Fin type and flutter technique: A study to optimize 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.