why Jet Fins?

[sciencediver1]

Having been working aboard a small 6 pak day dive boat which lends itself to tech divers I can't Help but notoce over the past two years the reassurgrence of a very old fin disign...The Scubpro Jet and clones. I see all manner of expensive kit being halued aboard to include CF200 dry suits, fancy wing bc's with big mamafolds rigged with top of the price sheet balanced pistons. Vert high end still and video cameras, $3200.00 dpv's an slings of all sizes, Grossly expensive rebreathers,,,CCR mind you not just the wantabe scr semei closed Dolphins. These folks look like they just came frome a NW Diver cover shoot. And yet there they are? Nasty old jet fins. I'll admit it. Peer pressure can sometimes evenmake me do things I wouldn't otherwisw. So down into the bowels of the old gear room I went. Creaking down deep into the darkened cool place where old dead divers spirits commune with long stagnent Al 80.s and thin necked steel 72's and stiff webbing, some showing long faded flourecent colors -whew bad news, But wait... no just an old pair of Mares Power Plana. Something scurries off into the black. Low and behold here they are. A vintAage pair of Scubapro Jet fins complete with rottrd straps. I have to wrestle them from the grasp of a very faded Imperial Bubble Suit (that suit was never dry). Headed back toward the light leaving this crypt of gear from days gone by, I hold iin my hand a piece of true diving nostalgia, memorabelia to be sure. These were the guy's I"d made my first very scarry dives to TItlow beach and perhaps Sunrise, when 60fsw seemed really downthere. But wall hangers they are not so I set about looking for straps. Mam...$100.00 seemed to br the deal then I located Spring Straps online. seems this firefighter makes and sells them for $37.00 plus tax and shipping $41.00 http://www.spring-straps.com I found these a great bargan and very well made. Easy to install and now my old jets look like new. My only problem is Why would I want to use such an old fin when My fantastic Twin Jets work great. Help me out, Why Jet fins?

 

[StSomewhere]

To be able to effectively do the alternate kicks (frog kick, back kick, helicopter turn) to keep from silting out a dive site, you need Jetfins or something very much like them.

The other fins are great for the standard kick-from-the-hips flutter kick like we were all taught when we learned to swim freestyle, but not everyone agrees that's the best fin kick for scuba.

 

[Sasquatch]

Hey, sciencediver 1, cool rant!

Cracked me up.

Sea ya!

 

[fishb0y]

you need Jetfins or something very much like them.

Not really, you need a paddle type fin, not a split fin.

 

[Kevfin]

Hey, sciencediver 1, cool rant!

Cracked me up.

Sea ya!

Agreed,,, funny.

I bought the same spring straps for my 20 year old jets. I really like the straps and the fins.

Everything said above by StSomewhere and fishb0y (love the red beanie).

I have and use both Jets and Atomic Splits.

Sometimes, I'll even trade off on repetitive dives. I suck at frog kick, back kick, and helicopter turns so that isn't the biggest issue, except that I have to practice.

I can even prevent silting with the spills by turning my legs and doing a transmorgified frog kick.

IMHO ,,, What is comes down is what you want from your fins. For a simple flutter kick, the splits can't be beat. Less energy used. They do what they are supposed to do. For technical stuff, the jets can't be beat and will out perform the splits on every other kick except the flutter.

I'm sure others have different experiences. Granted, my wife says I have two left feet and that may be the problem or the rectocranial inversion she says I suffer from... either way, just my 2psi.

 

[Soggy]

Not really, you need a paddle type fin, not a split fin.

There were a few people in my fundies class that used to believe that all that mattered was that it was a paddle fin. They quickly learned otherwise when they saw their "stiff" Quattros on video bending around like a rubber kielbasa underwater when they tried to do backup kicks.

 

[pilot fish]

I think there is some confusion, at least by me, whether the ScubaPro jet fin and ScubaPro twin jets are the same type of fin?

 

[TSandM]

I had the same experience, watching my Razors make like overcooked pasta as I attempted frog kicking. The following day, in Jets, was an entirely different experience.

But now I find it amusing that the Jets aren't anywhere near as easy to do flutter kicking in as my Twin Jets were . . . every time I revert to doing it, I realize it isn't a comfortable way to swim any more and go back to frog kicking.

PF -- no, Jets and Twin Jets are different. Jets are heavy paddle fins, Twin Jets are split fins.

 

[Mike Veitch]

Right, so i will finally ask the question.

Helicopter kick....What the he** is a helicopter kick and why on earth would i ever want to do one!?!?!? Soooooo many people on this board talk about it alll the freakin time..........
Gotta admit (and i am not trying to be arrogant here) that i dive for a living (sure its on tropical reefs, most of the time)

Sooo, why on earth would i ever need to spin in a circle (am assuming that is what it is as...well hey, that is what helicopters do)

Perhaps this is something that a cave diver needs do? I could understand that yes...turn around 180 degrees.

BUT! Seems this is the holy grail of zillions of people on SB, "Look Ma!! I can do a helicopter kick!!!!" Woo Hoo!!!!

Ummmmmm, problem is the vast majority of those people will never set foot in a cave....

SO! I will ask again.. What is the point of a helicopter kick?

(or if helicopter turn is not turning 180 then just say so...)

 

[TSandM]

Helicopter turn demonstrated beautifully in a video clip on trim.

What's the point of it? I don't know -- I seem to find it pretty useful. Doing an ascent on a line, start drifting past the line, just spin back to look at it instead of swimming a big circle to get back to position. Similarly, looking at something on a rock, water's pushing me past it, just spin and keep looking. It's a pretty handy thing to be able to do, just like I'm sure the back kick will be if I ever get it figured out.