Fins?

[tim]

I've been contemplating some freediving fins for awhile and have some questions.
First why are freediving fins full foot? Maybe most freediving is in warmer climates? Are there any open heal fins? Have a bit of an arthritis problen in the extremities(need to keep em warm).

Some recomendations for a new guy on a budget?

Fred, do you remember what fins of yours I was using?

Thanks
Tim

[freedivernd]

Tim, the ones you used were Cressi Gara's 2000hf fins. A good fin and also a fin with a good following. A bit stiff for some people, but can really generate the power.
I think the main reason for full foot fins is the claim of a more efficient transfer of power with a full foot, but I have also read contradicting articles to that from what I believe were reliable sources in the finswimming competition circles (more related to monofins).
To me, it seems that a full foot fin with a sock would be more streamlined than an open heal with a boot/sock or no boot/sock.
They do have open heel freediving fins available... some of the better models too. I've seen them on the deeperblue site under "Shop". You might check into the freediving fins at leisurepro too.
Fins for the budget... Sporasub H. Dessault fins probably get the vote there.. and they are available with open/full heel. Excellent foot pockets and removable blades if you want to upgrade in the future.
Fred

[Freedive WI]

Fred's right about the transfer of power with a full-foot fin pocket. You can get them a little larger and wear a nice, thick, sock underneath. Fred and I both ice dive with full foot fins and my feet don't get cold.

The Sporasub's would be my first choice in a new freediving fin. If you ever outgrow them and want to move up to carbon fiber you can still use the same footpockets.

Jon

[Dirk Diggler]

Jon & Fred,

Would you have a recommendation for a freediving-style full-foot fin for use in heavy currents? We're talking 5-6 knot ++. Going sideways and directly against it often. With SCUBA gear on.

AND are there any that are collapsable for travel? (I'm a minimalist when it comes to packing dive gear.) What would be each of your top three picks?

I've had no other experience with free diving fins other than the Mares Pipin attack fins - who's blade snapped about half way up - stay attached, but the efficency declined greatly.

(For SCUBA fins I've used all the HPs, Tre, Quattro, Volos, Split fins, Volos, Blades, Gorillas, Jets, and too many more long forgotten for here. And I want something more.)

Anything you might suggest if you have time.
Thanks

[Freedive WI]

Lots of good fins, but I wouldn't recomend the Pipin's to anyone- as you found out.

There are basically three types: plastic, carbon-fiber, and fiber-plastic.

As far as collapsable fins there is one model made by Sporasub, called the Varient, but I wouldn't recommend it becasue they break- a lot. :'(

Most other fins, besides the carbon-fiber fins wich are actually glued into their footpockets, comein two pieces- the blade and the footpocket. THis is so you can upgrade to different blades as time goes on. There are a couple of fins which can't- like Esclapez, Cressi sub, and some Picasso's, but I wouldn't recommend any of those blades to start with.

For the cheapest, plastic, I would say that a base model SPorasub Dessault would be really good. It's hard to beat that fin for the price.

For Carbon-fiber fins, I wouldn't recommend any, unless you can find an out-of-production pair of Sporasub Radical's. They are just too fragile for scuba- which I learned the hard way.

THe Fiber-Plastic fins are something new on hte market and all the buzz with the spearo crowd these days. THey can be beat upon and still give a kick that rivals many carbon fiber fins.

One of the best for Fiber-plastic fins is:
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They made my good monofin and have a wide selection of fins. Any of their fins also comes in a varitey of stiffnesses to be matched to the diver's legs. THey make blue, clear and camo fins, plus they can even put your name on them. THey can even put your flag, or diveshop/dive club logo on the fins as well. They are not cheap, but are VERY nice fins. THey frog kick better than many other long bladed fins that I have tried and can give you a really nice kick when fighting against a strong current.

Thereis a slightly cheaper fin out of Canada thatis made out of Fiber-plastic, but it is a flat blade- meaning it has no angle to it. This is the same problem as the Cressi sub Garas. The lack of blade angle makes it hard to surface swim, but it works out pretty well underwater. THe comapny is called WATERWAY, but I am sorry to say I don't have their website handy right now. I have oneof their monofin's and it is a nice fin for the money, Fred has the same one, but I like my Specialfin's mono much better.

Lot's of information and I don't know if it helped you, but this is the order in which I would look at the fins- from cheapest to most expensive:
1- Sporasub Dessault
2- Waterway
3- Specialfins

IF I was going by performance alone it would be:
1-Specialfins Hyrbid
2- Specialfins Kelpie
3- Waterway
4 Sproasub Desault

Jon

[freedivernd]

Dirk,
I'm with Jon on putting the sporasub h. dessault fins first on the list, because of interchangeable blades and price but my second choice would be the cressi gara 2000hf . for 2 reasons.. one is because it is my backup fin when I travel (the sporasub pure carbons are my mains), the gara's are hard to break. second reason is that I've seen several dive masters down in Cozumel who prefer the gara's for chasing down runaway divers. I have carried on my fins when I travel.. bungie strapped together in a somewhat reasonable order and I have also put them in a nice long wheeled duffle that I have now.. truthfully, there just isn't a good way to travel with them. I worry less about packing the garas than I do the carbon fibers. I tend to wear my garas when I don the scuba equipment. They work for me.
Fred

[Dirk Diggler]

Thanks for your input, much appreciated. I'll look into it further and give you some feedback in the future.

Thanks again.