Special fins Hybrids

[Mlungu]

Hi Guys,


I thought I'd give everyone my experience of these fins that i bought recently.

They are quite expensive but in general I think worth the money. These fins are a composite of carbon/resin material and are said to be tough and strong and good for general spearfishing.

I have just returned from South Africa and where I used them for the first time diving from the shore through, on this occasion fairly heavy surf ( for the guys in SA- Cape Vidal followed by Salt Rock) .Unfortunately did not shoot much fish!!!

COMMENTS: 1. Footpocket: Omer, this came with the fin, comfortable , no problem, Iam size 7 and took a 3mm, 5mm + 7mm ,(at a push) neoprene sock.

2.stiffness: Hard ;tired ankles only on first dive after that no problem

3. Ruggedness. The fins coped well with the surf including several large waves dumping on me. Furthermore, they tolerated exits from the beach with surf surges bending the fin backward on itself. several surface scratches were sustained from rocks but nothing serios given the conditions. (see picture)

4. Deep diving. depth reached on this occasion was 15m but seemed OK. Would be good at deeper depths due to hardness.

All in all a good tough fin as delivered by Special fins.

PS Comes with a nice camo bag!!

[mjacobs]

I finally got to try the Hybrid Pro Hards/OMER footpockets in open water this weekend in Florida and was impressed. We were diving off a boat on a 15 meter reef and the fins are good for much more. I had only used the extra hards in the pool previously and was thinking to return them. Things look different in open water, though, and I may want the extra hards by the end of the season. I did not get to try the Kelpies and BW Specials, since the weather kicked up 8' seas and susequent murk the last 2 days of a long weekend. The blades get progressively stiffer toward the footpocket, which makes them very smooth. We had enough current to require constant surface swimming between drops and it was no problem. They are the best fins I've used. Some pretty rough airline handling of the soft dive bag they were packed in did no damage.

[Mlungu]

I heard reports that anything with carbon fibre in it can be brittle but these fins are definately up to the abuse of a difficult shore entry.

Iam looking forward to trying them in deep water.

[portinfer]

Hi
I was looking at the Specialfins web site and they seem to have a massive range of fins.
Not only can you get the Hybrids, Kelpies etc but you can specify the stiffness too.

This makes it confusing for me to decide on a fin.

How do they all differ ? How do the Kelpies compare to the Hybrids ? Or are they more of a spearo fin ?

Are the BW ones the same as a Kelpie but with a different colour or do they have different characteristics ?

Are the Stereo fins like the Hybrid but in a different material ?

Help ! Confused - think I'll just go off and trawl the forum for Specialfins info - but if you can help me out with some experienced based info in the meantime I would be grateful.

Oh - also footpockets : I heard that the Omer were stiff and hard - and that the Sporasubs were more comfortable...
Ed

[Mlungu]

Hi Ed,

Yeah, there are alot to chose from!! as I understand it the hybrids are a bit stiffer than the Kelpies, but for general spearfishing Iam sure the Kelpies are fine......(+ they are a bit cheaper)

As far as the foot pockets are concerned, the Omer's that come with the fin are fine and I find them quite comfy, my last fins were Gara's and the foot pocket on the hybrids is definately a bit easier. I've never used sporosub foot pockets so can't comment.

E-mail Jyri at Specialfins, he's very helpful.
As mentioned above I am very pleased with them

Justin

[cdavis]

portinfor,

Look at the "fin lineup" thread in hunting equipment, also threads with specialfins in the title. Also, several threads on omer vs sporasub pockets.

Connor

[mjacobs]

I had the same problem with figuring out the Specialfin thing. I followed the very helpful threads here and got a pair of extra hard Hybrid Pros, which I found a bit stiff for my taste. I got a pair of Hybrid Pro Hards in exchange and they are just perfect for me so far.

I also got a pair of Kelpie and a pair of BW Specials to try and buy, both hard. They seem to be about the same stiffness as the Hybrid Pros but of slightly different composition. I haven't had them in the water yet, but if you are like me, you won't really know what you like until you try it.

You may try the fins I have. I'll be in Florida in June on a trip. If you want to hook up drop me a line and we will see what we can arrange. I'll be in north of Ft. Lauderdale for a day or two and then head south to Big Pine Key, where I'll be for several days. If we can get four more people together we can have our own private freedive charter there. Otherwise, my son and I will sign on as we can. Think in terms of June 10, 11, 12 (maybe), 13, and 14. Son Chris and I can do all or a part of those days, and prefer to do at least four. Looks like from $50 a head for a private charter boat going to dive spots from "serene to extreme", depending on what we want. I also dive NC and off Maryland and Delaware. If you want to give these fins a try and will be in any of those areas just give me a shout. No commercial interest, blah, blah, blah, just have two athletic boys 20 and 18 to help justify certain purchases with more divers coming up. We are 6'1" to 6'3" and 200 to 230 pounds each, so we do need some backbone in a fin.

I'm inspired by Wisconsin fin fest on a similar thread here and thought something on the East coast might be fun. We have a collection to start off with including OMER Tunas and Carbon Pros, Esclapez Blacks, Picasso Black Teams, and Matrix #3. There are quarries in PA and VA to dive in as well as some ocean stuff not too far away. Any takers?
Mark