Best Dive Fins for 2026

Why the Mares Avanti Quattro's are my top all-round dive fin: The Mares Avanti Quattro are reliable, tough fins, and last for a long time even with heavy professional use. Given their durability, they're surprisingly lightweight (around 1.8 kg per pair), making them great travel fins, too.

These fins are well-tested underwater, and great all-rounder fins for people that dive in a range of conditions. Mares Avanti Quattro Plus keep coming in at the top of "Most Popular" lists year on year, and they're still the favorite of dive professionals the world over. What makes them so popular? The Quattro Plus are a dual-material channel fin that works for all fin-kick styles. Us marine biologists (and dive professionals) tend to prefer dive fins like this, with a deceptively simple design, as they can take the abuse we put them through, diving year after year.

I asked one of my dive professional friends about them and their take was: "They're amazing, they last for years, and they're cheap for what they can do. The full-foot version is good for snorkeling as well."

These fins come with a bungee heel strap as standard, and they have a large thumb loop so they're easy to get on and off (even when your hands are numb after a cold dive).

They provide good control, speed, and precision in the water, so the Quattro Plus are a good choice for underwater photographers. They're even good for people with small (3 to 4) foot sizes as well, which can be hard to find. They have a good balance of stiffness and flexibility that will suit most divers and most dive conditions.

The Mares Avanti Quattro also come in a full-foot version for warmer water diving which receives just as much praise as the open-heel fins, and will also perform very well while snorkeling and freediving (as seen in Simon's guide to the best snorkeling fins).

The Mares Avanti Quattro's are also a genuinely reasonable price and come in lots of color options, with the softer rubber sections sticking with black.

Downside? I really haven't found any downsides to the Quattro Plus. Go ahead and buy a different colored pair for each day of the week!

Why the Viper 2 is my entry-level pick: If you're just getting into diving, and don't want to splurge on gear quite yet, the Oceanic Viper 2 is a good choice: the current version of the original Oceanic Viper, long my entry-level pick. Oceanic's own description covers the same ground as the original: a Flexible Power Thrust Channel and enhanced channel rails direct water flow off the tips of the fin for efficient power at a budget price, with a polished blade and redesigned performance rails over the original Viper.

Like the original, these fins are excellent value, but still very good. The flexible construction and vented blade make it easy to move around in, great for beginners who are building up their fin-kick muscles. It's lightweight and bendable, so it travels well. The foot pocket accepts most styles of bootie and neoprene socks, and it comes in lots of colors.

Downside? This isn't a tough, "buy once for life" fin: you get what you pay for here. On Amazon it's a newer listing with fewer owner ratings than our other picks, so there's less of a track record to go on yet.

Video of the original Oceanic Viper: Oceanic Viper Fins, by Simply Scuba.

Why I like the Scubapro Seawing dive fins: The Scubapro Seawing Nova's are lightweight and very efficient, as they have been designed to incorporate modern know-how on fluid dynamics, but very weird-looking, as they incorporate modern know-how on fluid dynamics. They're definitely a unique style of dive fin.

The Nova's are heavily hinged, between the foot pocket and the blade, and are the product of several design iterations and improvements over the years.

The result? Despite their relatively short blades (24 inches, versus an average of 32 to 39 inches), the Seawing Nova's are a stiff fin that provides a lot of power underwater. This makes them very useful if you're likely to be diving in strong currents a lot.

They come with a marine-grade bungee heel strap as standard, so are easy to don and doff, and they're built to last. Scubapro boasts that the Nova's are indestructible, as they're made of a single molded design of monoprene, a material developed by Scubapro themselves. They back that up with a lifetime guarantee, which is genuinely pretty great. Excellent to see a manufacturer really stand behind their products.

The Nova have large foot pockets, meaning your whole foot fits in the foot pocket, which helps to avoid the possibility of a foot cramp. The holes in the foot pockets reduce drag while you're finning, and stop the vacuum effect when you are removing your fins.

The underside of the foot pockets also has large detailing to provide enhanced grip on the boat deck if you need to shuffle over to your entry point on a larger liveaboard-style boat.

Downside? These fins aren't inexpensive. Though the hinge in the fins allows them to be easily packed for travel, reviews suggest they can (very occasionally) break at this point of weakness, so take note of that if you're someone who really does high giant-stride entries. They do have that lifetime warranty, though.

Their unique design, and stiff blades, means these are probably not the best choice for inexperienced divers. These fins might be seen as a bit showy by other divers, be prepared for some sideways glances from your divemaster, but the science does say they're super efficient, and they have lots of positive reviews on Amazon. I'm torn. Several owners also report the fit runs large, so consider sizing down.

Why the TUSA Hyflex Switch is my top travel fin: The main plus point for these fins is that you can separate the foot pocket from the blade to make them easier to pack for travel. These also come with a universal bungee heel strap, the length of which is adjustable to get the best fit. The strap has a large thumb loop so that you can easily put them on and take them off.

This fin is quite "snappy" for a quick response and more precise movements in the water. This is great for fine-tuning your body position in the water, so the Hyflex Switch fins are a good choice for underwater photographers. The fine control makes them good for shallow and macro dives, and muck diving, as you can avoid stirring up silt. These fins also work well for snorkeling. If you prefer a stiff blade, the "pro" version of these fins has you covered.

Downside? These fins are also quite pricey. These can also be underpowered for finning in a current (the "pro" version should be an improvement). The foot pocket sizes can run a little large, according to some of the Amazon reviews, so bear that in mind if you order them.

Why the Apeks RK3 are the top cold water dive fins: When "bomb proof" might not just be an adjective. These macho beasts, the Apeks RK3, are a military-style vented fin. They have shorter blades than a standard vented dive fin, but they're wider too, so actual kicking power is about the same.

These are very tough dive fins. There are no moving parts to break or bend, and they are made of a single piece of thermo-moulded rubber. They come with a metal bungee as standard, with reinforced buckles. Carabiner holes on both ends allow for easy storage and for complex exits from the water; they're ideal fins for divers that regularly do cold-water shore-entries through rough terrain. The short blade also makes them a good choice for cramped conditions like wreck or cave diving. They have a flat profile so pack down easily.

Despite all this, the Apeks RK3's float in saltwater, so they're easy to retrieve if you drop them during removal. The RK3's come in two different stiffnesses: the stiffer pair gives you more power, but the standard version is lighter for travel.

These are very popular with drysuit and tech divers.

Downside? These fins are quite bulky, and not ideal for people with smaller feet, as the foot pockets are comparatively large and boxy. Short fins aren't great in currents, or for longer dives, as your legs can tire faster.

Why the Atomic Aquatics are my top split fins: Floppy but fast. As with all split fins, the major benefit of the Atomic Aquatics Split Fin is that they're much gentler to use, and therefore great for people that have issues with their knees or backs. They are also good for longer dives for the same reason. They can handle strong currents well, if you use a normal scissor-kick.

These split fins come with a metal coil bungee as standard, so they're easy to put on, and should hold up to a lot of use well. You can also buy bungee straps in different sizes if the standard length doesn't quite work for you. As a nice bonus, these are genuinely good-looking fins, but not just at the surface (lol); they're high-quality. The blades on these fins are a little shorter than average, which makes them easier to pack for travel too.

Downside? The "soft" blades on split fins make them a poor choice if you prefer a frog-kick style, or if you need to make precise movements (such as diving over coral a lot, or for photography). For these reasons split fins are generally not popular with dive professionals. When asked about split fins my friend Nadia (a long-term dive professional) said "[you] might as well stick soggy cardboard to your feet."

Split fins aren't great for beginners as you need to adjust your finning technique for them to function efficiently. These aren't cheap fins, so I'd suggest them for advanced divers who prefer split fins (that's cool, no judgement, you do you) or people who need to give their knees an easy life. If you do like split fins, you should love these.

Why the Cressi Reaction Pro's are my top full-foot dive fins: These are the fins I use myself. Full-foot fins are designed to be worn with bare feet, or with fin socks (which I'd recommend; protect your feet!). These are excellent all-round fins for warm-water diving and travel. They have a slightly increased blade area than most other full-foot models, ensuring they have plenty of power in currents or for quick acceleration (trying to catch up to whale sharks, for instance) without being too stiff. As a bonus, the Reaction Pro's also work well as snorkeling fins (they are actually considered entry-level freediving fins).

The shallow blade angle and the rubberized, textured sole mean they are nice and grippy for moving around a wet boat deck. They are also lightweight and easy to pack, and I greatly prefer them to open-heel models for travel, as you don't need booties to use them comfortably. The foot pockets are very comfortable on bare feet. However, if you (like me) get cold feet in even the warmest water, or to avoid rubbing, you can buy a size up and opt for some neoprene socks. These are inexpensive and good value for money. Warm-water dive professionals see the Cressi Reaction Pro as an excellent, affordable fin for most diving activities.

Downside? These fins don't allow for the use of dive boots, which are common in cold-water diving and for shore entries. These fins don't float, so they can be hard to recover if you lose them on the surface. The soft and flexible foot pocket, though comfortable to wear, means these fins are not as robust as some of the open-heel alternatives. Simon had a pair in which the foot pocket started splitting over time (he's since switched to the Avanti Quattro Power).

Why I included these Oceanic Manta Ray dive fins: These don't fit into any particular category, but they're really pretty so I included them anyway because oceanic manta rays are excellent. The Oceanic Manta Ray isn't a well-known fin, but it's well-reviewed. They're somewhat similar to the Scubapro Seawing Nova's mentioned above, but perhaps easier for newer divers to get used to, and I think they look better. The blades on these fins are quite stiff to maximize propulsion in the water, so they're good for moderate to strong current dives. They also have a large finger loop on the heel strap so it's easy to get them on and off. The boxy shape of the foot pocket makes these a better fit for people with wider feet, or for the thicker booties used in cold-water diving. A bonus is that the easy buckle adjustment system means you can adjust the strap size, without tools, for different bootie thicknesses.

Downside? Stiff blades can get tiring on longer dives, particularly if you're not used to them. "Too pretty to use" say some reviews. These are expensive fins, but a good choice if you like good design, want to be Insta-ready underwater (top tip: also get a mask with a clear skirt so people can see your eyes properly), and have a lot of dolla' billz.