First monofin?

[SanderP]

Hello everyone! I'm planning to get my first monofin fairly soon, so I ask for your opinions (the ol' Leaderfins vs Specialfins):

http://www.specialfins.com/eng_products.php?product_id=160
or
http://www.leaderfins.com/cgi-bin/form.cgi/63eng?id=255&tm=1158678517

I already asked two DB members (thanks Jome and Jon!), however both of them had different opinions so I decided to ask all of you.

The two main differences I see are:

* LF has wings - are they important, do they help much?
* The measures are different:

LF: 72 cm x 76 cm
SF: 72 cm x 66 cm

Makes me wonder if the Leaderfins mono is measured with or without footpockets...

I just want to make sure I'll make the best possible choice for my first mono. And I should also mention that I'll be using the fin purely for recreational diving.

PS! Customer service doesn't really matter in this case, I can get both of the fins in less than 1 day and exchange if needed.

Thanks all!

 

[trullalla]

Hi,

i'm using with a angled specialfins carbon with open heel footpocket and wing. i think the wing is quite useless for deep diving, since at 20 mt is all compressed already...
i think a wing is an advantage only in dyn, unless is a solid non compressible wing, which at the moment nobody is producing.
i think having a angled fin is more important than the wing.

specialfins are more expensive but i hear a lot of people saying they are better than leaderfins.
i love my fin, plus it looks very funky!

cheers
linda

 

[SanderP]

Neither of these monos has an angle. Is it important, what does it do? The only thing I can imagine it can do is that you can keep your knees more straight and/or you don't have to bend your feet that much.

Then maybe I should ask them if they could wrap up a mono that has no wings but has an angled blade. The wings, as they said, take a lot of time to produce and it adds quite a bit to the price tag.

 

[JustinF]

I would do the SpecialFins Freediving MonoFin hybrid pro or carbon depending on how strong you are or plan to be. I have both and love them.

The wings do not hurt in constant, they just do not help as much as they do on dyn.

 

[Mullins]

An angled blade is pretty important in my opinion, for both CW and DYN. It allows you to glide with straight legs and also means the stroke is not so 'leggy'.

I have Leaderfins' Freediving Hyper and the wings on that are solid rubber that does not compress. Given that model you've linked to is also a 'freediving' version, I would expect those wings to be the same.

 

[Mullins]

Angled blade more important than wings, I would say...

 

[goochi]

Hi Sander

I went thru this process a couple of months ago. I thought I had good questions, but was left with many different opinions, which just goes to show monofin are very individual and greatly depend on what you are using it for.

I went for a Leaderfins Free diving fin with 'Wings". I had previously ordered an open heel pocket 'Advnced' model, but this was murder on my feet, so closed heel pockets are definitely the way to go for recreational diving. I was looking at the model you are entertaining from LF, but deicided to spend a little more and get the "Wings" model as it had the angled foot pockets. I wanted a monofin I would use for years and not upgrade every season (I can't afford to!) so I had to get it exactly right.

I am very happy with this fin, the angled footpockets do make it easier for me to use a straight leg kick and use my entire body, not just my knees. I don't know about Special Fins, but can highly recommend Leaderfins. I guess it is a matter a cost if you end up looking at the angled footpockets and I would imagine at the entry level you are looking at that both companies would be good quality wise. Given that you live in Estonia why don't you trial the 2 monofins and throw in an angled one and see what you prefer, otherwise you could drop Speedy123 an email,as I know he has just recieved his Leaderfin (the one you are looking at) and ask him what he thinks (he was using it for recreational diving)

Good luck,

Cheers

Gooch

 

[pelagicbeing]

I have used x2 leaderfins mono's : a carbon mono with wings and full foot pockets and the 'free flyer' with full foot pockets in medium stiffness. I can highly recommend Leaderfins products and their service, they have been excellent.

I can honestly say that for me full foot pockets are absolutely essential if you value comfort and want to keep the mono on for more than 30 mins (ie. not comp diving).

The wings do help stabilize the fin in a noticeable way, compared to those i have used without, but i would have to disagree with trullalla about the wings compressing in this case. The free flyer wings and the carbon's do not compress in any noticeable way at depth as they are solid hard rubber, although i have seen other mono's with wings that seem to be spongy and soft to touch. These i have heard do have large shifts in buoyancy, but i have not tried them personally.

I can highly recommend both....but i prefer the free flyer, a very fast comfortable mono!

My x2 periwinkles worth....

You'll have great fun i am sure with whichever brand you choose to go with.

pelagicbeing