A few buddies and I spent this past weekend at Portage Quarry in Bowling Green, OH. The whole time I was averaging about 1000 psi per 10-15 min or so, not very good basically. My buddy Redneck had a pair of Scuba Pro split fins that he ranted and raved on, and I was always saying how uncomfortable they were when I had to wear them for Divemaster training exercices. Well he was occupied with his family so I grabbed his fins and tried them out. 

I immediately noticed how I did not have to force the fins to do their job and the relief of strain brought by my straight fins. I also noticed that despite this lack of effort I was still moving at the same rate of speed and it was much easier when alternating between flutter kick and frog kick. 

Finally at the end of this dive (I started out with 2000 psi) I surfaced from this 46 ft, 31 min dive using 1500 psi. The relief of work from the fins allowed me to consume less air and I could have added at least 15 min to the dive had I been using a full 80 cf tank. 

Needless to say I ordered a pair from LeisurePro. Anyone else had the same epiphany?

Comments

charstew - 10/08/2009 8:55 AM I no longer like my Apollo split fins. Now I will be going to OMS. I will be going to OMS and Dive Rite for all kinds of gear. It seems like even BCs suck. In a 7mm suit I went from wearing 28 to 16 pounds and with a steel backplate and steel tank I don’t need any weight. All the padding adds more buoyancy than BC makers want you to know. When stream lining I have even found that as heavy as my Apollo fins are they actually add buoyancy.

pinkladydi - 9/17/2009 2:23 PM I love my my Apollo fins at home but I take my OLD USD blades on fly trips it’s a weight issue Diane

VaDiver95 - 9/11/2009 8:53 PM Split fins are ok for nice calm water, but they suck in the current. Plus you can’t do the backwards kick and the frog kick doesn’t work too well either. I’ll stick with my good old jet fins.

LatitudeAdjustment - 9/09/2009 8:04 AM Not all split fins are ceated equal, the Atomics and some of the ScubaPro’s are stiffer and you can do some of the blade fin tricks with them the softer ones won’t like helicopter and back-up kicks. One of my dive buddies has full foot ScubaPro’s for our tropical trips but I use my open heel Atomic’s for all diving and just change the 7 mil boot to a 3 mil slipper for warm water. Keep in mind that if you go to a full foot fin of any type how are you going protect the bare feet duing beach entrys from the coral in places like Bonaire or the loose rocks in Bali? The only thing I don’t like about splits is they catch lines, rinse hoses, loose gear and deck hatch handles more on the boat and a few times my line to the towed bouy.

DalelynnSims - 9/09/2009 6:21 AM After trying many types I always come back to my Force Fins. They work in a variety of conditions, are comfortable and come in different stiffnesses and rebound abilities. Just my .02cf worth

DiveBuddyChgo - 9/07/2009 8:28 AM The splits are very good for open water.. But not as powerful for wreck, camera tight turns... I love the splits for open water dives.. The Atomic’s split work just as well.. And what blows them away for warm water reef dives is any split full foot fin.. Any $30 pair of full foot fins will be better then any open heel split fin .. The split fin is my choice also...

1maurscuba - 9/06/2009 9:44 PM Hi, Were the fins full foot or open heel? I have the full foot scuba pro twin speed split fins. I bought them from leisure Pro last summer. Love them!!