C4 25s - the right choice?

Having used the same pair of Cressi Gara 2000 HFs since 2003 I decided it was time to upgrade. I also have a hard waterway monofin of a similar age, which I bought second hand. It hurts my feet after only 20 minutes so I rarely use it.

The Cressis have been great, I’ve used them for freediving and spearfishing, dynamic and constant weight. For all-round, low cost, everyday, starter fins they are absolutely fine. Cressi footpockets are comfortable enough to wear sockless and fit the narrow footed, which I am, well. They are tough enough to carry without a bag and being one of the cheapest freediving fins makes them a bargain. I’ll continue using them for spearfishing off Portland Bill and other rocky areas.

I wanted a fin that would provide comfort for being in the water for up to 3 hours as well as enhance performance.

After much research on these threads I finally purchased Spetton C4 25 Falcons with OMER Millennium footpockets. I also bought OMER 3 mm socks (I selected these on a hunch they'd be a better fit for the footpocket).

I’m very grateful for the great advice I found on these threads so thought I’d report back my findings.

In the pool for dynamic practice I realised immediately that I couldn’t use the fins without socks: the footpocket is too wide for my feet. With socks on though they fit perfectly.

Expecting to go miles beyond my PB with a carbon fibre boost, I actually found it harder to do the distances I was doing regularly with my Cressis, so was initially disappointed. I suspected this might have something to do with my finning action and also thought the soft fins would be better for constant weight.

I took my C4s to the Red Sea (Sharm) in the first week of October - I’d used my Cressis when there in April. My buddies and I like to do two 2-hour plus sessions a day (with a lunch break between) here involving repetitive dives along the reef in the 12-28 m range. When diving Ras Mohammed from shore there’s a lot of paddling involved also. We also dived from a scuba diving boat at Tiran a couple of times. We all use an Elios 5 mm non-smoothskin with 5 kg of weight.

In Sharm I got the C4 WOW factor! After some initial dives getting used to the fins, I had absolutely no desire to grab my Cressis, which I enjoyed using here in April. Most importantly the C4s felt so comfortable - as if I wasn’t wearing fins - but I was getting down to below 25 m and back far more effortlessly than I did using the Cressis. Found myself ascending using a very relaxed dolphin kick – feels like the soft fins allow momentum to be generated just by flicking your ankles. The Cressis seemed to require a lot more leg work on ascent. I was worried about the 25s being too soft but think I’d have found C4 30s too hard for what I like to do – I’m not a deep diver but enjoy multiple dives so think I’ve got the right fins and for that reason I think they are worth the high cost.

One thing with carbon fibre fins I hadn’t anticipated – on our first morning diving Ras Um Sid in Sharm, an Oceanic Whitetip seemed to be attracted to them. I wondered if this was because the carbon fibre glints on the surface.

I would also highly recommend the Cressi Gara 3000 LD – a low cost fin that both my dive buddies really like. One previously used Gara 2000 HFs the other Gara 3000 HFs. They both found the 3000 LD significantly better. The latter prefers them to his C4 Falcon 30s, which he finds a bit hard, though he generally uses a Special Fins Carbon monofin now.

I’m not sure how many metres any fin would add to a diver’s capability. Test Pilots say that if an aeroplane looks right it will fly right. I’d say if a fin feels right it will work for you even if it’s simply down to making you feel more relaxed.

You can see the C4s and Cressi Gara 3000HFs in action on YouTube at:
[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QYBwA2vZ-IU]YouTube - Freedive Fun New Fins.wmv[/ame]

and
[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QYBwA2vZ-IU]YouTube - Freedive Fun New Fins.wmv[/ame]

Hope this helps

Ross.

I'm exactly the same weight, height and build as you (if my metric conversion is correct).

Good point about the weight the fins need to power. I too found the C4 information a little confusing. Assumed the 25 to be a general 'effectiveness' rating though think they also said there are many factors that influence fin choice.

This I think is why it's hard to decide on the optimum fin without trying them but as it's hard to try a wide range of fins I was grateful for the experience / info from the good people on this forum. When I get to do some diving on the line (when the water warms up here) hopefully I will see how they behave below 30 m. I need to work on my finning style with these fins also!

That twist in your fins is a bit bad - wouldn't have expected that given the footage of the tests I'd seen. Would the vendor not replace them? Mine came well packed (from the Deeper Blue Store) so fortunately didn't have that problem - looking forward to getting that matt effect though!

Thanks for those tips Connor. Have to admit the response from soft fins at 30+ m was the thing I was wary about. Have read a couple of similar comments that it is more a question of feel and style, so will work on those principles.

Ross.