Short fins ?

Travel discussion for St. John
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cptnkirk
Posts: 1996
Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2007 5:35 am
Location: ohio

Short fins ?

Post by cptnkirk »

Can anyone reccomend a good pair of fins that will go in carryon. Normally don't use em but would like to cover more ground faster on those out of the way snorkels and my snorkel buddy could definetly use them as he is not the greatist swimmer but up for anything as long as he has his flotation belt.
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LysaC
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Location: New England

Post by LysaC »

I strongly reccommend split fins but I don't know what nrand we use.

Hubby and have hard plastic adjustable split fins and they are da bomb! We got them as a gift.

There is much less drag=less leg fatique=more snorkeling with split fins and they are shorter than the average rubber ones.
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jayseadee
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Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 7:16 pm
Location: New England

Post by jayseadee »

Roberto said that Force Fins worked well for him.

Since I'm not going until Fall, I haven't done any further research on them.
janet
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Roberto
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Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 4:37 pm
Location: Maryland

Post by Roberto »

For reference, our Dacor Pursuit fins measure 23" and the Force fins 17". Next I'm going to look for higher booties with maybe a stiffer sole. My wife's ankles got clobbered on this trip.
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Jamestown
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Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:39 pm
Location: Waynesboro, PA

Post by Jamestown »

Check out swimoutlet.com. I swim laps and recently purchased a great pair of short fins for my work-outs. They have a variety of choose from. Good, fast service too.
Jamestown
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RickG
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Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2006 3:06 pm
Location: Coral Bay, St. John

Post by RickG »

I have shorter dive fins that use a booty. Its nice to walk in through the rocks with the fins on. With some of the split fin style the fins get pretty wide. Make certain they'll fit!

Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
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CariBert
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Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:29 pm
Location: Dallas, Texas

Post by CariBert »

Last year, while on Island, we went on a boat snorkel trip, and our newbie friends had short exercise swim fims. They were pretty good, fit into a small back pack, only problem...they almost did not get back to the boat. We snorkeled off shore (don't remember exactly where) and the current was pretty strong. It's a good thing I had a motorized propeller driven swim aid to go and get them from the shore line.

Bottom line, be very careful where you go to snorkel if you are going to only have the short swim/exercise fins. I prefer the smaller split fins...a little longer than the shorties, but I fell a lot safer.

-Bert
The liver is evil, it must be punished!



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lisa mcg
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Location: Wilmington, Delaware

Post by lisa mcg »

we got "packable fins" at ngstore.com (national geographic)...we love them!
all you have to do is smile, smile, smile
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Chickadee
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Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 10:17 am
Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Post by Chickadee »

I LOVE my force fins. Got them when learning to dive and they have served me well snorkeling. Most times I just use the pads in them (to protect the tops of your feet from the plastic) and have never gotten a worn spot or blister. The drawback is the open heel design when entering rocky or urchiny places. In those cases, you take out the pads and wear booties. I think I have 3ml booties and they are, frankly, too thin to protect the tops of my feet when doing a long snorkel (for us that's >1 hour). If you go with Force Fins, and decide to get booties, get ones more than 3ml. Booties, pack small and are nice to use as water shoes and for short hikes to and from the car too.
Jennifer

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UF Prof
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Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:22 pm
Location: Gainesville, FL

Post by UF Prof »

I had the same thought in Nov. Get short fins that would be easier to pack. I couldn't find anything but exercise fins that were fairly heavy. I bought a pair of split fins and a heavy duty mesh bag at Crabby's in Coral Bay. The fins had a strap rather than a fitted foot so I could use booties in them. The booties are nice for the rocky beaches. The fins from Crabby's worked really well and were not nearly as expensive as SCUBA fins. Also, the mesh bag worked well for carrying mask, snorkel, fins, and booties as carry on coming back on the airline.
cocosmom
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Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:50 pm

Post by cocosmom »

My girls were competitive swimmers & you can always cut the rubber fins to what ever length...cheaper
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