Skin diving fins
Barrie Kovish
Recently I purchased a new pair of wet suit boots. Not wanting
to repeat past experiences of frozen feet (the waters near Vancouver
can be a tad chilly!) I bought 3/8 boots. Guess what my fins are now too
tight O(. So time to retire my old USD Duck Feet. But wait I can't
find a pair of fins I like. Since I almost exclusively skin dive
(ie no tanks but most definitely a wet suit) I suspect my requirements
are a bit different than SCUBA divers. So far I've tried
USD Compro
Power Plana
At least three other plastic/graphite fins vented and unvented whose names
I can't remember.
The problem I always find is that these fins are toooooooooo stiff. When
surface swimming (which I do a lot) I find I don't have the leverage to
push the fins into the water. When underwater I have to expend a large
amount of my energy (and O2) to get to the bottom. Quite often a
fin will pop off my foot and I have to stop mid dive and put it
back on. I've been diving for over 15 years and I play underwater
hockey 4 times a week. Is it possible I have week legs?
Too illustrate the effect I will relate a recent diving experience.
I took a SCUBA diver friend skin diving the other day. He wore his
plastic vent fins I wore my old USD Duck Feet. We were diving on a wreck
which starts at 35 feet (I still can't dive metric). However
he couldn't get below 10 feet on a dive. So I swapped fins with him.
Suddenly he could dive to 40 feet no problem and I was left floundering
at half my usual depth!
So I'm woundering what SCUBA divers see in these stiff plastic fins.
I suppose there OK for mucking about in a small area but what if you have
a bit of a swim to the best diving?
I'm also wondering if anyone out there has had the same experience
and found a good set of fins to solve my problem. Theres a somewhat
limited selection of fins in the local area and most of us import
our own fins for underwater hockey. The following list are fins I like but
can not fit into with my boots on, Cresse Sub Rondine, Plana Plus (maybe),
Plana Concords, Technisub Ala, Voit Duck Feet and USD Duck Feet.
Comments?
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Barrie Kovish
New Media Technologies
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I own two pairs of fins: a pair of US Divers Rocket fins which I use for
SCUBA and snorkeling and a pair of Dacor Plana (? I think that's what
they're called, those ones with white plastic blades and black rubber
full-foot pockets?) which I use for Underwater Hockey. I wear the Rockets
for diving because I can fit my feet+booties into them, and I have never had
trouble swimming with them. They are stiffer and heavier than the Planas,
but I feel I can go just as fast (or maybe faster) with the Rockets. I prefer
the Planas for Hockey because I find it easier to maneuver in them.
I also sometimes get foot cramps with the Rockets when I swim far, but I
think that is because they are a little too narrow for my feet.