Why the hate/ridicule for split fins?

[tridacna]

My personal favorite currently for most power and best overall flutter kicking efficiency are freediving fins.

Fin debates have gotten so heated on scubaboard that people have been banned over it.

Two consecutive statements that make us all miss Dan V!

 

[aquacat8]

Despite not liking them NOW, I had a lot of fun in my spit fins...

 

[tomfcrist]

I hate rebreathers, shearwater computers, and high quality regs....OK, waiting by the mailbox.

Helium is BS as well...lol

 

[Landau]

Wouldn't a smaller sized non-split fin be just as effective at reducing knee strain? I am a swimmer and personally like smaller fins. My warm water fins are Scubapro GO which I love. They have better control and are easier to frog kick or back kick in than my cold water fins: Mares Avanti Quatro+

The smaller Scubapro GO are also much faster for me. I did a few test runs in each before doing my Divemaster 800m snorkel / fin swim test.

 

[Attonine]

I have no idea why some people are so sensitive about various bits of kit.

As for split fins, I had a pair of Atomic split fins, they were fast, really fast. Downside, they are long and heavy.

For weight purposes I changed to Apeks RK3. Massive loss of power, but they fit in my bag and are a lot lighter for travel.

 

[aquacat8]

I

A little bit of history:

Pete McCarthy, an aeronautical engineer designed some fins using his knowledge and design facilities. He sold license to the design first to Apollo and then to Atomic. Both produced fins that were phenomenally effective. They had split blades. However, other fin manufacturers balked at paying to license his design so got on the splitfin bandwagon with their own designs. For example, Scubapro Twinjets sold very well but were phenomenally INeffective. Thus, the reputation of splitfins was destroyed.

This is interesting history. I have heard that the idea was they were supposed to work like propellers, like on a motorboat. Maybe some designs do.

 

[JohnnyC]

The best way to describe split fins compared to regular paddle fins is like riding a bicycle in the wrong gear, compared to riding a fixed speed bicycle. When they're on flat road (read calm water, no current) and you're just cruising along, they're both perfectly fine. The splits will be easier to kick, but you won't go as far or as fast per stroke. The issue comes about when you start pedaling uphill. The fixed gear will move you well, but it won't be as easy, wrong gear will still move you, but not very fast and you'll be doing a lot of unnecessary pedaling. Stiff paddle fins require a certain amount of leg strength to fin adequately. Split fins don't require nearly as much effort, but again, due to less "power" in the water, making headway against current will have you finning like a mad man, but not getting very far.

Does that make split fins useless? Not at all. For people incapable of using stiff, paddle fins, they're a great alternative that allows them to dive. They are a compromise in several ways. Paddle fins are a compromise over long freediving fins when it comes to flutter kicks. Nothing is perfect. Split fins have their place, but there's a lot of marketing wank surrounding them.

Interestingly enough, the common talking point about pinnipeds having "split fins" and that manufacturers are trying to capitalize on by form of mimicry is pretty silly when you realize that none of those animals use that split fin design for actual propulsion.

 

[Marie13]

I have purple Atomic splits. I went through a few pairs of tech paddle fins before I got the splits. Ah, relief for my knees!

I dive the local quarry and places on Lakes Michigan and Huron I’ve not yet really encountered current.

Due to current bum leg (due to shingles), I’m back to my splits (from Deep6). Some flavor of modified flutter worked well today and didn’t stir up the silty quarry bottom much.

I don’t give a flying fig what anyone thinks of my splits. They work for me for the diving I’m currently doing.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

when I was first open water recreational diving I loved them for how simple they kicked.

Sorry Jeff, but I'd like to reword what you wrote to "I loved them for how poorly I kicked." If you are out of shape, bicycle kick constantly, and have now concept of propulsion in a fluid (be that air or water) then they seem great because they don't stress your muscles and you find it easy to break off all that fan coral by constantly kicking your way through an AL80.

Can I dive in split fins? Yes. Can I tech dive in split fins? Yes. Can I back kick, freesytle kick, and helicopter turn in split fins? Yes. Would I choose to do any of those things in split fins? No.

Let the popcorn fly .

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Interestingly enough, the common talking point about pinnipeds having "split fins" and that manufacturers are trying to capitalize on by form of mimicry is pretty silly when you realize that none of those animals use that split fin design for actual propulsion.

This is true. Pinnipeds actually use their foot or tail flippers very little for propulsion, they use their “hands” or pectoral flippers mostly by sweeping them back and forth similar to how we’d use our arms to thread water.
But when human scuba divers use their hands at all for swimming they are crucified around here although it’s been pre-programmed in us for millions of years as swimming mammals!
The answer to that is to take off your fins and see what the best way is to go from point A to point B underwater, and then turn around and go back.
Sorry, didn’t mean to offend the creationists, if there are any here.


I miss DanV and Dumpster Diver.