cressi gara 3000ld or omer ice?

[ulysses]

Originally Posted by spaghetti

Ulysses, paisà, I do not see any reason for being so argumentative.
This discussion is not about who's right, who's wrong and who's Mister SmartAss.
We're all just trying to help Jack by giving him our opinions and feedback, then at the end of the day he'll make an idea of his own.
Of course there's much subjectivity in this matter, but the objective things are:
-Cressi has sold hundreds of thousands of Gara fins, so they can't be bad at all: they are very good. But as a matter of fact, some people DO feel uncomfortable with their footpocket.
-Omer Ice: we may discuss wether they are worth all the extra bucks or not, but almost all the users I've been talking with agree that the Omer Ice perform better than the other Omer Millennium plastic fins.

Spaghetti,

let's be honest: the Omer Ice sell (at an exaggerated price) because of the cool camo effect, not because their performance is superior to other plastic blade fins.

However, our friend who opened this thread said that he did not care for or even disliked the transparent blades.

As to footpocket: the best advice is trying various brands (if that is possible) before buying. Who would seriously contradict that?

Cordiali saluti,
ulysses

[spaghetti]

[quote=ulysses;709389]
As to footpocket: the best advice is trying various brands (if that is possible) before buying. [quote]

Yes that's for sure the best advice (if that is possible).

[ickledevil]

Glad we finally sorted out an answer of sorts. Jack hope your still following and maybe had a few giggles along the way. Joe

[IronLung]

I havent had the chance to try the fins mentioned (Omer Ice and Cressi Gara) but all the same I'd like to put in my two cents. my feet are very wide in the front and I have never ever found a pair of fins that I could wear for longer than 5 minutes without my foot cramping like crazy. That is untill I got a pair of Picasso Black Teams. I can wear those fins for hours (with a 1.5mil sock) without any discomfort. I dont know if you have wide feet narrow feet or anything in between but if you have wide feet, Picasso might be another option to look at.

Ike

[ickledevil]

Ooooo forgot about picasso.. well mentioned, Used to own a pair of picasso fins too (I also have wide feet) and they were a comfy fit. Wonder what I did with those... oh yeah they are floating around somewhere near Thurleston, UK. (Damn kayaks)

[e.m.p!]

Originally Posted by JackSpearo

are there any good omer fins that are black (for some reason, I just don't like the ice see through)...

thanks again,

Jack

Yes Jack, there are. (wonder they weren't mentioned yet). They have the exact stiffness and performance as the Ice fins. They're the OMER Millenium Runner (check their website). I've got them , they're dope and don't cost as much as the Ice but can do exactly the same... (except whacking fish)
Have fun.

[ulysses]

Originally Posted by ulysses

For the price of 1 pair of Ices you can buy 2 pairs black or green Omer Runners (same footpocket, same performance, different look).

Originally Posted by e.m.p!

Yes Jack, there are. (wonder they weren't mentioned yet). They have the exact stiffness and performance as the Ice fins. They're the OMER Millenium Runner (check their website). I've got them , they're dope and don't cost as much as the Ice but can do exactly the same... (except whacking fish)
Have fun.

In my arms, brother!

Cheers,
ulysses

[Mr. X]

You could always "upgrade"/"sideways-grade"? to the ice blades later if you changed your mind, as it looks like you can buy just the blades now: Omer Ice from Apnea (although I've seen Seacsub spearo fins that look just as good for sale for less than those blades).
More at: Apnea Online Store - spearo fins

[Newbie_spearo]

Hi Jack,

Just a quick heads up, if you do happen to try a few pairs of fins before you make your purchase, I'd recommend you try them in the ocean or atleast not in an indoor pool. The reason I'm telling you this is because I bought a pair of picasso black teams, and they are great fins, but the first few swims I had with them were in a heated pool and they felt really good. However when you hit the ocean and its almost half the temperature this can change the characteristics of the blade. I still like my picasso's but they are a lot stiffer when I'm in the ocean and this makes surface swimming a little harder than I anticipated. Still with a bit of training and more ocean dives I'll be used to the stiffness and will probably enjoy the added "snap".

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Newbie_spearo

... However when you hit the ocean and its almost half the temperature this can change the characteristics of the blade.

...and the size of your foot. I wear neoprene socks in the sea in Winter but not in Summer, nor in the pool -- too hot & too tight.

[Newbie_spearo]

i wear the socks in the pool, only cos the foot pockets are fairly large and hurt my feet when they slop around. couldn't imagine diving in southern Aus waters without socks!

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Mr. X

Re. blades, are they a standard size or has Omer just become the de facto standard footpocket? For example, do Beuchat foot pockets (which I use & like) accept Omer blades?

Just to tie up a loose end:

Another forum member (Daryl Wong no less) likes Beuchat footpockets -apparently similar fit to Cressi -- and swaps out the blades for C4 carbon blades: http://forums.deeperblue.net/700324-post4.html

If you read down the thread, you can either modify regular Omer-style C4 blades or order C4 blades made specifically for Beuchat foot pockets. Trux reckons Omer blades can also be made to fit. [Although the thread is about somebody with narrow feet & a preference for Cressi/Beuchat foot pockets -- let me just say, my feet definitely are not narrow but the fit is still good. Having read the threads, I'll try Omers next though.]

[Marwan]

x..i think that omers now sell their blades with no holes in them..so...if you buy a pair of omers, you could fit them on a beuchat footpocket and then drill the hole to be in line with the beuchat...
this advice could be theortical of course as i have no experience at ll with the beuchat footpocket, i dont know of the problem will be hole position only or is there something else, but if it is hole position only then there you go...

[azapa]

just my opinion: i have bought three pairs of fins: Immersion Esclapez Greens, Cressi 3000LD, and Omer Millennium Runners. The later are the only ones getting dusty in my garage, the others I use all the time. I found the Omers too stiff and the footpocket to wide and unresponsive. I think there is much to be said about going for the softest fin you can, even for depth related work.

[Old Man Dave]

I've used carbon, GRP, "ordinary" plastic and Omer Ice fins for spearfishing and without a doubt the Ice have been the best, for me anyway. Takes a while to get used to any fin and footpocket fit effects performance, but I have found the ice fins to be very forgiving and perhaps that's the secret. I'm not a deep diver but do a lot of surface swimming and repeat dives to 30 foot. Occasionally I have found the ice fins lack a bit of "grunt" when required to push for the surface, especially compared to carbon blades (in the same footpocket by the way) but I have never felt anything but confident with the ice fins.

My opinion anyway.

Dave