Spearing with posh fins

[Ben Gowland]

I was just wondering what sort of proportion of spearos uses carbon or fibre fins when actually spearing.

[Murat]

Most of the top notch euro guys uses composite fins, generally carbon they need every advantage that they can get. Probably percentage for europe is muh higher than anywhere else...

[bluecape]

Depends on your regular enviroment Ben, I would love to use carbon, but shore entries over rocks would trash them, and during thew shore entries, you will seldom go deeper than 15 meters, so carbon fins are not really nessesary.

Jeff

[cdavis]

I just switched from plastic (cressi 2000hf) to specialfin hybrids, much superior and appear able to take a beating on coral.

Connor

[Hooch]

My fiberglass Matrix fins have held up surprisingly well to some of SoCal's rocky beach entries. These same beaches put a beating on my plastic Riffe fins. However, I'm having a problem with one edge of the fin popping out of the foot pocket slot.

[icarus pacific]

Hooch- pull the blades out and clean/dry the rails and pockets. Reassemble with 3M 5200 sealant from a boat supply place like West Marine. End of troubles.

I've used the Plastic Esclapez blades forever and before the rocks and my pushing off would break them, they'd work harden at the foot pocket joint. But it would take 3-4 years... These days it's all about my Specialfins Hybrids, my BAT 40's and my Matrix 30's.

[Jon]

If you don't want to mess with the 3M stuff, use Aquaseal. I've got fins put together with both and the Aquaseal cleans up much easier.

I use my C4 -30's for everything. They have a 2 year warrenty and they are the smoothest fin I have tried to date- although I still haven't tried those hybrid's, I've tried enough of the other fiberplastic fins to still like my 30's best of all.

Jon

[frogman]

Marine GOOP from Home Depot works great too and doesn't leave the white stain of 5200. I had the same problem with my C4-30's. GOOP fixed it.

Angelos

[boqueirao]

Depends on your regular enviroment Ben, I would love to use carbon, but shore entries over rocks would trash them, and during thew shore entries, you will seldom go deeper than 15 meters, so carbon fins are not really nessesary.

for me, this is the point

[Hooch]

Thanks for the tips fellows. However, how do you get the blades out again if they're glued into the footpockets?

[icarus pacific]

Unless you use 5200, in which case it requires some serious cutting and prying, most other adhesives will allow you to bend the footpocket rails back over themselves and pop the bond.

And here's the tip on using 3M's 5200, which is available in black by the way frogman- The stuff seems thick coming out of it's tube but once it reaches room temp, it flows like a mutha. You want to get all the goobers off being the perfectionist you are and end up smearing the stuff all over Hell and breakfast. Not even close to being smooth.

Tape the areas adjacent to the areas that will slide into the footpocket so you have less to clean as you slide those bad boys in, much like when you tape off trim in a house or pantyline, or on the trim of a car. Then cut a small as in tiny hole in the tube end and just lay down a small bead. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then install the blades. After your all set and installed, take the corner of a credit card and make like a squeegee to remove the excess, and don't pull the tape yet. An hour later, pull the tape and finish the smoothing of the adhesive with a finger moistened with stove alcohol or the like. Come back in a couple of days and know that Thor's hammer won't pull the blades out.

With 5200 as with all things, less is just enough.

[cdavis]

Fair warning, on most things, 5200 is Permanent! Use something else unless you are sure you will never want to take'm apart.

Connor

[shaneshac]

I missed the part where we changed from talking about fins to talking about Pantylines.

Great move if you ask me

[Snorkel Bum]

I am using a freediving Stereopro from specialfins... it is the same fin as the kelpie but for the dimensions (75 x 22 instead of 73 x 22, a little bit shorter for more mobility)

[miles]

Hiya

Specialfins Hybrids Extra-hards!!!

Wicked fins!!!!!

Regards
miles