New fins

[OneDragons]

I am currently looking to upgrade my fins from 'something flat which I can just about fit onto my feet' to something a bit more permanent.

So does anyone have any good tips and or advice on finding the right fin for UK diving?

Only thing I have decided so far is that they will have spring buckles on for ease of use.

[OneDragons]

No matter, I see YD is fairly helpful for stuff like this.

[Howard Payne]

Have a look at the new Hollis H1 fins - I think they're superb for UK wreck type diving and they come with a built in spring strap

HTH :)

[Ron MacRae]

So does anyone have any good tips and or advice on finding the right fin for UK diving?

Save your money and spend it on something more usefull. Fins is fins. I've tried several sets and never found any better, or worse, than the pair I started with 10 years ago, They're Mares fins, but I've no idea what type as the lettering has gone.

But then I don't fin very much....

Ron.

[OneDragons]

Well the ones I have are very basic and a bit floppy, but the main reason for upgrading is that they are a little on the tight side.

I can get them on OK and they don't cramp my foot while diving, but getting them off is a real bugger!

Figure if I am going to get a new pair, might as well get something other then these: http://users.scronline.com/bgoshorn/ebaypix/scuba/AqualungComProFins.jpg. Though I don't want to spend a fortune as I might be asking for them as a birthday present.

[OneDragons]

As for something more usefull I have my eye on some northern diver dry gloves. 4 deg water is just not funny!
Well it is funny for others watching me trying feebly to use my hands;)

[ChristianG]

Though I don't want to spend a fortune as I might be asking for them as a birthday present.
Chuckle - which ultimately you'll have to pay for anyway? That's rhetoric.

Have regard to the fact that fins are a long term proposition, so therefore you should choose a pair that suits you, so a "supplementary" amount of dosh might be the go. In this instance "cheap", IMO, doesn't cut it.

I use Mares Powerplana Graphite fins, which they haven't had on the market for many years, silly them, and of which I probably purchased the last pair in Oz which was my size to supplant my previous pair. They're still going strong many years down the track, coupled to my Oceanic Spring Heel straps.

I'm not particularly keen on Mares gear, if only because of the above experience, but from all I'm told they do make pretty good fins, such as the Quattros (Sp?)?

[PeteM]

I'm not particularly keen on Mares gear, if only because of the above experience, but from all I'm told they do make pretty good fins, such as the Quattros (Sp?)?


You won't go far wrong with a pair of Quattro's (or X3's if you want to save a couple of quid). The world and his brother uses them for good reason. I have a pair, and a pair of Apollo Bio Fins which I prefer but they are not worth the extra money over the Quattro's

[Ed Howarth]

Have some consideration for the weight of the fins. In fact, I would now pretty well wear any fins as long as they were the right weight.

Ed

[OneDragons]

Which begs the question.
How do you know if they are the right weight?

[Ed Howarth]

Which begs the question.
How do you know if they are the right weight?
Well, if you have to wear ankle weights (and I use the words "have to" as opposed to the word "do") then that is a good indicaton that your fins are not heavy enough.

I see people with their cylinders way down their body, almost popping out of the cam band, in order to balance floaty feet.

Go diving with your normal gear and any pair of fins. Get neutrally buoyant in the water, just touching a shot line with your the index finger and thumb tips of one hand. Get to what you think is horizontal and DONT FIN. Cross your legs if you can't stop finning. Then ask your buddy to tell you if you're head up, feet up or truly horizontal. What feels like horizontal to you, may well be head up as that is the position that we spend most of our life in.

Judicious use of ankle weights (either 1 or 2) can bring you to truly horizontal, or you can swap fins underwater with your buddy, who has taken heavier fins on this dive for that purpose.

When back on land, put the ankle weights on ebay, get the right fins and finely adjust your trim (ie horizontalness :D ) by positioning your cylinder higher or lower in the camband. You can "weigh" different fins in water (in your bath) just by holding them in your hand. Unless you want to go all scientific and use a spring balance....

Oh, and consider how much gas is present in drysuit boots, especially when they are just that bit too big! Rock boots might solve this problem.

I'm not being prescriptive, I hope. Just saying choose your gear carefully so it all works well together.

Ed

[OneDragons]

Fair enough, just ditched my ankle weights as I realised I was using them because my first trainer told me to and had never dived without them nor without thinking about if I really needed them or about my trim.
As such I was at a constant 45 degrees when diving, again something I considered normal till we did a buoyancy and trim course in my new club which forced me to rethink.

Have moved weight from my belt onto my cam band and now have lighter feet, feels weird but oddly liberating. And pretty much horizontal.

Are Quattros particularly heavy/light?

[peteroadie]

Just to chuck some variety to the mix, not all fins are the same.

Fins someone with Force Fins, they take a bit of getting used to but you will either love them to destrustion or hate them :rolleyes:

Definitetly a fin that divides opinion, never found an impartial vote

[PeteM]

Are Quattros particularly heavy/light?

Slightly negatively bouyant, not enough to make a difference (and far lighter than my Apollo's)

[Ed Howarth]

we did a buoyancy and trim course in my new club which forced me to rethink.
You know what it's all about then :D
now have lighter feet, feels weird but oddly liberating.
Yes!! Exactly.

Ed

[Mike Halligan]

I can get them on OK and they don't cramp my foot while diving, but getting them off is a real bugger!


Picking up on that remark .............

You have opened the holes available (at the front end of the foot pockets) and/or drilled out such holes - to let water in behind the foot you're struggling to remove, haven't you??? :eek:

[OneDragons]

There are no holes.....not thought of drilling any holes.
May give it a go.

[Mike Halligan]

There are no holes.....not thought of drilling any holes.
May give it a go.

In that case, 2 or 3 holes 3/16" dia at the front, base of each foot pocket and your problem is solved. :D

[OneDragons]

Thanks for the tip!