Awesome fins

[JMD]

An update on the Omer Tunas,

I hit the springs yesterday for a day of diving. I managed a personal best of 48ft but was having trouble with clearing my left ear. The fins performed extremely well. I found I only needed 3 or 4 kicks to get to depth instead of my usual thrashing with my scuba fins. Also after 4 hours in the water with no socks or booties my feet are blister free.

Good luck with your personal bests Eric. Let me know how your spearfishing goes I'm hoping to be out on the west coast before fall.

 

[Gattaca]

Picasso Fins

Does anyone have experience with Picasso's BT-III Carbonium? Can anyone say they're worth $480? I was looking at the regular BT's, since buying the Carbonium's could end my marriage if the wife saw the credit card bill, but if someone can justify the price and give valuable feedback, I just might go for it.

Thanks,

Nate

 

[Cliff Etzel]

I'll chime in here on this one...

Roger Yazbeck, President of Picasso America, is the guy to ask about your question.

Give him a shout via email at roger@yazbeck.com or if you are here in the states, call him at 1-877wetsuit (toll free)

The BT-III's are no longer made, replaced by the Carbono 21's and they are suppose to be better.

But at least contact him - he is very personable, knowledgable and he is awesome with his customer service.

On a personal note - I have become such an addict to the quality of the Picasso products that I use them all for diving. I own the BT mask, Vortice' snorkel, Black Team Fins, a 3mm Apnos and 7mm Camu wetsuits and a 75cm Asegai speargun.

Each item in their line is made to the highest standards and I can attest to the quality of each of these items as I use them in my training and diving.

I am sure that the other manufacturers make excellent products, but I am hooked on Picasso's stuff - it's just that much better.

 

[freediver48]

Hi,

I also use a lot of Picasso products including the BT fins. When I am in top shape the fins feel a little soft, and I want carbons, the rest of the time they are just fine. I should add that I'm fairly large, 6'1", and weigh 230 and have strong legs. Not to discourage you from Picasso, but the Sproasub line is available through Dive Inn for much less money. You might want to check them out http://www.scubastore.com/eng/index.asp. I friend of mine has the carbons and loves them, however they are new and we will have to see how they hold up. The BT fins are very rugged and withstand lots of abuse.

Best wishes,

Freedivver48

 

[Jon]

I have been using the Picasso BT fins for a few years now and love them. For my birthday this year I decided to splurge and I bought the Sporasub carbon fiber fins from Diveinn. I took them down to Honduras with me last month and proceeded to break them with in two days. This was doubly pain full because I was on a two week trip where we were diving with whale sharks. By time I got over to utila to dive with the sharks I was reduced to using a small back up pair of fins that I had brought along as extras- along with ertra regs, lights, computors ect.
I really loved the fins while I had them, however they are far from rugged.
I am now trying to replace the blade that I had, or just get replacement plastic blades for the fins. My wife is not crazy about me buying another pair. If I only would have brought the BT as back up.

A very expensive lesson learned.

Jon

 

[Erik]

Sporasub

Oroiginally i was looking at the Pure carbon Sporasub fin, but after being told about breakage problems, I bought the Sporasub Radical, which is carbon encased in a polymer resin. They are very tough, and i know some divers on the west coast who use them all the time with no problems. They are a little heavier than any pure carbon blade, but I'll put up with that for the durability. Also, the foot pockets (Sporasub/Mares) are very comfortable. I highky reccomend them to anyone who wants the extra performance edge from carbon.....there is no comparison. When I put on my Cressi's now, I feel like I'm back in scuba fins.
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[Mako]

Sporasub HD Radicals

Erik--

Just wondering if the Sporasub HD Radicals make the "whoop, whoop" sound pure carbons make. I like the fins and they're reasonably priced (as carbon goes), but I've never tried them and as you know noise is a big concern for us SoCal guys...

Thanks!
-Mako

 

[Erik]

Noise

Hi Mako, the fins make no noise, and they have 2 different camos: top and bottom, for fish looking up and fish looking down. The only reason I can't shoot fish is because I still suck!
Off for one more day of commercial diving up North, then back to school.
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[Jon]

Awesome news from Diveinn.

Even though I broke one of my carbon fiber fins on my last dive trip, they say that they can replace it for me- at no charge!

Now that is impressive service.

Jon

 

[Cragrat]

I have to agree with Erik's opinion of the Omer Ice fins, they are rather stiffer than the Picasso Black Team. The clear plastic is also a cool factor when you carrying them to the waters edge.
I've answered numerous questions about mine... before they cracked that is. Apparently the problem has been fixed but earlier versions of the Omer Ice fins can crack.

The distributor didn't have any ICE blades in stock when I called so I have the Millennium competition instead. I'm very pleased with them, though I would prefer to have the ICE Fins (maybe for Christmas... never hurts to have a backup pair)

David Nesbitt
aka Cragrat

 

[andrsn]

anyone familiar with Beauchat's Carbone Pros?

also, has anyone seen the millenium ice? they look shorter than the regular milleniums. and, are they really somewhat comparable to the carbons in stiffness?

i'm really interested in investing in a good pair of strong fins. i'm trying to get more info on picasso's and beauchat's.

thanks,
anderson

 

[Cliff Etzel]

Picasso Carbono 21's

Well, as soon as Roger Yazbeck (Picasso America) sells out of the BT-III's, he'll be selling two versions of the New Carbono 21's - the Red and the Green fins.

The difference is that the Red fins (designated by a Red Decal) are softer, while the Green fins (Green Decal) are stiffer for more powerful divers.

I am still intrigued by the Sporasub fins that have been talked about that can be had from DiveINN, but I have found my Black Team Fins to be so durable that I haven't felt the need to go with anything else.

The adage of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies for me in this instance - although the kewlness factor of diving with Carbon fins would be quite high - especially while attending Kirk Kracks clinic later on this week.

 

[andrsn]

cliff,

i'm currently using the cressi gara hf's. they seemed stiff at first, but now they feel like my old avanti's. we're getting into bigger fish, and i'm needing all the power i can get when i'm fighting them from the surface. also, getting down easier would be nice too. any idea when these fins will be coming out?

thanks for the insight, you loyal-picasso-dude you.


anderson

 

[freediver48]

Hey Cliff,

My bet is that you will be trading in on those new Picasso's pretty soon. I find my Black Teams generally great, except when I push them, then they feel wimpy, I too am looking forward to the release of the new Carbono.

Best wishes,

Doug Morgan,
Lantzville, B.C.

 

[xenopus]

Beuchat Mundial Elite fins

Hello Everyone,

A while back, I bought a pair of Beuchat mundial elite fins. I tried them out a few times in a pool and decided that I did not like them. I found it almost impossible to kick at the surface.. These fins are so stiff that I once used one as a catapult to lob an orange across the room. I tried them once with shallow freedives to 50 feet, and they seemed to work fine. However, I did notice that they taxed my legs more than other fins. (my standard fins of choice are the Black sporasubs) Needless to say, I stashed them away and kind of forgot about them until now. I can't decide whether to keep them, or sell them.

Have any of you guys used this fin before? Any opinions?

thanks,

Bo

 

[Bill]

Bo
You asked for an opinion. I own a pair of Beuchat Mundial Elite extra stiff. First opinion was; useless on the surface, oilcanning (clunk clunk when you kick) makes them useless for spearfishing and way too stiff. I stuck with them for a year for three reasons. I'm too 'scotch' to discard $150, the foot pocket is great and Bret LeMaster said it was the right fin for me. It turns out that my first opinions were wrong on all counts but, you have to use an entirely different kick. When my 60+ yr old sinuses and the puny leg muscles get in sync, they get me to 30 meters in about 25 seconds, just like the Sporasub Pure. When I turn below 35 meters they are fantastic. They even work fine on the surface now but you have to get used to bumping into people when you swim on your back. I'll get back to you on the experiment with a dolphin kick

Bill

 

[Erik]

Originally posted by Bill
BoI'm too 'scotch' to discard $150


Bill, you mean "Scottish".



Cheers, Erik Y.
A Scotsman

ps, 25 seconds to 30 metres is CRUISIN'!

 

[Bill]

Thanks Erik

My father used to say "Scottish is in your heritage, scotch is in your flask" or something like that. Good memories.

Bill Graham

 

[xenopus]

Originally posted by Bill
Bo
You asked for an opinion. I own a pair of Beuchat Mundial Elite extra stiff. First opinion was; useless on the surface, oilcanning (clunk clunk when you kick) makes them useless for spearfishing and way too stiff. I stuck with them for a year for three reasons. I'm too 'scotch' to discard $150, the foot pocket is great and Bret LeMaster said it was the right fin for me. It turns out that my first opinions were wrong on all counts but, you have to use an entirely different kick. When my 60+ yr old sinuses and the puny leg muscles get in sync, they get me to 30 meters in about 25 seconds, just like the Sporasub Pure. When I turn below 35 meters they are fantastic. They even work fine on the surface now but you have to get used to bumping into people when you swim on your back. I'll get back to you on the experiment with a dolphin kick

Bill

Hi Bill,

Thank you for your input. 30 m in 25 seconds is highly impressive! I might be attempting some deeper dives than what I'm use to and will give them a try again. You are right , the kick used for the Beuchats is entirely different. I was checking out the beuchat website and learned that the blades are interchangable. This is great considering that the beuchat foot pocket is very comfortable for my feet (narrow). How do you like the sporasub pure carbons? Are they as fragile as everyone says?

*I am curious about you dolphin kick experiment..that kick actually felt comfortable on the beuchats.

Bo

 

[Bill]

I picked up a pair of pure carbons that are about three years old. They 'feel' better in every way except starting up from a deep one. I've used them in the pool on rocks etc. I don't think they are that fragile but the junior girl on the U.S. team broke one. The very latest model has extra material where the support sides end. C4s might be worth the price difference. If I can borrow a pair I'll report