[hteas]

There is another factor in the stiffness dialogue. How much time do you spend swimming on the surface? I have no problem getting to 30 m (in Hawaii) with my Picasso Black Teams, but send me off on a 1/2 hour surface swim to get to a dive site, or while fighting to stay in position in a strong current and I be glad to tell anyone what I think of stiff fins. I HATE THEM.
My medium glass blades also get me to 30 m with no difficulty, but they are so much better on the surface that there is simply no comparison.
I just got a pair of Omer Winter blades, and am very curious to try them out now that the water has cooled off. The glass blades may still win out however, since, when the surface water drops to 2-3 degrees C, even the winter blades may get pretty stiff, while the glass blades don't seem to change enough to notice. At that temperature I tend to notice more problems with my performance than with my fins.
Howard