Don't like Sporasub Instincts, is it my technique?

[mkhilario]

I bought a pair of Sporasub Instincts a few years ago and I never liked them. Are they too soft or is it my technique? I compared them doing pool dynamics and it was easier to swim the 30m pool length with my mares plana avanti power full-foot scuba fins than with the sporasubs. This impression was reinforced when freediving with both.

I bought the spora instincts to replace my old beuchat gold fins which never felt underpowered. The sporas just feel too soft. Nice for surface swims though. Should I try a shallower/tighter kick-cycle to get more efficiency? Btw, I am 6'0" tall and only weigh 147lbs so I am not moving a lot of mass.

Is there a trick to using softer fins?

P.S.- favorite fins I ever tried were the gara 3000 LDs.

 

[cdavis]

Depends on what you are trying to do. The instincts are way more efficient than the scuba fins, but won't have the acceleration. If you need acceleration for your diving (spearfishing) a stiffer freediving fin, like gara 2000s will be better. If you want to reef cruise, stay in the water a long time, etc, a softer more efficient fin, like the sporas (with a soft blade) is best, but you will need to modify your technique to the fin For deep diving, a soft fin can work, but good technique is essential. Very soft c4s can be taken deep, but scare me to death below 30 m. That's mostly technique. Its easy to overpower a soft fin, and then they don't produce much thrust.

Trick to softer fins: slow down. use a more straight kneed kick, Recognize that they will never be sprinters and enjoy how little exertion it takes to move.

Connor

 

[mkhilario]

Thank you Connor, that is very useful advice. I will give them another shot.

I actually now own Gara 2000hf's which I bought primarily for scuba. They feel a bit too stiff for freediving, so I've got a bit of the goldilocks syndrome going on with the 2000's being to hard and the Instincts being too soft.

I will work on a more disciplined technique with the Spora's but will probably use the Gara's for my upcoming advanced freediving course.

-miguel