Fins

Model: Avanti Quattro

Manufacture: Mares

Website: www.mares.com

Cost: $154

Purchase Advice: Unfortunately, us “Gear Heads” fall prey to the scuba industries marketing when they add a new vortex reducing, low draft, more power, less effort, whatchamacallit to their next evolution in fin design. I’m one of those people and would love to get in the water and try them all out to see if it really works! But the reality is that as a new diver the fin design isn’t going to give you any great technological underwater advantage. The improvements are minuscule compared to mastering your buoyancy and kick technique which will increase your bottom time by reducing your air consumption. So don’t bust your budget on a ridiculously expensive set of fins.

For my first set of fins, I fell prey to the dreaded “Double Buy”. I got in the pool to test out fins with only a snorkel and mask. I swam around the pool like I was at swim team practice; kicking at a ridiculous high rate. I wanted to see how fast I could go underwater. This was a dumb way to test out fins. The stiffer fins suggested to me by the dive professional were cramping my legs. I did not listen to their advice and this resulted in purchasing an entirely too flexible pair of fins. Once I actually took the fins on a dive where my kicking was far less frequent and I was wearing all my dive attire, I felt severely under powered. I was frustrated; I wanted to throw my fins ($145) in the trash. For my second set of fins, my strategy was to determine which fin was used the most by dive professionals; people who are in them everyday. That fin is the Mares Avanti Quattro. It is also the most sold fin in the world. It has that perfect balance of stiffness to flexility for an entire day of diving. I love these fins!

Remember to buy fins that are highly visible colors like white, yellow or orange. This improves your safety by increasing your visibility to your buddy and group members during the dive.

Also, spend the extra money on foot pocket bungee straps, opposed to the rubber strap with the ratchet tightening system sold on most entry level fins. The boat ladder is the most accident prone area of the dive. People struggling to remove their fins, get bashed by waves against the ladder all the time. With bungee straps, you are able to easily and quickly remove your fins, hand them up to the boat crew and use both free hands to safely climb up the ladder and out of the danger zone. That is worth the extra $40.