Split fins: why not DIR?

[Freedive WI]

There are many reasons that DIR divers will give. The main reason that I don't like them is they lack power for tech diving. I tried a pair ONCE and it was enough to convince me that I didn't need to buy my own. I was diving a deeper wreck in Lake Michigan with a set of doubles on and a couple of 80's under my arm when I tried them out. I felt like I wasn't going anywhere with them on. On the next dive I put my old rubber jet fins back on and was cruising around all over the wreck with the same tank set-up.That is MY main personal bias against them. As far as DIR goes:

They are a line trap because of the split.

They have buckles on them that can break and are also line traps.

They don't allow a diver to use all of the proper tech diving kicks- frog, backwards,ect. only flutter will work and I don't know of any tech/wreck/cave divers who flutter kick too often. We almost always frog kick.

They're too light and you still need to wear ankle weights with them which allows for another failure point.

They cost too much money. Belive it or not, part of DIR is saving your money for the things that you really need, like a good drysuit, and not wasting it on gimmicks. Many people have the misconception that DIR is more expensive when it really is much cheaper if you buy the right gear to start with.

Lamar Hires, of Diverite, posted a whole list of reasons why they were bad on the Dive Rite homepage at one time.

My best comparison for them is an expensive pair of Force Fins. They feel about the same underwater and both have the same limited uses- going forward in flutter mode only.

In the end you need to just get out and dive with whatever you have. I don't think that anyone is going to die using split fins on a 30' dive. I have seen people kick the heck out of the vis on a shipwreck with them while diving in the Great Lakes. Thus, I try to stay far away from them once they hit the water.

Jon