Turtles ...

 

[cmalinowski]

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

It's funny, but I have a pair of the Avanti Quattros and I was diving them when I first started diving. I was doing a lot of diving (for me anyway) in FtLauderdale. The DM was wearing jets. I know that now; Back then he was just wearing old, black fins to me I never even knew that I'd end up wearing them some day as I liked the fins I had at the time.

Anyway, I have seen several DM's and Instructors wearing them, but I don't recall when that started. Probably post-cool-aide indoctrination because that's the people I end up with more than not. But I do dive with others who all swear by their non-jetfins too. Good thing we're all different or commerce would be... interesting.

But my thought on your comment is that those people wear what the dive shop wants them to wear a lot of the times. And the dive shop would rather sell a $150 pair of fins than a $60 pair of fins. And most of the people they are selling to don't have a clue that they may want to do all of the kicks that we choose (back, copter, etc). They just want to go straight and fast while "riding their bicycle." And that's OK for them... just not for me

And those people who aren't doing dive-shop-run charters probably started out that way (with whatever dive shop had), found great fins for what they needed per dive shop options, and learned to love them and use them.

Me? I love my jets.

Chris

 

[Vtdiver2]

: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

No, I actually have a great LDS that lets you try gear out before you buy.
The manager of the shop is an old friend of Bob Evans and gets sent prototypes to try and evaluate. He has quite the collection of fins, some that you can buy, some you can't. The coolest ones are a pair that Force fin made with Jean Michel Cousteau, which you can see him wearing in his latest videos.
C-Dawg

 

[Vtdiver2]

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).

Sorry I haven't been online the last few days to reply to posts, but I've been digging out of the Nor'easter we just had, and working extra shifts at the hospital due to staff not able to make it in.
I didn't get that pair of Jets on ebay, but there were others posted, and I will get a pair. When I do I'll post once I've had the chance to compare my FFs, my Rockets and the Jets. However, all my favorite dive sites are either burried under 3ft of snow and then 2 ft of ice, or are an airplane ride away. It may be a couple of months.
C-Dawg

 

[*Floater*]

No, I actually have a great LDS that lets you try gear out before you buy.
The manager of the shop is an old friend of Bob Evans and gets sent prototypes to try and evaluate. He has quite the collection of fins, some that you can buy, some you can't. The coolest ones are a pair that Force fin made with Jean Michel Cousteau, which you can see him wearing in his latest videos.
C-Dawg

Found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmp_WYxDoP0

The fins she's wearing have a similar shape to what you posted. They look a little too floppy for my taste though...

Interesting how the shape of the fin, the front edge in particular, is the reverse of the original force fin, yet presumably both work great.