Comments about Hollis Gear Hollis Open Heel Dive Fins F-1:

I bought these fins because I was tired of fighting currents with my splits. I'm 6' 225lbs in fairly good shape. I have 4 dives in with these fins and love them, 2 spear fishing a reef in the gulf on slack tide and cruised effortlessly. Next 2 were in some pretty good current and had no problem hunting up current from the boat. When I surfaced I was 100' up from the boat. My buddy was about 200 yds down current from the boat with splits, couldn't get back and had to get picked up. These fins are great, speed and maneuverability are impressive. I have the XL fins with size 11 hard sole boots, perfect fit

Comments about Hollis Gear Hollis Open Heel Dive Fins F-1:

Best fins for my level (newbie advanced level)

Regular size fits well (Boots size : 260, Cressi)

Spring Biding is comfortable and easy to grip

Actually, I do not think it's heavy....absolutely not

lightweight, too.

One thing, I need is Yellow tip model is too expensive.

Same price as all black will be fare and resonable.

Comments about Hollis Gear Hollis Open Heel Dive Fins F-1:

I went from Mares Volo Power fins to these F-1s with no problems. They are 6.5 lbs so not so great for air travel. I droped 3lb. off my weight belt. No leg cramps and nice performance in all conditions. I had to use my sea soft boots with a thick sole to get a good fit with out adjusting the spring straps smaller. These are sturdy fins, well made and should last a lot longer than the Mares fins.
The Mares fins were lighter but the power bands broke out of the rubber in about 4 years-150 dives.

Comments about Hollis Gear Hollis Open Heel Dive Fins F-1:

Ok Weight.... Not a factor in the water only slightly negative.
Size... fits over my rock boots which my splits didn't

I am a cold water dry suit diver and photographer. Prior to these I wore only split fins because of the reduced stress on my old legs. The first couple of outings I thought they were going to kill me but after that they became my favorite fins. They do increase your speed and power especially against current.

The thing I really like is the maneuverability. When doing photo work they excel at fine movements with little effort and holding position in current and for frog kicking they work great. They work well with just about any kick style.

If your a warm water diver in light gear they might be too much but in a drysuit they just the ticket.

Comments about Hollis Gear Hollis Open Heel Dive Fins F-1:

First let me say that comments such as "unbelievably heavy" are in my humble opinion, unbelievably stupid. If you need to wear weight when you dive and if weight on your feet will help to trim you into a more streamlined configuration, then you NEED a pair of heavy fins. If you tend to trim head up, by all means obtain the lightest pair that suits your swimming style. One of the silliest things I have ever seen is a dive buddy of mine who insists on wearing her ultra-light fins with 5-lbs ankle weights. She refuses to schlep "heavy fins" around, but she'll unabashed carry 10 extra lbs of lead ankle weights in her dive bag?!?!?!

Weight considerations aside, the only thing a fin review really needs to address is how well the fin works. Again, this is going to vary from diver to diver based on style of kick and type of diving. On the whole, the Hollis F-1's are my favorite fins by far.

I, like most divers, have accumulated a numbers of fins over the years. I was using a pair of Apollo Pro-C split fins, but frog kicks and helicopter turns are difficult with splits and after borrowing a friends F-1's, I was hooked.

First, they feel very comfortable and are a nice blend of power and maneuverability.

Secondly, they are built like a tank and will stand up to a lot of abuse.

Thirdly, not only do they come with FREE spring straps...the straps are ADJUSTABLE!!!