Fin designs are an aspect of dive equipment that seem more like
fashion trends, and there seems to always be someone promoting "a better
mousetrap." Most of these elaborate fin designs work fine when used to
move forward at a modest speed using a flutter scissor kick, and the
split fin design tests especially well in this regard. However, many
designs are poor if you wish to frog kick or use almost any of the
swimming techniques preferred by experienced divers in tight spaces.
Even with a full scissor kick, the fancy fins are weak when swimming all
out against current, or working to overcome the drag of a drysuit or
technical equipment. Full foot pockets and elaborate heel strap systems
are also more likely to cause the loss of a fin in forceful swimming.
We've always been mystified by the preference for fancy fins, but
then we saw a video of a large number of divers swimming in a variety of
different fin designs and had an epiphany.
Many of these fancy fins actually do seem to help swimmers with very
poor swimming technique, particularly if the diver is using a kick that
looks like they are pedaling a bicycle. Be skeptical of those "fin
performance reviews" that favor the casual recreational diver; many
experienced divers who have learned how to swim properly will choose a
versatile no-frills open-heel fin design with a stiff blade and a
strong, reliable spring strap at an affordable price.
