Fiberglass vs. Carbon Fiber fin

[Triton1715]

Greets all!

I've been the proud owner of a pair of 20 Fathoms Edge fins for a number of years now and am still in love with the fin. However, I've never had the chance to try any carbon fiber fins and was contemplating purchasing a pair to have something else to play with. However, I'm not sure if there'd really be any noticeable difference and thought I'd throw this question out there.

Does anyone have experience with both materials or know if there's any significant difference between the two in terms of performance?

Thanks!

 

[Matthew Elkins]

I had and use the Captain Nemo fiberglass fins for a good while and they worked really great and I love them and then about 4 months ago I decided to go with carbon and I got the Alchemy V2 with pathos foot pockets and there's a huge difference it was weird at first getting used to them the difference for me wasn't the speed or that they were faster but the effort that I had toach kick cycle was way less and made the dives a lot smoother and now I won't go back . I hope this helps man good diving

 

[Triton1715]

I had and use the Captain Nemo fiberglass fins for a good while and they worked really great and I love them and then about 4 months ago I decided to go with carbon and I got the Alchemy V2 with pathos foot pockets and there's a huge difference it was weird at first getting used to them the difference for me wasn't the speed or that they were faster but the effort that I had toach kick cycle was way less and made the dives a lot smoother and now I won't go back . I hope this helps man good diving

Thanks a bunch for the info! I looked through the forums and there isn't much on fiberglass vs carbon fiber without going back 8+ years when carbon fiber was known for being higher performance, but much more fragile. It sounds like a lot has changed in regards to durability with carbon fiber so I may just have to make the plunge.

Anyone else out there have any thoughts on fiber glass vs carbon fiber for fins?

Thanks as always everyone!

 

[Lauri_A]

Just tested Leaderfins in 2 different models, Pure Carbon (100% carbon) and Neo Carbon (fiberglass with carbon surfaces).

There wasn't a huge difference, there was a slightly more return spring on the Pure Carbon and it was slightly softer as well. Can't say I would've been able to detect the difference in a blind test but I wanted something quite soft so ended up with the Pure Carbon.

Have been superhappy with them ever since, can't imagine how they could be any better.

 

[Triton1715]

Just tested Leaderfins in 2 different models, Pure Carbon (100% carbon) and Neo Carbon (fiberglass with carbon surfaces).

There wasn't a huge difference, there was a slightly more return spring on the Pure Carbon and it was slightly softer as well. Can't say I would've been able to detect the difference in a blind test but I wanted something quite soft so ended up with the Pure Carbon.

Have been superhappy with them ever since, can't imagine how they could be any better.

Thanks for the input! I've been digging through the forums and have found more information than when I last conducted a search on the subject and it seems like there's quite a variance between people. They either think it's the best thing since sliced bread or they don't really notice much of a difference. Kind of interesting.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

We offer plastic blades, Fiberglass, Leader Fin Hybrid FG and Carbon composite and also the Leader Fin Pure Carbon.. All for very good prices I think.

As for the improvement in performance, I think you will see some improvement as you move up to the more expensive blades, but the difference is probably less and less as you move up each step.

It is probably most important to have a good comfortable footpocket, next is to select the proper fin stiffness for your body and the type of diving and then .. when you have that all dialed in, you can start thinking about the more expensive blades.

http://www.makospearguns.com/Fins-s/68.htm

http://www.makospearguns.com/PURE-Carbon-Fiber-Freedive-Fins-p/lfpcf.htm

Pure Carbon Leaderfins (with great pockets) with free shipping (in the US) for less than $290.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

My Moanas are in Pathos foot pockets, and I think that makes a big difference. The soft rails let the blade flex all the way up to the foot pocket. The stiffer rails on the Black Team pockets that were on my 20Fathoms Edge kept the upper part of the blades from bending much at all, so all the action was from the lower half. When I jumped off the boat the first time with the Moanas, it felt really weird to have the entire blade flexing. I had to look down to see what was going on. But it only took a few kicks for me to realize that it was a big improvement.

 

[nowayout]

I went from Mako fiberglass soft to Moana Euro soft and was amazed at the difference right away. It took way less effort to get me down and up. I really couldn't believe it.
I will say going from plastic to the Mako fiberglass was almost as shocking but fiberglass to the Moana fin was almost unbelievable.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

It's just a coincidence but my neighbor

just sent a photo of a tuna that he shot yesterday, and it shows what I meant about a Moana blade in a Pathos pocket bending all the way up to the pocket.

 

[cdavis]

Its not the material, per se, but the way its put together with the foot pocket and how well that matches your style. Bills pic is a great example of a very good combination. Unfortunately, that makes fin selection a supremely idiosyncratic choice. What works for somebody else may not work for you. I've used all three, how its put together for you is way more important than material.

From a purely materials/enginering point of view, fiberglass is supposed to better than carbon. But carbon has more profit margin and manufacturers are probably putting more effort into producing the "perfect" fin, so it might be easier to find your "perfect" fin in carbon. Its trial and error anyway.