fins for novice

[Yehoshua Zohar]

I am looking for a freediving fin. I am 47 years old (in great physical shape) 1.88m. tall and weigh about 77kg. (I think that's 6"2 and about 170lbs.). I am not a freediving expert and most of my training is done in the pool, so I need a fin that will not intimidate other pool users. I am not looking to break any records only to add freediving to my fitness program. I would like a moderatly priced fin preferably made by CressiSub or Mares since they are marketed all over Israel.
Any suggestions?

Yehoshua Zohar
Karmiel, Israel

 

[Jon]

The Mares Avanti L Would be a good choice. I believe they have a newer version of this fin called the Quattro Power or something like that. It is longer than most fins, but not as long as a real freediving fin.

Jon

 

[freediver48]

Hi,

Good fins are very important in freediving, if you are worried about intimidation why use fins at all, if not go for the full shot and get good freedive fins. They will likely come up to your hips and scare the .... out of most sane people, but they sure work better than anything else going.

Long fins kick,

Doug Motgan

 

[Erik]

Fins

I have to agree with Doug; once you put on a set of these you will never go back! However, for a fin that is better than little snorkelling fins, look at the Cressi Fullfoot Frog. They are longer than snorkel fins, are very good quality, and are extremely comfortable, like all Cressi fins. I know a few underwater hockey players who swear by them; these guys need a quick and powerful fin that is not too big. Plus they wont get the lifeguards yelling at you! Cheers, Erik

 

[Yehoshua Zohar]

fins

First off thanks for the replies. Can you kind souls also give me a price range for these two fins? I tried to find tthe Cressisub and Mares site but I was unsuccesful. Do they have websites?

 

[apnea newbie]

Hi there !

Mares have this URL adress

http://www.htmsport.com/mares/cgi-bin/maresswitch.cgi/gb

As for Cressi, the only adress i found was to a diving company named Cressi Sub so here goes.

http://www.cressi-sub.it/en/home.html

Though i was visiting both adresses yesterday i cant seem to get any of them to work this morning... Hmmm Might be the heavy traffic. I know that Mares site can be hard to get into. Try them out !

Cheers /Apnea Newbie

 

[Erik]

Prices

I nCanada the Cressi F/foot Frog is worth about 60$ US, I believe....that's about half what the Cressi Gara fins cost. I can't see the Mares being too far out of that range. The URL given by Newbie is the Cressi website....you should be able to see all the fins, but there wont be any prices. You will have to locate a dealer close to you to get a price. Ciao, Erik

 

[apnea newbie]

Hi Yehoshua!

I have hte same problem as you do. Im also looking for new fins. I think i have checked every homepage there is about fins, wrote questions to experienced freedivers and so on. And on this morning i got a reply from one of the team members of the swedish freediving team, who has a online shop in sweden.

What he said to me was that the MAres Avanti L, wouldnt do for me, i train 4-5 times a week, so he told me that fin wouldnt do.
What he did say was that the Sporasub H. dessault pro has good fitness and is awesome in pools and for freediving, also he had a friend that did 45 meters deep with them, which i consider quite good
I dont know for u but i consider myself quite a newbie, so i will go for this fins, and in the future i will by carbon fins when i get tired of them. U can also keep the feetpockets and just change the blades.


So i know what im gonna buy, the sporasub H. dessault pro. The are reasonable in price to. found them on the net for like 50 dollars, usually the cost like 100 dollars. The material is Plastic and there are 3 models dependign on how hard they are.

Hope this help you a little

Cheers / Apnea Newbie

 

[FUZI]

Hi apnea newbie

>the sporasub H. dessault pro. They are reasonable in price to.
>found them on the net for like 50 dollars
ItŽÕs amazing! Sporasub H. dessault pro (black blade?) costs
about 60 dollars in their home country, France.

Please let me know where can I get them by 50 dollars. Please!!

FUZI, Japanese Freediver.

 

[freediver48]

Hi Bargain Hunter,

The best price I have seen for the French fins are about $185.00 US If you can find them for $50.00, buy lots and sell them. I use Picasso Black Team and they cost $145.00 US, I love them.

Freediver48

 

[FUZI]

>If you can find them for $50.00, buy lots and sell them.
Good idea!

By the way, I want to write about original question in this thread.

I recommend Cressi Rondine Light or Free Frog. They are very soft, but they have very good performance in pool training without intimidate and also in ocean.

You can check the price
Cressi Free Frog and Mares Avanti full foot
http://www.leisure-pro.com/

Cressi Rondine Light
http://www.blueh20.com/

These fins are about 30-40 US dollars.

Currency rate (US Doller into Israel New Shekels) can check here
http://www.xe.net/ucc/

FUZI, Japanese Freediver.

 

[freediver48]

Hi Fuzi,

Good advice, I do not like pools, so I have an anti-pool bias.
Those are good prices.

Thanks,

Freediver 48

 

[Yehoshua Zohar]

Thanks

Thanks for all the great info. I will follow up the leads in the next few days and report my findings to all you great folks.

 

[Yehoshua Zohar]

fin findings

O.k. I checked up on the leads I was kindly given and there are now 3 possibilities:
Mares Avanti HP $40
CressiRondine Light $35
Cressi free Frog $45

Can anyone make any comparitive comments on these fins?

In the next few days I will check the prices locally and report my results.

BTW, couldn't find the Dessault fin that our Swedish Newbie found for $50. Any leads?

Thanks to all,
Yehoshua Zohar
Karmiel, Israel

 

[Mako]

I vote for the Rondine Lights. I've got a pair and they're the perfect length for snorkeling and pool work. Very flexible, but with good recoil. The blade material is similar to the Gara 2000, but not as stiff. Plus, they're lightweight and fit in your carry-on bag on the plane.

The Free Frogs and Avanti HP's look promising, but I've never tried them so I can't say. I know they don't have snappy freediving blades like the Rondine Lights, though. Hope that helps!

 

[freediver48]

Hi,

The Cressi Rodines are a great fin, and so the lights get my vote as well.

Best wishes,

Freediver 48

 

[apnea newbie]

Sporasub Fins

Hi there !

Sorry for not answering any earlier. I've just moved out of town, so i didnt have a computer with internet near.

Ok ! Here goes. I bought the Sproasub Black fin (H.Dessault pro) for about 42$. Thats reasonable cause its 99$ in sweden

All ran smoothly and i placed my order wednesday and got the fins friday with DHL. The adress i boutgh them from is
www.diveinn.com
The seem to have nice personell to, i asked a lot of questions and i got answers on every mail, very helpfull indeed.

The fin is awesome to, though i just tried it in a pool yet, ill try to go to the sea this weekend, but its only about 10-12 celsius in the sea... and thats cold I bought the black blade, which is the hardest one and its very comfortable, not to strong.


Cheers / Apnea Newbie

 

[FUZI]

Thanks a lot!!


Hi apnea newbie

Thank you very much for info. about sporasub
ItŽÕs amazing price, indeed!
In Japan, sporasub fins costs 230 US$, almost 6-times higher.
I can save great money.

Thanks a lot!!

FUZI

 

[Angus]

Just go for it.

There is no reason not get a full blown freediving fin if you are going to freedive. Just because you are starting new is not a factor in the fin choice. What is most important is comfort balanced with performance. The whole point of freediving fins is to increase range and depth while mininmizing oxygen consumption. The more your equipement aids in this the more you will enjoy it. Comfort is an important part of the equation. Most well equiped dive shops will allow you try different fins in the water. I dive with Picasso Black Teams (You can get these anywhere in the world) and am planning to go for the more expensive carbon fiber blades which are spendy but dramatically enhance range and depth. As far as pool training goes train in the gear you dive in! It is the only way to truly know you abilities and to learn to use the specialized equipement for best effects. This is true regardless of where you train. I know of several people who trained in "pool fins" and then found themselves suddenly in trouble when they dove with longblades and were suddenly much deeper than they had planned. More common is watching people go from pool fins to longblades and overpower them as they pound away on with the kick they developed for smaller fins. Personally, I have found my long fins and other freedive gear to be of great interest to other people at the pool. In fact the only drawback has been the interruption in training because people want to talk about freediving. It is also a good way to meet future dive buddies. Remember the cheap person ends up paying the most. Hope this is helpful. Good diving, Angus

 

[apnea newbie]

Glad I could help

Hi FUZI !

Im glad i could be of help. Please tell me if u bought any fin yet... I really want to know.

If so did your purchase run as smoothly as mine ? Did u get your stuff ?

Im planning in buying a new wetsuit to from diveinn, they have very good prices on those to


If you bought a fin, which did u buy and how is it ???


Anxious to know / Apnea Newbie