Fin shape (freedive v spearo)

[kevtron]

Today I've been looking a lot on special fins site today (debating getting a pair. how do they stand up?) and noticed something I'm curious about.

On all their freediving fins the tips have a concave curve to them, whereas all the spearo fins have convex tips. Is this primarily for surface use (as spearos are perhaps spending more time kicking around on the surface than pure freedivers are?)

To expand this just a bit more; what are the major differences between spearo and freediving fins?

Thanks

 

[DRW]

On all their freediving fins the tips have a concave curve to them, whereas all the spearo fins have convex tips.

The "classic spearfishing" fins at

SpecialFins Monofins & fins for Freediving,Spearfishing,UW Games

have concave tips.

To expand this just a bit more; what are the major differences between spearo and freediving fins?

I have really no idea as I'm neither a spearfishing enthusiast nor a freediver. I'm just a snorkeller. However, I've snorkelled for half a century and have observed a thing or two about fin development along the way. To me, labelling a pair of fins as "spearo" or "freediving" fins is just that, labelling. It's a manifestation of a modern age where categorisation and specialisation are everything. Here is an early twentieth-century fin prototype, designed and patented by yachtsman Owen Churchill:

Such fins were used in the mid twentieth century by lifeguards, swimming teachers, combat swimmers (wartime frogman) and recreational divers. In our twenty-first century, however, these fins are the footwear of choice of bodyboard surfers. So when the fins were first launched, they were used by different people for a multitude of different aquatic purposes. Back then, fins were classified by the way they fitted: full-foot, fixed open-heel and adjustable open-heel. Nice and simple. Nowadays, people seem to like fin models to be classified according to the aquatic pursuit for which they are designed. So how should Churchill's fins be categorised in 2010/2011? Exclusively as surfing fins? If so, does that mean that the fins will no longer work in the contexts of learning to swim, lifeguarding, combat swimming or recreational diving? Am I risking my life if I try snorkelling with them? Of course not. They will still be perfectly serviceable in any aquatic pursuit so long as they suit any participant in those pursuits.

To sum up. Labelling fins as "freediving", "spearo", "lapswimming", "scuba", "snorkelling" or "surfing" is as much a marketing as a scientific issue. For me, fins are very personal items of gear and we should have the freedom to experiment and make up our own minds about what works best for each of us in a given aquatic context. In the process of trialling what is available in the way of fins, we may make mistakes, but mistakes are part of the learning process of life. Once we have found what works best for us, let's not be too prescriptive, or proscriptive, in our advice to others who have not yet completed their choices. And let's treat those marketing labels for fins with the scepticism they deserve.

 

[DafyddRees]

As a spearo who primarily fishes rocky reefs I would not buy a pair of fins with a convex shape. The rubber on the edges of a fin with a concave shape protect the fin from any side swipes. A convex fin has not such protection on the "tongue" and so, easily prone to damage.

 

[hteas]

My Specialfins Blue Water Specials are convex, have been abused for years, and are doing fine.
DRW has a good handle on the basic problem; sales
Beyond that, look at the categogs. Every fin is a "perfect blend of power and ease of use". Not likely. You really have to try a bunch and find our for your self.
And yes, I understand that it can be a difficult project to test them. There are very few freedivers in Alaska, and no stores. That is why I have so many pairs of fins!
One of the few real differences in freediving fins and spearfishing fins is a few of the C-4 freediving fins (80, 81) are quite long, and have the extension at the end of the blades, which would make them more awkward to use in close quarters.