Picasso Carbonprene

[w3ac]

Anybody out there tried or heard anything about the Carbonprene fins from Picasso? I have seen the Sporasub Pures and they look really whippy and feel kinda soft on land. The OMER millenium carbons are super stiff on land. The Picasso Carbonas look and felt like they have good flex in the water and feel like a compromise between being too stiff and killing your ankles and being too whippy and not having enough snap. The carbonprenes are supposed to be the improved version of the carbonas right? Anybody heard or experimented? Thanks for the input.

Brad

[unirdna]

I don't think anyone on the forum can afford those things . I'd be interested to hear if these fins are worth the coin. I'll be watching

[Walrus]

Sorry Brad, don't know anything about the Carbonprene.

I have been using Picasso Carbon fins for over 2 years and think they are a great fin. They are a stiff fin, stiffer then C4 40's, way way stiffer then the new Omer Carbons. Part of the reason is that the picasso's aren't tapered like the other 2 fins, which makes them feel a lot stiffer at the tail. Maybe the Omer carbons you saw were the old style which weren't tapered either ?

I have used the new Omer Carbons and found them way too soft for my liking, they snap easy too.
They do seem efficient, so would suit someone wanting a soft to medium stiffness fin. Most of the Australian team were using these in the Pacific cup.

Cheers,
Wal

[kirehe]

I tried the carboprenes in a pool recently. I was not, however, that impressed or happy with them. They are pretty soft though, if one is looking for that. My main concern with the picasso fins in general is that they are too short. This concern may not relate to everyone, because I am 200cm long, and I need a pretty long fin to get a large amplitude. For a normally built person, these fins might be more suitable.

[w3ac]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the input. So Wal, how deep are you usually diving with the carbono's? I would primarily use them for blue water and deep reef diving off of a boat. Was thinking that I would get the black team blades for when I do shore entries in rough water. Do the blades interchange easily? Kirehe, you is a big brother! Measured of 200 cm, that was 6'5" right? That would make you a foot taller than me. So what do you think, would the carbonprenes work for a short guy like me? Leg strength is not a problem here. Happy hunting.

Brad

[kirehe]

I think the carboprenes is a good fin, but I have never tried them coming up from depth, only in a pool. therefore I cant speculate how they'll perform in the deep.

in the pool they felt nice, but I couldnt notice any difference b/w them and the carbono 21 (stiff version), even though the manufacturer claims that the canal makes them thrust more water. perhaps the difference is more in efficiency? I am not sure. but if you are a foot shorter than me, and you are looking for a pretty soft fin, maybe these are the ones you are want. keep in mind that they are pretty pricey though.

I love the picasso foot pocket though, which is why I was looking to get them in the first place. however, with my height of 6'6 I prefer a longer fin.

btw, I dont think you can the blades off cause they are glued. actually, you can take them off, but then you have to be prepared to reglue them back on cause otherwise they might not stay on. picasso used to have a prob with blades coming off, so finally they decided to start glueing the blades.

ERIK

[Walrus]

Hi Brad,

I used the carbons for everything, spearing, fun freediving and deep diving. I guess the deepest I have dived with the carbons was 52m. I had a pair for 2 years and they broke whilst training in Hawaii. Had to borrow a friends Omer millenniums to do my 58m comp dive. I tried using Omer carbons but they were too soft.

I tried swapping the blades between my plastic blackteam's and the carbons, it didn't quite fit. The new ones might be different.

Hey Erik,
I could understand that with your size that most fins would seem too small and soft but if you call the Picasso Carbons soft, what the hell is a stiff blade ?!
I have not seen a stiffer carbon blade.

As for longer fins, the only one I know of is the C4 80's, and they are actually quite soft, softer then 40's, and softer then the Picasso's.

You might need custom made fins

Or maybe you should switch to a Mono, can get really stiff blades then.

Have you tried the Omer millenniums ?
They are pretty stiff and quite good for a plastic fin.

Cheers,
Wal

[kirehe]

wal, I meant that I didnt feel a difference speed wise. that is, I felt that I moved about as fast with the carboprenes and the carbono 21s. that said, the carboprenes are softer, but the advertised canal didnt live up to its hype, IMO. But I totally agree with you when you say that the carbono 21s are very stiff.

True that I might need custom fins. I have been in contact w/Peter from waterway, and if things turn out the right way (finances), I might order a pair of extra long longfins (hard) from him. Time will tell.

I have tried the omer tuna's, but I'm not sure if they were the comps or black. however, I did like them, but I would rather dive with carbon or fiber glass.

Currently I use variant carbon, which is a very soft blade. both my foot pockets broke before. the store was very surprised when I brought them back, cause they claimed it had never happened before. Either they are lying (unlikely), the foot pocket was just too weak in general, or the foot pocket wasnt built to handle a strong kick from a very tall person (I lean towards this conclusion). They gave me a new pair, but if they break I'll turn to waterway for custom fins.

I really like the variant fin cause it's so practical when traveling, which I tend to do pretty much, plus the foot pocket is the best I've ever tried. also, the ability to exchange blades in 10 secs depending on what type of diving you are doing is an excellent feature.

I wont get a mono for the same reason; too hard to travel with.
safe diving,
Erik

[Walrus]

Hi Erik,

that makes a bit more sense now. Sorry didn't mention the fin I used was the plastic Omer Millennium Competition. They are the stiffest of the plastic Omer fins. Stiffer then the normal black or green blade. Probably a bit stiffer then the Picasso carbons. I was quite suprised by how good the flex/snap response was on them. Much better then most plastic fins. I did dives down to 61m with them.

Still I'm no where near your size weight, I'm 190cm & about 80 kilos. So you might still find them a little soft......

Wish you luck on finding a fin you are happy with.

Cheers,
Wal