Split fins: why not DIR?

[Freedive WI]

Let's stick with wimpy leg diver's and leave age out of this. ;D

I was first certified, to dive , when I was 14. I had some very skinny little "chicken legs" at that time that cramped up when I wore stanard scuba fins. When Force Fins first came out, in 82', I bought a pair right away, they were only $38+$2 shipping, and thought that I had found the answer. I grew up and my legs got stronger. I could never imagine going back to those same old floppy fins anymore. Besides being too floppy, they are not very good for all of the different kicks that a diver should know.

One of the best tests for both of these fins, Force and Split, is when we play underwater hockey down here every Monday night. People show up for the first time with their brand new Force/Split fins and are left in the dust by someone with cheap full-foot snorkeling fins. Once we let them try a pair of whatever we have laying around, and they don't have to be expensive freediving fins either, they usually end up thorwing their Force/Spilt fins on E-bay where they get snatched up by someone else pretty qucikly. ;D This testing is all done without the extra drag of scuba gear. The differences are so obvious that you never have to say anything. People just sell themselves. The local shops keep pushing them becaue of the increased profit margins. It's tough to be in the dive buisness so I don't know that I can blame them, but it doesn't mean I have to waste my money with them either.

The Volvo fin is too expensive and has the wrong kind of buckels to be considered DIR. They are also considered too light for drysuit diivng. Save your money and buy yourself a nitrox class instead.

Jon