The best ScubaFinsin 2023

Scuba fins are an essential piece of our scuba gear and we use them on every dive.

As a nice side effect, we can also use our fins when freediving or snorkeling without full diving equipment.

There are many different ones on the market, from full-foot fins to open-heel ones, travel fins, full-rubber military ones, and many more.

To make sure you find the best ones for your style of diving, here are my recommendations for the best fins in 2023.

At the end of the post, you will also find a scuba fins buyer’s guide with tips and tricks on buying your next set of fins.

Best Scuba Fins in 2023

These are the best scuba fins for divers in 2023 for any budget:

• Best Allrounder Scuba Fins: Apeks Rk3
• Lightest Scuba Fins: Seawing Nova
• Best Travel Scuba Fins: ScubaPro Go Sport

Apeks RK3

Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

The Apeks RK3 are my personal fins and I love them! I have used them on about 1,000 dives and they show no signs of exhaustion or tear.

They feature a traditional all-rubber design which is standard in military, rescue, and technical diving. Despite their sturdy material, they are super light and perfect for traveling.

The Apeks RK3 fins come standard with stainless steel spring straps which make putting them on and off a breeze.

• Buy on Dive Right in Scuba
• Buy on Amazon
• Buy on TradeInn (DiveInn)

ScubaPro Seawing Nova

Rating: 4.6 / 5.0

ScubaPro’s Seawing Nova fins look like something out of a sci-fi movie and are among the most popular fins on the market.

They feature a two-part design in which the foot pocket and the blade are connected through two extra springs in the middle. This makes the Seawing Nova Pro fins some of the fastest I have ever used.

They are incredibly comfortable and their foot pocket leaves you feeling like you are not wearing fins at all.

• Buy on Dive Right in Scuba
• Buy on Amazon
• Buy on TradeInn (DiveInn)

ScubaPro Go Sport

Rating: 4.8 / 5.0

While lightweight can be said about many fins, the Go Sport is special. It looks and feels very similar to all-rubber fins like the RK3 and the JetFins, but weighs just above 1kg (2.2lbs) without sacrificing quality.

They are perfect for travel, can be used for warm and cold water diving, and are available in a lot of different colors.

If you are looking for the ultimate travel fins for beginners that are not a tradeoff, you need to check out the ScubaPro Go Sport.

• Buy on Amazon
• Buy on TradeInn (DiveInn)

Types of scuba fins

There are dozens of different fin types available by just as many manufacturers.

You’ll find them in all shapes, sizes, and colors, but in the end, they all serve the purpose to help you move underwater.

Materials range from plastic to full-rubber ones and new ones come out all the time.

First off, you need to decide between full-foot fins and open-heel ones.

Full-foot fins

Full-foot fins enclose your entire foot around the ankle and are usually worn directly on your feet. They fit without any other tools or adjustments.

Fool-foot fins are the tool of choice for pool training, freediving, and when diving in super warm water. As they require no boots to be worn underneath, you just slip in and start your dive.

This makes them easy and quick to put on and much more affordable than their open-heel versions.

While their price makes them seem attractive, I do not recommend you buy full-foot fins, unless you only ever dive in warm water from boats.

Without the ability to wear boots underneath, this type of fins limits the locations you can dive at. Boots also protect your feet from rocks on the ground or your dive buddy putting their tank on your toes.

Last but not least, full-foot fins often give you less propulsion than their open-heel counterparts and are not suitable for diving against strong currents.

Open heel fins

Open heel ones, on the other side, do not cover your heel and are tightened by using a strap. Usually, divers wear neoprene boots underneath.

As described above, they are the fins of choice for almost all divers and I recommend you buy a pair of these.

I recommend you check out some that use spring straps or metal straps that make putting them on or off about 1,000 times faster.

If you wear a drysuit, it’s advisable to buy a pair that weighs more to even out the buoyancy in your feet.

A word on split-fins

Do not buy split-fins. Here, I said it.

You’ll find countless discussions on forums and social media on the pros and cons of split fins.

If you ask me, split fins are absolutely useless. I have always taught my students to use a frog kick which offers superior buoyancy, trim, and aerodynamics in comparison to the flutter taught at many places.

Split fins make frog kicking and backward swimming very difficult and as such, I cannot recommend them.

Check out the most useful scuba fin kicks for more info.

Plastic vs full-rubber fins

Choosing between plastic and rubber fins depends on the type of diving you do, whether you travel frequently, and whether you use a drysuit or thick semi-dry one.

Rubber fins are rather heavy and sturdy, giving you a lot of forward thrust, as well as excellent maneuverability underwater.

Plastic ones, on the other hand, are cheaper and often way more flexible. This makes them an excellent choice for diving in currents when flutter kicking is preferred.

As a rule of thumb, the thicker your suit or the colder the water, the more a pair of full-rubber fins makes sense. When wearing a drysuit, this is especially true.

I use the Apeks RK3 which are very light despite me wearing them when diving in a drysuit.

Essentially, there are three types of fins:

Recreational, technical, and freediving ones.

Recreational fins

I call any fins that are specifically made for recreational scuba diving recreational fins. They range in shape, color, and geometry and you have plenty to choose from.

In contrast to snorkel fins, recreational scuba fins give you more power underwater to move around with heavy tanks on your back.

As fin manufacturers always try to innovate, you will encounter interesting features on many models, such as extra strings, split ends, or interestingly shaped blades.

While good for almost any kind of diving, their focus lies more on vacation and fun diving and takes into account that most divers still (unfortunately) pick the flutter kick over the frog kick underwater.

That’s why you will often find manufacturers optimize their features for this type of kick, making other styles of fins more suitable for freshwater divers.

Military or technical fins

Military-style fins can be seen in the image below.

They are shaped like a triangle and look similar to frog feet. They are the fins of choice for technical and drysuit divers, and the most versatile ones out there.

They are excellent for frog kicking and backward swimming, and since they are made of rubber, they will give you a lot of propulsion and maneuverability underwater.

For anyone diving in freshwater or cold water in general, these will be the fins of choice.

Freediving fins

Freediving fins are almost exclusively full-foot ones with extra long blades. Diving down and up from the surface is easy, however, they are very inconvenient for scuba diving, where hovering motionless is often the desired state.

Scuba Fins for beginners

Beginner scuba divers should buy their own pair of fins. Not only is it an essential part of the ABC equipment, but it will also make diving more comfortable and fun.

The best scuba fins for beginners.