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Path: utzoo!utcsri!ubc-vision!winston!kovish
From: kovish@winston.UUCP (Barrie Kovish)
Newsgroups: net.rec.scuba
Subject: Skin diving fins
Message-ID: <181@winston.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Mar-86 12:34:20 EST
Article-I.D.: winston.181
Posted: Tue Mar  4 12:34:20 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 5-Mar-86 08:28:28 EST
Organization: New Media Technologies, Burnaby, BC, CANADA
Lines: 49

[]

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?

-- 
    Barrie Kovish
    New Media Technologies
    ..decvax!microsoft!ubc-vision!winston!kovish
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