This past weekend was the first time I found my fins to be inadequate. I know a lot of spearos do long fins, but it seems less practical for boat use, esp in rough seas, when I want to hang my fins on my hands on the way up.

I've got Volo Powers, which are supposed to be good fins- and I've never had an issue with them until the weekend. I was hanging at 15', waiting to go up, with a pretty serious surface current. A cuda kept bothering me so I'd turn around to poke at him and have to swim back to the line. It was a chore just to get back to the line. Meanwhile two other guys who had Scubapro Jetfins Max seemed to have no troubles.

Are split fins a better fin? I thought they were a gimmick, but then watched the video on Apollo's site, which was pretty impressive. Apparently you flutter kick instead of the big sweep for paddle fins and it is more efficient.

After using Rocket II fins for both boat diving (in and out of currents) and beach diving (we kick out about 1/4 a mile, then begin the dive, and end it with low air and a hell of a kick in), then trying, and buying, Apollo BioFins, I really don't feel I've been sold a gimmick. In fact, I assure you I haven't - come do the big swims with me, and you'll find the flutter kick much more efficient, and speedy, than even quite muscular legs (I'm a cyclist, too) can manage with traditional fins.

The small, yet faster, kicks mimick the efficient high spin rates, under low loads, that road cyclists use to do our long-distance rides (60 to 100 miles in a few hours). Spinning slow, with high loads, in a higher gear is, aerobically, just inefficient.

That said... for wreck penetrating (which, to me, includes dropping down from a boat, and a much shoter expected swim), the standard fins are better for the frog kick, and control while frog kicking, to prevent silt out.

Still, for freediving it seems that the slower kicks with longblades, which I now use for freediving, alone, are probably better suited to making less of a disturbance in the water, and perhaps less noise, which I'm going to guess helps keep fish around.

I see the difference in diving fins in much the same way I do the difference in freediving longblade fins: there are certain ones I want for beach dives where I plan to kick a long time to get to where I want to be, and there are certain styles (i.e. stiffer) that I want to use if dropping off of a boat where the balance of their use falls more toward kicking down than kicking around.

Longblades are it IMHO scuba or freedive no mater what what. For all out power you may like a set of jet fins. Split fins suck in current.

I also have the volo fins which i have found hard to go anywhere in a current. Whats your thoughts on a cressi 2 or 3000 fin for better movement?

i have cressi2, love them
current is current, you are going to kick your ass off.

best bet is to do drifts when its rippin

current is current, you are going to kick your ass off.My thoughts exactly.

Split fins simply push less water and therefore are easier to kick, at the same time they provide less propulsion.

When freediving one tries to maintain a streamlined profile. The long fins provide propulsion making not necessary erratic/too strong leg movements which would disrupt the streamlined form. They are not very good when you have to scramble and make unorthodox finning movements as happens with scuba sometimes. Fiber glass blades will kick the shit out of any plastic blade out there no matter who makes it.

pm sent.

Split fins simply push less water and therefore are easier to kick, at the same time they provide less propulsion.



For the same length of fins, I disagree. I've not met anyone who can keep up with me (and they've sure tried) while on scuba and regular fin styles vs. my Apollo's.

Less torque, I'd agree, but no one ever seems to bring up that point.

divehard, I chose the Cressi 3000's for the long kick outs we do (beach diving), and I'm happy with what I am getting out of them. One of my buddies commented on them, while seeing them in action, saying that's the way fins are supposed to work (or something to that effect). I think he noticed mine we flexing more than his, and he understood, at that point, why I chose 'em for what we do. When we dive off of boats, I'll have other fins (either 2000's or Riffe's).

I'm 6'1 270 pounds. For a big guy like myself I think the split fins are awesome. I move like a fish in the water.

I only tank dive and all i hear is the longer fins will not benefit me at all with boat diving, but gamble swears by them. i dont know which way to go,cressi, omer,riffe etc. please give more suggestions.

Mambo whats the difference with diving off a boat with 2000 or 3000 or riffes