Choosing the right scuba fins
You do need fins for scuba diving. They give you added power to move along in the water smoothly and gracefully.Without fins you would be exhausted in minutes and would use up your air supply very quickly.
Buying Fins
When you walk into the shop, don't ask for a pair of flippers. They may well hand over a couple of dead dolphins or just laugh at you. The things scuba divers wear on their feet are called fins.
Types of Scuba Fins
There are two basic types of fin:
1) These fins have an open heel and attach via a strap. These are more commonly worn by divers than the other type.
2) Fins that totally enclose the back of the foot. These fully enclosed fins are comfortable, but are only suitable for warm water diving since you don't wear any sort of boots with them and so your feet are not insulated from the cold water.
Manufactuers of Scuba Fins
Mares, Scubapro, Dacor and Cressi are just four of the hundreds of manufacturers making scuba fins. A quick look in a shop reveals lots of different fins for sale.
- Seac Sub Manta
- Oceanic Vortex V12
- Gul Full Fins
- Aqua Lung Blades
- Mares Volo Fins
- Cressi Sub Rodine A
- Beaver Velocity Fins
- Oceanic Vortex V12 Fins
- Dacor Dxd
- Oceanic Vector Adjustable Diving Fins
- Seac Sub Vela Scuba Fins
- Dacor Tiger Fins
- Tusa X-Pert Zoom
Advanced designs of fins
The common wide flat fin was all that was available for about 30 years, then along came a radical new design called the split fin.
These fins provide up to 40% more efficiency than traditional bladed fins. They lower water resistance and so it takes less effort to move through the water. the outer edges of the fins are rigid, but the middle near the split is made of a far softer material than traditional fins so that they move in the water, incleasing thrust and reducing drag.
However the power is not evenly distributed throughout the effort range and so weaker swimmers will probably find no incentive to switch to more expensive split fins.
