Fins?

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by Soonerwink

I thought they looked familar, I own a pair of the zooms, I haven't dove them in the last year though. Do you know for a fact that they are the same fins. If so you can pick up the zooms for 129.00.

according to Larry, they are the same, with the only real exception being the strap adjusters...

[cheebaweebie]

Do some researc on the Mares Avanti Quattro. Not split but very highly rated. If you really want to go in the water I wouldn't get split fins.

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by cheebaweebie

Do some researc on the Mares Avanti Quattro. Not split but very highly rated. If you really want to go in the water I wouldn't get split fins.

opinions are like assholes, everybody has one... but in this case, qualify your statements...

all, and I do mean ALL of the scuba mags show faster speeds in the water with splits vs. paddles... (and for the record, my xpert zooms are as fast if not faster than my full foot paddles)

[cheebaweebie]

Ouch there mitsuguy. I was just speaking from experience and personal preferences. I happen to own the Mares avanti quattro channel fins and also a pair of cressi subs (not sure of the exact brands) I have 2 friends that I dive with that own split fins (different brands) and they both have expressed some frustration with them especially with chasing down fish while spearfishing. The Mares (a stiffer fin) to me, will push you forward with minimal effort. Friends have made comments when surfacing far from the boat on what little effort it takes for me to swim back. In a recent issue of Scuba diving magazine, they rated the avanti quattros pretty high. It was simply a suggestion of mine for easyrider to check them out. He is entitled to make his own decision on what ever purchase he chooses. This forum is for persons like myself and and yourself to post questions, opinions etc. on gear, techniques etc. to allow us to make informed decisions.
Should easyrider choose to use the information I provided to check these fins out, he may choose to buy them. Thus I have helped a fellow diver. If he chooses to use the information u provided and purchase split fins... excellent. Thus another diver helped. The goal is the same. Help our fellow divers become well informed divers. Am I wrong ?

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by cheebaweebie

Ouch there mitsuguy. I was just speaking from experience and personal preferences. I happen to own the Mares avanti quattro channel fins and also a pair of cressi subs (not sure of the exact brands) I have 2 friends that I dive with that own split fins (different brands) and they both have expressed some frustration with them especially with chasing down fish while spearfishing. The Mares (a stiffer fin) to me, will push you forward with minimal effort. Friends have made comments when surfacing far from the boat on what little effort it takes for me to swim back. In a recent issue of Scuba diving magazine, they rated the avanti quattros pretty high. It was simply a suggestion of mine for easyrider to check them out. He is entitled to make his own decision on what ever purchase he chooses. This forum is for persons like myself and and yourself to post questions, opinions etc. on gear, techniques etc. to allow us to make informed decisions.
Should easyrider choose to use the information I provided to check these fins out, he may choose to buy them. Thus I have helped a fellow diver. If he chooses to use the information u provided and purchase split fins... excellent. Thus another diver helped. The goal is the same. Help our fellow divers become well informed divers. Am I wrong ?

sorry, didn't mean to come off harsh... but it honestly gets tiring with all these fins threads and all of them coming to the exact same conclusion, that everyone will have their own preferences for fins... I have two pair of fins, and will probably end up with more... different fins for different things... but, that being said, for me, at least, splits are faster than paddles... My full foot fins are similar to the Quattros, and I would recommend at least trying them...

[cheebaweebie]

That's cool. No worries. If I can find the full foot Omer mimetic for the right price those babies are mine. I primarily scuba spearfish but would like to free dive occasionally just to drop and shoot. The LONGER stiff fins would be great to get me down to depth faster.

Have a great evening.

[ScubaToys Larry]

I think a lot of the difference comes from the style of diving folks do. For example, when we do DM classes, students must do a timed swim in mask, snorkel and fins. Many do it several times... so for fun, we have then do it in different fins. Every time... the split fin times are better and the folks say they are less fatigued. And most all the scuba lab tests have agreed with that for years.

But I know a lot of free divers, and spear fishing folks that don't use them because they don't feel they can get as fast of an instant acceleration when they want it. I had quattro's for years, but I've been Apollo splits for about the last 5 years. I also used the Tusa when they had yellow and apollo only had black, so my students could see me better in funky lake vis. For me, whether diving my drysuit in a local lake, or a shorty in Cayman - I still feel the splits work best for me.

So everyone should use what they like..

And guys.. thanks for quickly and politely working things out between you without it escalating into a huge shouting match. It's the attitude that you showed that I feel makes this a more friendly board than lots of others out there... so again... Thanks!

[dannybot]

My wife wanted a "good" pair of fins, so I bought her Mares Avanti Quatros. She complained of the calf pain and fatigue. So I gave her my cheapie TUSA Liberators, she said they were better, but still tiring. To make matters worse, she had ankle surgery to remove bone spurs on September, so I got her Aeris Velocity Duo's. We dove the first week of October, while she was still recuperating from the ankle surgery, and she had no complaints of pain or fatigue. The best part, I got to keep the Mares fins, which I find are very fast, but I do a lot of walking so my calf are in good shape.

[Splitlip]

I have 8 or 9 pairs of fins around the house. By far the most efficient are my splits. Particularly my Apollos. 2nd to them are the smoke on the water. When I say efficient, I mean the most thrust for the least effort. If I have a long swim, particularly against the current, they cannot be beat. The are faster for sustained speeds than anything but long freediver fins like the Cressi Garas. Bad joints, consider the splits.
Now the splits are not the fastest off the line. For that I would agree something like Mares Quatros. In a sustained swim, the splits win.
Now the Cressi's I think are probably faster than splits, but definitely more effort.
For the OP, I would consider Splits. The Apollos are the best. I prefer the Atomic Smokes only because of their positve buoyancy.
Edit: Also had a pair of Dacor Tiger hinged fins. Splits beat them too.

[easyrider003]

Thanks for all the responses. I purchased a set of oceanic v12 split fins. The majority of people that I went with liked the split fin and a couple of guys at the LDS said they have used both paddle and split fin and said they would never use a paddle fin again. But like everyone has said, I guess its just a personal preference. The paddle fins I currently have are the aqualung pulse. They make me really fatigued and ankles really sore. The last time I used them I caught the worst cramp ever in my right ankle and it took about 3 days for the pain to go away. I haven't had a chance to use the split fins since they had to be ordered but I am headed down to Vortex Springs on December 8th and hopefully will get to test them out. Hopefully they will be much better than what I currently have. Once again, thanks for all the responses.

Michael