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Fins £50-£95

Aileron 2.16KG (SRP: £88)

Mark: These are certainly not the fins you’d choose if you wanted to blend in while on a liveaboard! The outlandish style makes them stand out in a crowd, but they performed much like a normal paddle fin when using a standard stroke. A frogkick worked suprisingly well.
Martin: Surprisingly good for a paddle fin. A good return on speed for the effort you put in, but not particularly fast. They look a bit daft.
Dave: Not a bad paddle fin and pretty responsive. I don’t think they work any better to walk about in than a Deep Outdoors or a Force Fin, though.
John: Look bizarre but work really well for a paddle fin. A decent turn of speed and easy to manouevre in. Very comfortable.

Aqualung Blades 2 2.36KG (SRP: £63.50)

Mark: Unique clip which actually works! A quick press on the rear and it pops apart to allow you to remove your foot. Simple. Actually had a good frog kick, but was hard work for normal kicks.
Martin: For all the effort you put in, you don’t get a lot of power – it felt as if I was stuck in second gear. However, I liked the heel clip as well.
Dave: Very hard work to use. You can get a good turn of speed but it takes a lot of effort. A bit expensive for what they are.
John: Very stiff. Frog kicking is okay, but it’s hard work to get speed out of them. I liked the heel
clip, though, and they were comfy.
Paul: Aqualung scaffold board – enough said. The release clip was good, though, showing some thought has gone into the design process.

Mares Avanti Quattro 2.28KG (SRP: £69.95)

Mark: Hard work, but plenty of power if you’ve got the legs for it. I don’t really rate the locking clip on the strap personally, but it did have a supremely comfy foot pocket. One of the better paddle fins.
Martin: Generates a nice, smooth finning action. It fits well and has a soft foot pocket, and it is easy to get on and off.
Dave: I rate the clips – it’s a good system for me. Easy to get on and off, plus a reasonable amount of speed for your effort. Beginning to show their age, though.
John: Too stiff for me. Frog kicking is okay, but I still don’t like the clips – I’m not a fan.
Paul: Nothing changes – I still don’t like them. Just too much effort needed to get any power out of them.

Oceanic V12 3.04KG (SRP: £85.50)

Mark: Extremely comfortable. No good for frog kicks – they’re just too soft – but plenty of power with a normal kick. Nice thumb loop on the heel strap makes donning a piece of cake.
Martin: Fantastic, they are great, and my favourite in this price group. They give you speed and manouevrability. Clips are good, too.
Dave: Very good, very firm, very comfortable. A pleasure to use. Nice deep foot pocket and plenty of power when you need it.
John: In essence, the carpet slipper of fins. Power when you need it, very easy to change direction, and very comfy. A lot for your money.
Paul: Comfortable and light, and gave me everything I wanted.

Scubapro Twin Speed 2.4KG (SRP: £85)

Mark: Very effective split fin. Quite stiff, but plenty of power. Length slightly hampers manoeuvrability, but it’s possible to do a decent frog kick because of the stiffness and angle of the blade.
Martin: A good-performing fin. Comfortable and
easy to get on and off. I like these.
Dave: More rigid than some split fins but none the worse for that. Quite powerful and very hard-wearing – I know that for a fact.
John: Good all-round fin. Foot pocket was a bit narrow, but a nice fin.
Paul: A great entry to split fins. Power when you need it and comfortable, too.

Seac Sub Manta 1.52KG (SRP: £59.99)

Mark: An unusual look, and has some novel clips which actually work. An adequate performer, but useless for frog kicks.
Martin: I didn’t have high hopes but they weren’t too bad. The grooves on the paddle seem largely cosmetic, but a solid performer all-round.
Dave: Excellent for what you get. Good enough, but not as good as the others. Novel clips made a difference.
John: The proverbial ironing board. I found they needed far too much effort to get anywhere.
Paul: An impressive return on power, but frog kicking is ineffective. Looks the part, though.

Sherwood Kinesis 1.64KG (SRP: £89.95)

Mark: The big ‘S’ on the fin doesn’t stand for ‘super’. Passable for normal kick, nigh-on impossible for frog kicks. Comfy foot pocket.
Martin: Delivers a better thrust than some paddle fins, you can really feel it. Expensive for a paddle fin, though.
Dave: A lot of money for these fins. Not the best paddle fin. They do give quite a good burst of speed, but it takes a lot of effort.
John: Average all-round, but performed not too bad for a paddle fin.
Paul: Comfortable but not the best performance. Looks dated and expensive for what you get.

XS Turtle 3KG (SRP: £70)

Mark: Technical divers love these kind of fins, but for me, they are an archaic piece of design that has been massively improved upon since it first hit the shelves. Plenty of thrust, but a lot of effort needed – and they are heavy!
Martin: Heavy and cumbersome. There’s a reasonable amount of speed, but it takes a lot of effort to get it.
Dave: The fin for people who think ABLJs are the height of scuba technology. Jacques Cousteau learnt to dive with better fins than these.
John: They look like a World War Two fin – with performance to match. Marginally better than using two planks of wood.

Tusa Imprex Tri-Ex 1.64KG (SRP: £67)

Mark: Excellent, comfy foot pocket. A good-looking paddle fin and probably one of the better-performing ones. Good normal and frog kicks. Not too expensive, and fairly light, too.
Martin: The 0-60 time is excellent. Was a bit narrow in the pocket for me – I could feel a squeeze through my boots. Overall a nice pair of fins.
Dave: Probably the best set of paddle fins in this price bracket. A surprisingly good turn of speed for not much effort. Nice, with comfortable foot pockets.
John: Excellent foot pocket and easy to get on and off. Good propulsion. A good fin and comfortable, too.
Paul: The best paddle fin I’ve tried. Comfortable, with power when you ask for it. A lot of fin for your money.