Fin type and flutter technique: a study to optimise the oxygen consumption in divers

The purpose of this research was to assess the variability of the oxygen consumption (VO₂) depending on fin type and the flutter technique used for the different divers' profile. Twenty-three SCUBA divers took part in four 2.5 hour sessions to evaluate a total of six fin models and two flutter techniques. The flutter routines lasted 30 minutes per fin and per technique. Measurements of VO₂ significantly decreased on Jet (20.42 ml*min^-1*kg^-1) and XShot fin (20.87 ml*min^-1*kg^-1) compared to Twin Jet fin (22.81 ml, p < 0.05). In addition, the VO₂ was in all cases higher in certified divers than in professional divers (23.87 and 19.00 ml*min^-1*kg^-1, p = 0.00). These differences were significant between divers' profile and flutter technique (p < 0.05). Similarly, measurements of VO₂ were higher in frog kick technique than crawl kick technique (22.97 ml*min^-1*kg^-1 and 19.96 ml*min^-1*kg^-1, p = 0.00). These differences were significant between fin type and flutter technique in all fins (p = 0.03). Practitioner summary: This study investigated the impact of fin type, flutter technique and divers' profile on VO₂ during diving. Results of this research suggest that combination a diving different factors significantly impacts the divers' VO₂, thus providing new perspective for election of fin type and flutter technique according to the divers' profile.