Split Fins

[Lockedin]

IMHO, Before buying, I would try as many as I could. Get in the pool, and do some side by side testing including your old fins.

I went from generics, to Force Fins, to OMER Ice, after testing vs. Cressi, Sporasub (not variants Colt - sorry), and my Force Fins. They caused some minor soreness in my muscles, and two BIG blisters on the first pool session. I tried the Ice a second time.

Result - with 3mm socks - no blisters. I was told (rightly) that my longblades would require a smoother, lower frequency kick. Result - my other fins are somewhere in the garage - I think...

My Wife didn't quite sign the papers USD $300

[Newbie_spearo]

I agree too with trying before buying if it's possible. Especially with the cressi's. Do you use socks for comfort or warmth or both? How wide are your feet? if they are narrow, what thickness sock will you need to still keep your feet warm and make the cressi's comfortable without being too tight? Will you need to go to the next size up in the cressi due to them being really comfy in the size below without a sock, if you need that extra warmth or are you happy to dive with numb feet after 30mins? Comfort is my number 1 priority but do you see comfort as the first half hour of your dive or the entire dive from putting your gear on to taking it off. It's easier and cheaper to get socks to accommodate for a slightly larger fin than the other way round. Find out what other guys with similar sized feet are using?

Have fun!

[Mongrel454]

I already wear 3mm socks and i will always use them for
1. Comfort
2. Warmth
I have wide feet so i will definately need to goto a larger size than needed.

[Newbie_spearo]

Jamie,

If you have wide feet I'd recommend staying away from the cressi fins. I'm not saying they aren't any good, but from what I've read they tend to suit people with narrow feet a lot better. Also if I could give you some advice before forking out money for long blade fins. If yuo are able to do some gym training and strengthen your legs it will helps tremendously. Obviously nothing beats swimming but if you can get to the gym and do some squats I garantee you it will make your hunting that much easier, on your body atleast. That or get a pair with softer blades like the green picasso's or the omer winter blades.have a look on tuttopescamare.com look under pinne apnea. they were getting rid of sporasub fins. the green ones are the softer blade, but are not changeable. I had a mate who just bought the black slightly harder blade and he loves them after using the L&SS Stealth Fins. They are going really cheap on tuttopescamare like 37.50 Euro plus 39 Euro shipping so your looking at about AU$120 to your door. still half price than buying them over here.

[Mongrel454]

Thx mate i really appreciate yours and everyones help in DB

THIS PLACE ROCKS

[Newbie_spearo]

Haha and by the time you finish looking on tuttopescamare you will be fluent in italian, or atleast in saying wetsuit, socks, gloves, fins, mask snorkel, speargun, frieght costs, and so on and so forth. if you are having any trouble with the site and navigating through it I believe spaghetti was offering help to brittneyspearz from tazzy so just get hold of him and I'm sure he'll sort you out.

Good luck!

[Britney Spearz]

Yes, I was looking at getting some stuff from tuttopescamare and spaghetti was very kind in helping me with communication, but to my luck on the day I was going to order the shipping went from 49 euro for my items to 350 euro! I have no idea why the shipping price has gone through the roof but checking on the international shipper: fedex.com, their shipping estimator prices have gone up for all overseas destinations.

Anyway I recently ordered Ice Fins from subprof.com for something like $280 including shipping and received them in 3 days! Yet to try them. I think they look even cooler in "real" life as the blades are like crystal clear transparent instead of sort of fuzzy transparent like websites give them the illusion of being. They smell like vanilla too!

[Marwan]

you will love these britney... great fins

[Newbie_spearo]

My girlfriend is buying me a pair from jim for my bday in august I can't wait!!!

[tbgsub]

I started out with the Ice fins, from Subprof they cost around 260.00 US check em out.
I have since broken one of the fins, but my local shop wouldnt send em in to Omer since I didnt purchase them from him, I bought the Black Millenium fins because they were stiffer for deeper dives. i have also borrowed my wifes Cressi gara 3000's for whole days, and the difference is noticeable.
surface and short dives are nicer with the Gara's but for deeper dives I want a stiffer bladde for more foreward motion with less effort. IF YOU WAnt more foreward motion try to find fin profiles to add to your plastic fins!! THEY ARE NICER FOR SURE!!

initially most people exert their leg stroke too much in long fins and their ankles and calves hurt partially from too wide of a kick, and partly from too frequent kicking, as if they were in short fins.

slow down your kicks, in fact be gentle in your kick, you will discover the same momentum and acceleration with less effort. Only use the full foot pockets and make sure they are snug, or use neoprene socks or booties to get the right fit. The tighter the better as long as they arent un comfortable. By the way, after the first 15 feet you dont even need to kick anymore with the right weights.

I would avoid split fins for anything deeper than 15-20ft, and never in a current which would rule them out most of the time, since conditions can change in minutes depending on where you arer at on a reef. you may want to look online for soft surface fins like the Cressi Gara 2000 or 3000, usually they run 125.00 from most retail stores, and you should find a better price online.

as for the wife, I just buy the fins I want and explain them when she notices, and by the it is too late, because I am not taking them back. perhaps it will be more difficult to explain a camoflage suit and new dive belt and weights, and mirrored goggles, or a dive flashlight, or a second speargun, but I CANT HELP YOU THERE, NOT ALL WIVES WERE CREATED EQUAL. lol!!!


good luck.

TBGSUB.

[Mongrel454]

LMAO at the last comment

One thing i can never do is complain about my wife..I get to go diving whenever i want and buy whatever i want if we have the spare cash
Its taken awhile to train her though, we have been together for 13 years now :P
Dont tell her i said that
In regards to buying online, i try to do it as much as i can but sometimes you need to be there to get the right fit..

Thx....

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by alexrom1207

... Also, long blade fins take a week or two for your legs get used to, so give it a little time and they will be more comfortable. The first 6-7 minutes will obviously be the hardest but give your body some time to adapt.
Good luck

I agree, I am still using the first pair of long fins I tried on. They took quite a bit of getting used to at first but I can't imagine going back to shorter fins, other than in a swimming pool. I found my normal fin cadence seemed to be halved - which was worrying at first. I have strong legs but it was just too hard to fin them at my normal pace. However, I found that at half pace, I travelled just as fast as with my old fins but with less effort. Consequently I was able to swim further underwater and it was more relaxed (I started using them in a pool, so it was quite easy to assess how far I was going and how fast).

Omer, Cressi & Picasso seem to be the most popular brands for spearing currently. However, there are other brands with are often cheaper & still good. I use Beuchat Competitions, which were less than half the price of Omer Ice & half the price of Cressi 3000LD - and I think they're great (pity they're not transparent). I've also seen Seacsub spearo fins for sale for much less than mine cost and they look very good. The great thing about cheaper fins is you'fd less likely to loose or break them and you don't have worry about scratching or painting them!

[Spaniard]

Absolutely right. Long fins, when first worn, will work muscles and tendons in a way which is new for you body; you will get sore. If this soreness doesn't go away after a few sessions make sure you have a good fit between sock and inside footpocket. If your foot is slightly loose within the footpocket you will not be effeciently transferring energy from the kickin muscles through to the blade and you will experience fatigue, cramp and chafing. Unfortunately there is no magic fix here other than trying a few different footpockets out. In my experience the Dessault footpockets seem to work for more people than not. When I sold Sporasub gear it was the most frequently ordered item!

[blaiz]

My first long fins were the gara 3000. My ankles hurt like hell for the first week or so but soon got used to them. I found that they were a great first long fin, great for shallower dives, not too stiff and very comfortable. I have a u.s. size 12 foot and a fairly wide one too.

I just recently bought a pair of riffe long fins(got them for 50 percent off) yup, pulled some strings. I like these a lot too. A bit stiffer, I dont have to kick as hard comming up from deep dives. They do have fairly large channels which makes them a little harder to move around side to side (but makes them more efficient for normal kicking). SO I am hanging on to my garas for use in shallow dives or on lobster dives. The other great thing about the riffes is the interchangeable blades.

I personally think that the gara 3000s were a great intro fin. The price was good as well $120us. Although when I saw them in a shop in New Zealand the price was considerably more expensive.

p.s. I dont know how others feel about the jb esclapez fins but i know a few people who have broken the blades (new ones)

[tbgsub]

on the foot pocket they have a range from lowest recommended size to largest recommended size. I amd a Street US size 9 and I make sure that if I plan on only using thin socks or nothing that the 9 is the smallest size on the recommended sizing on the fin, otherwise I will get the next size up reccomendaiton and get soled booties which are great for crossing reef for shore dives! but you may need fixy Poms/rubber bootie holders, Omer makes a nice set of cheap holders that minimize rubbing on larger foot pockets while using booties. Look for stream lined booties with thin soles with a pointed foot cut like the MEW boots, I think they may be japanese but I could easily be wrong.

I agree of the cheap fins idea, but everything you buy to spearfish is going to get scratched eventually, just talk to guys who are scratch counters with their new Carbon fins!! they will get scratched if you are using them frequently, so go for what is most comfortable, regardless of cost you wont regret it if you are a frequent user.

Actually my first fins were Dessaults but I later ordered the ICE fins to use with the Dessault pockets, and although the foot pockets were stiff, they fit great till the heel pocket split when trying to get them on in surf, but they were nice and tight before the split.

I used superglue and rubberbands to hold them together for another month till I could buy Omer foot pockets that were softer and the rubber was part silicon, and stretchy and more comfortable, and wouldnt rip out, but I miss the Dessault foot pockets when used with the ICE fins! I think it was a really nice combination.

I am also looking at the fin profiles that are for sale on Subprof.com to add some foreward motion to my currently medium stiffness millenium fins, perhaps they will stiffen them slightly while channeling water in a more directional fashion. It may be the cheapest and most cost effective upgrade for plastic fins!!

best of luck,

TBGSUB.