Post by BCPost by Douglas W. "Popeye" FrederickPost by BCI recently purchased a set of Aqualung "Blades Felx II" fins... updated
from my older Cressi "Pro Lights" (Rondine)...
I've now noticed I often get crapms in my thighs during the dive, and
also fairly sore ankles towards the end of the dives...
I'm 5'6" and way about 140lbs (75kg ?)...so not sure if this means the
Blades are possibley too stiff a fin for me..?
The old Cressi's were pretty good...but I had major trouble getting them
off (with my Mares tri-lastic boots), and also with my Tusa tropic
boots...hence the change in Fin...
The blades are a cinch to don & doff...and love the quick release
buckles etc... but all that aside...I want a fin that works for me in
the water...
Any recomendations please ?
P.S. just O.W. cert...doing fun boat and shores dives every month or so
( hopefully more in the warmer months).
BC
Fins affect everyone's legs differently.
If you -like- your fins, swim laps in the pool with them till they break
your legs in (which they will).
If not, rent and borrow as many different fins as you can (which is what
I did), and try them in the pool for several laps.
I'm a big fan of Mares Quattros myself.
Many people like Jetfins as well, but they cramp me up just like you're
experiencing.
I'd definitely like to be able to rent some fins before I bought
them...just wasn't sure where I could do that.. I thought most dive shops
just had basic cheapies to hire..?
I'm in the states- in the east and the south, they rent what they sell,
especially the high end stuff.
The low end stuff they use for OW class, so you want the high end stuff.
Post by BCI've also been reading up on as many as I can...
One rule of thumb about scuba gear opinions- everybody loves what they
own- mostly because they've never compared it to something else.
I learned this rule the hard way.
I spent a year bragging about my Tusa Liberator fins before my best friend
laughed in my face and let me (made me) borrow his Quatts.
I can now categorically state that the Liberators were the -worst- fin
I've ever used bar one (a Dacor Jetfin look-a-like).
I took 7 pairs of fins to the pool over a two week period and timed myself
in underwater laps, also noting distance covered (underwater on one breath).
Since then, I've tried several other kinds.
Most people consider free-diving blades the ultimate fin- they're too big
for me to lug around.
Post by BCand have also always really loved Mares stuff...those fins have been around
a long time...so can't be all bad..
If anyone has recomendations as to where I could hire a few different
style fins please let me know..
Would also be interested in trying some split fins too..eg Bio-fins,
Tusa's, Oceanic etc..
Only two types of people brag about those fins-
Those who sell them, for twice as much...
And those that were foolish enough to pay twice as much, and need to
defend their egos.
They are weak fins, with piss-poor propulsion, that exacerbate silting and
pound the reef.
I have personally tried Twin-Jets and an Oceanic split, and they can't
rationally be compared to Quatts.
Any time you want to cure that curiosity once-and-for-all, put any decent
fin on one foot, and a split fin on the other, and swim -into- a 2 knot
current.
I must note here, tho, that I'm an extra large diver with extremely strong
legs, and maybe the performance range of the split fins is just beyond me.
--
Popeye
"Best thing for him, really. His therapy
was going nowhere," -Hannibal Lector.
www.finalprotectivefire.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/Popeye8762