short fins for travel

[cactus bum]

Anyone have a recomendation for a short fin for travel snorkeling? I have seen the Aqua Sphere Zip fin on the net. I live in a rural area, and will have to order fins sight unseen. I am tired of toting around my diving fins all over the world.

[DRW]

The Aqua Sphere Zip Fin is designed for swim training in a swimming pool. Rather than jump to the solution first, consider defining the problem more precisely.

There are many fins on the market, with just as many snorkellers claiming that their choice of fin is the right one for them. However, what is right for them may not be right for you.

First comes fit and comfort. If your fins are too loose or too tight, they will cause blisters or cramp. If you purchase a pair appropriate to your shoe size, it's worth remembering that they may be too narrow or wide for your feet. The Deeper Blue forum has started a thread on fin sizing, but that applies to long freediving fins. Perhaps somebody can start a thread on this forum about foot sizing with standard fins to help people like yourself who don't have a local dive store to visit.

The next defining element of your problem-solving is the issue of blade length. If you want a small bladed fin, you might consider bodyboarding fins, which come with a single non-adjustable strap. These are the fins the early pioneers of snorkelling used - the Typhoon Surfmaster fin in the UK and the Owen Churchill fin in the USA were of this type. Another avenue to explore are the "Travel Fins" here:

http://www.snorkelcity.com/travelfins.html
http://www.tusadivegear.com/reeftourer/fins.shtml

Some kind of individual preference will probably enter at this stage to guide you to the kind of fins you want. When I snorkel, whether abroad or in the UK, I always use good old full foot rubber fins because those are the kind I first learned to snorkel with back in the 1960s. Personally, I don't like fins with thermoplastic foot pockets and plastic blades and Aqua Sphere Zip fins fall into that category. If I were looking for travel fins, I'd be looking for a shortbladed full-foot rubber fin. Such a choice would suit me very well, but may not be the appropriate option in your case, so be wary if anybody recommends a particular model of fin as the best choice for you. What they are saying is that it's the best choice for them, not the same thing. Fins are a very personal item of gear, and ultimately you are the one who has to wear them, so the final decision must remain yours.

[skoscins]

Anyone have a recomendation for a short fin for travel snorkeling? I have seen the Aqua Sphere Zip fin on the net. I live in a rural area, and will have to order fins sight unseen. I am tired of toting around my diving fins all over the world.

We are looking for the same thing, I think. We want footed with short blades to travel with. Did you ever find something you liked?
Sue

[bigjo]

The Aqua Sphere Zip Fin is designed for swim training in a swimming pool. Rather than jump to the solution first, consider defining the problem more precisely.

There are many fins on the market, with just as many snorkellers claiming that their choice of fin is the right one for them. However, what is right for them may not be right for you.

First comes fit and comfort. If your fins are too loose or too tight, they will cause blisters or cramp. If you purchase a pair appropriate to your shoe size, it's worth remembering that they may be too narrow or wide for your feet. The Deeper Blue forum has started a thread on fin sizing, but that applies to long freediving fins. Perhaps somebody can start a thread on this forum about foot sizing with standard fins to help people like yourself who don't have a local dive store to visit.

The next defining element of your problem-solving is the issue of blade length. If you want a small bladed fin, you might consider bodyboarding fins, which come with a single non-adjustable strap. These are the fins the early pioneers of snorkelling used - the Typhoon Surfmaster fin in the UK and the Owen Churchill fin in the USA were of this type. Another avenue to explore are the "Travel Fins" here:

http://www.snorkelcity.com/travelfins.html
http://www.tusadivegear.com/reeftourer/fins.shtml

Some kind of individual preference will probably enter at this stage to guide you to the kind of fins you want. When I snorkel, whether abroad or in the UK, I always use good old full foot rubber fins because those are the kind I first learned to snorkel with back in the 1960s. Personally, I don't like fins with thermoplastic foot pockets and plastic blades and Aqua Sphere Zip fins fall into that category. If I were looking for travel fins, I'd be looking for a shortbladed full-foot rubber fin. Such a choice would suit me very well, but may not be the appropriate option in your case, so be wary if anybody recommends a particular model of fin as the best choice for you. What they are saying is that it's the best choice for them, not the same thing. Fins are a very personal item of gear, and ultimately you are the one who has to wear them, so the final decision must remain yours.

The tusa link you provided doesn't work, and the snorkelcity site says nothing about travel fins that I could find.

[John Bantin]

http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?id=6441&sc=1005&ac=d&an=6441:Travelling+Light...

[DRW]

>The tusa link you provided doesn't work, and the snorkelcity site says nothing about travel fins that I could find.<

It would have been surprising if the links were still working on web pages I recommended in a message one year old. The phenomenon of "link-rot" is sadly all too common on dive retailers' websites.

Anyway, here is another web location for the "TUSA RF-10 Travel Fins":

http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/review/reviewproduct.asp?RPN=138&RGN=10&RCN=55&V=1&SP=332229698584344768234

and Trek Travel Fins

http://www.shopzilla.co.uk/8N_-_cat_id--8539__oid--519109496

I wonder how long these links will last?

[bigjo]

>The tusa link you provided doesn't work, and the snorkelcity site says nothing about travel fins that I could find.<

It would have been surprising if the links were still working on web pages I recommended in a message one year old. The phenomenon of "link-rot" is sadly all too common on dive retailers' websites.

Anyway, here is another web location for the "TUSA RF-10 Travel Fins":

http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/review/reviewproduct.asp?RPN=138&RGN=10&RCN=55&V=1&SP=332229698584344768234

and Trek Travel Fins

http://www.shopzilla.co.uk/8N_-_cat_id--8539__oid--519109496

I wonder how long these links will last?


I do apologise, I didn't notice the date.

[Steph]

I very much prefere foot pocket fins!
I find it hard to find well fitting ones.
i currently use the foot pocket version of the mares avanti.
http://www.underwaterworld.co.uk/acatalog/Mares_HP_Pool_Fin.html
Which are ok if a little bit soft and useretainers similar to these
http://www.activeaqua.com/shop/product.php/61/4/
to get a better fit.
They are not that small really will stick out of a small day rucksack but not huge either.
(links are first example with photo I found, not indicative of a bargain price)

I find that trying fins prefereably in the water is essential!
if you are a club member i would ask to try others peoples fins at the pool night.

Do you travel the country at all?
Might be worth making a D-tour to one of the really big dive stores in the hope that they stock more than the one and if you very lucky maybe 3 models one tends to find in the usual LDS.

[rick stevens]

These are quite good for travelling, much shorter than my Mares Avanti X3's and really light. Theyre open heel but designed for bare foot as I found out to my own expense! - they will take a 3mm neoprene sock though.

I'll be taking mine on holday with me this year


http://www.bigorangewatersports.co.uk/store/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=194

[AndyDavis]

I've used Pro Force Fins for the past 2 years - travelling and teaching around SE Asia. Not only are they fantastic fins in the water, they are very short and incredibly robust....easy to pack and unlikely to ever let you down. The downside is that you really need to get them sized in person, as the sizes do not really conform to the norm for other brands.

[Nigel Hewitt]

I tried my tiny Force Fins freediving and absolutely hated them.
Great for a steady chug along on scuba but as I like to get down among the interesting stuff I need a punch back to the surface. I have yet to improve on my Cressi Garas which, sadly, are at the other end of the spectrum to "short fins" and are a pig to travel with.