any suggestions- what to look for in fins?

[azapa]

as i mentioned on another thread trying fins + socks on dry in a shop does not give a very good idea. the ideal is to try them wet. do you belong to a club? there you may be able to try friends fins with socks. As a general rule, trying dry with socks they will feel very tight, but often in the water with they will feel OK.

[cdavis]

Hi Kelp Princess,

Lots of good advice above. Picking a fin/foot pocket is tricky and very individual, especially the pocket. Seems like most people like the cressi's, especially those wearing them barefoot, but I have several friends who absolutely hate'em. Seems to be a function of ankle flexibility and foot shape. They are a little narrower for their length and thick booties don't seem to work as well with them. The Omers are wider and seem to work better for those who wear thick booties. I've heard good things about the Nemos, supposed to be a lot like the old sporasub dessaults,softer than the omers, but I don't have any direct experience. Which pocket works best for you depends on you and you won't know until you have worn them for an hour or so. The best advice is try'em before you buy'em. If that's not possible, recognize that it may take buying more than one set to find the best for you.

On blades, get soft ones. If you have got the cash, go fiberglass. The cressi 3000 LDs (plastic)are inexpensive,should work fine and are extremely tough. The Specialfin kelpie blades(fiberglass) are really nice, bent blade( which you will like a lot), very high quality and real tough, much more efficient than plastic. Waterway blades(fiberglass) are popular, tough, lots cheaper, but don't have a bent blade and don't have anywhere near the quality of workmanship. I wasn't at all happy with their customer service, but maybe that was just me.

Good luck with your search.


Connor

[kelp princess]

Originally Posted by cdavis

Hi Kelp Princess,

Lots of good advice above. Picking a fin/foot pocket is tricky and very individual, especially the pocket. Seems like most people like the cressi's, especially those wearing them barefoot, but I have several friends who absolutely hate'em. Seems to be a function of ankle flexibility and foot shape. They are a little narrower for their length and thick booties don't seem to work as well with them. The Omers are wider and seem to work better for those who wear thick booties. I've heard good things about the Nemos, supposed to be a lot like the old sporasub dessaults,softer than the omers, but I don't have any direct experience. Which pocket works best for you depends on you and you won't know until you have worn them for an hour or so. The best advice is try'em before you buy'em. If that's not possible, recognize that it may take buying more than one set to find the best for you.

On blades, get soft ones. If you have got the cash, go fiberglass. The cressi 3000 LDs (plastic)are inexpensive,should work fine and are extremely tough. The Specialfin kelpie blades(fiberglass) are really nice, bent blade( which you will like a lot), very high quality and real tough, much more efficient than plastic. Waterway blades(fiberglass) are popular, tough, lots cheaper, but don't have a bent blade and don't have anywhere near the quality of workmanship. I wasn't at all happy with their customer service, but maybe that was just me.

Good luck with your search.


Connor

hi connor - thanks for your input - i definitely think that soft ones will be better for me since i think that will best suit my kick

it's a little bit tough this chicken and egg thing since i KNOW how critical the equipment will be to my experience overall, but i don't really know which one is best for me -yet. all this great advice is sure to get me to what's best alot faster tho!

cheers,

kp

[hteas]

Another approach that may work really well is to contact 20Fathom, in the Bay Area. They sells Matrix and Edge blades with either Sporasub or Picasso footpockets. Dennis should be able to help a lot, and a bunch of west coast divers use them. The Edge blades have the bend under the toe, which seems to help for surface swimming. I have heard it rumored that the blades are made by Waterway, but no one has verified it.

20Fathoms

Sounds like you're taking the Performance women's course. So the other option is to wait until Kona and try everything you can. Mandy-Rae knows the locals (Annabel and Jessie) really well, so there should be a lot of fins available to test in the water if you ask. There's also whatever the other students (including one from here) bring to use.

Howard

[bgill]

Kelp Princess,

Check out the website called leisurepro.com

They have EXCELLENT prices and you can order your fins in an AMERICAN size. For me the size chart was right on with bare feet.

I ordered a set of Cressi Sub Gara 2000 HF's from there a few months ago. (Very stiff fin - But I like mine stiff!) Got 'em in like 3 days. The size and fit was PERFECT - The price was un-beatable...And to top it off - if the fins DON'T fit you must aquit....Wait a minute! (man I'm getting old...or weird...When old O.J Simpson murder trial stuff pops into my mind!!!)

Anyhow...If the fins don't fit right and you don't scratch them up you can return 'em and they'll ship you a different size FOR FREE! Yup I said FREE!

You can't go wrong with Cressi Sub -OR- LeisurePro!

Since you're in Cali can't you just walk into a dive shop and try on some fins? Here in Wisconsin it's mostly geeky scuba freaks - No freediving or spearing stuff is available at any dive shop that I know of.

If YOU ARE going to Kona for the PFI course pretty soon I'd just wait 'til I got there...Then I'd visit ALL of the OVERPRICED diveshops there and try on ALL of the gear and feel up & caress all polespears and spearguns I can't afford....Yet!!!

[kelp princess]

Originally Posted by bgill

Since you're in Cali can't you just walk into a dive shop and try on some fins? Here in Wisconsin it's mostly geeky scuba freaks - No freediving or spearing stuff is available at any dive shop that I know of.

If YOU ARE going to Kona for the PFI course pretty soon I'd just wait 'til I got there...Then I'd visit ALL of the OVERPRICED diveshops there and try on ALL of the gear and feel up & caress all polespears and spearguns I can't afford....Yet!!!

you'd think somebody would have those darned cressi's - but they don't!
4 bay area shops later and no luck - but rslomkow was nice enough to find me a friend near monterey who has some i can try on this wknd. and i know all about leisure pro! i love it too my sales guy is charly - i've even been to their showroom in nyc on west 18th - it's a trip!

i just want that "try it on first" thing tho, and of course i want to play with the fins before i get to the course, but i may need to be patient.

kp

[Lockedin]

Hi Kelpie!

Down South (Ventura Co.), I find that OMER Ice are great fins, though getting a footpocket that fit was a bit of a chore (I wear 3mm booties with 'em, and had to buy 3 sizes large - 1 size for each mm, I guess ).

I would say (as others have) try as many as you can. Some will immediately work, some might take some work . Some just won't work.

I am currently on 3 sets - 1 generic loaner (first fins I ever had, they kinda suck, but I don't care if a newbie bangs 'em on the rocks)

Force Fin adjustables - Love 'em for SCUBA, hate 'em for freediving, don't care if I bang 'em on rocks. (I let friends freedive 'em)

Omer Ice - No comparison! These get me deeper, quicker, more efficiently than anything I've ever tried! Bonus - the blades are invisible underwater! My friends hate being too close when I have 'em on! The only downside is that I'm paranoid about bangin' 'em on the rocks.

It sounds like you have a good general pair (split fins). But once you've tried a god set of freedive fins, you may find your splits hanging in reserve...

Next for me - monofin (I just can't seem to justify ANOTHER fin with my Wife. Maybe if they were for HER...)

Above all, be safe, have fun!

[covert]

Originally Posted by kelp princess

i tried the OMER milleniums size 38/40 on with a 4 mil sock and it fit but was not super comfy - perhaps i'll get used to that...
kp

Not sure how old this thread is? but...... NEVER buy a fin that only fits halfway, you will get more fun diving with bodyboarding fins than freediving fins that don't fit. Be patient try as many as you can.

Comfort is the most important thing when diving, If i am not comfortable with any of my gear, I never have a good experience. If the fins dont fit, you will

A waste your money
B End up with blisters or really sore tendons maybe even damage them)
C A really bad freediving experience.

forget about brand, make, model, price, go with anything that fits perfectly, If the blades are interchangeable that is a bonus.

I tried every fin on the market, and like the masks almost nothing fit, I ran across a make that isn't that popular here in South Africa Immersion Carbons and I havent looked back yet, I am happy as can be. It did take me months to find the right equipment.

some through trial and error and obviously allot of money wasted. But now that i have all my gear and I am happy with it, I am literally buying everything in double so I always have a backup.

[DRW]

> forget about brand, make, model, price, go with anything that fits perfectly<

Precisely! As I said in my own message earlier in this thread:

"I sometimes get the impression when reading messages on freediving and scuba forums that a few fashionistas choose fins because of the brand name and not because they match the dimensions of their feet. They are prepared to put up with short-term cramps or blisters and to risk possible long-term tendon damage because they have to be seen wearing the "coolest" pair of fins on the market or the beach."

Selecting gear is a problem-solving exercise. Too many people leap to solutions without fully defining the initial problem. In the case of fins, the starting point has to be foot length and width, which means trying on lots of fins, most of which will be either too loose or too tight.

I particularly enjoy swimming with the Yingfa long-bladed fins illustrated below because they fit perfectly, holding my feet firmly without exerting overdue pressure anywhere. When I wear them, they are effectively an extension of my feet and I almost forget I have them on.

d2f7_1_b.JPG

However, I refrain from recommending these fins as a universal solution because other people's feet aren't the same length and width as mine. You can't hurry fin selection. You need to try them out in the store and swim with them in the pool to narrow the choice. Like Covert, I needed lots of time and patience before I eventually tracked down a pair of fins that fit me perfectly.

[covert]

here is what i dive with love these babies
Fins JB Esclapez

[azapa]

hey covert, those greens with the full footpocket are exactly what I use and love. They seem perfect in my colder (11 C) waters. I have used them every weekend for 1 year and they are holding up great. I don't go deep mind, 20M max.

[kelp princess]

Originally Posted by covert

I tried every fin on the market, and like the masks almost nothing fit, I ran across a make that isn't that popular here in South Africa Immersion Carbons and I havent looked back yet, I am happy as can be. It did take me months to find the right equipment.

some through trial and error and obviously allot of money wasted. But now that i have all my gear and I am happy with it, I am literally buying everything in double so I always have a backup.

thanks covert - that's what i found as well, i am just trying and re-trying everything. even going back to things i first thought were out of the question and re-examining size in the pool.

finning them in the pool is key.

i will let you all know what i end up with (soon i hope!)

onward!



kp

[covert]

Originally Posted by azapa

hey covert, those greens with the full footpocket are exactly what I use and love. They seem perfect in my colder (11 C) waters. I have used them every weekend for 1 year and they are holding up great. I don't go deep mind, 20M max.

Yeah i use the blacks, maximum power does make surface swimming a little odd at times and i have the green's on order, Ill give a review as soon as they arrive.

Keep us updated KP

[Lockedin]

You might also try using different kick styles / cycles when in the pool.
Just .02 on the fins I have and have tried:

Split / Forcefins seem to like a shallow, rapid cycle, they just slowed down when I slowed / widened my kick.

OMER, Cressi, Esclapez excel with a long, wide, relaxed cycle, and will resist the short shallow cycle.

Also, what type of diving do you do?

I've learned to NEVER bring my OMERs on beach dives (with a few exceptions), and not on Lobster dives either. But I always bring them on the boat, even for SCUBA.

The Forcefins are excellent for beach diving / hunting in tight rocky areas (where I don't want to bang the above on the rocks!) Great fins for lobster hunting!

Again, that's just my preference.

Above all, be safe, and have fun (and it sounds like you are! )

[Fondueset]

Oh, generally I look for things to take pictures of, mostly fish. Looking for women in fins can be interesting if you have tremendous patience. Sometimes, in my monofin, I look for nothing at all; which is harder to find than you might imagine.

That brings to mind things that are found in fins. But that's another topic.