First Set of longfins??? (HELP)

[icarus pacific]

Amphib to Bill....over...

Amphib, get a hold of Bill here and ask him how. And get him to do it on the forum so we all benefit.

I'd do it now, but I have to leave for my AA meeting.


Dat Billiam, he dakine brah! (shakka brah hang loose smiley face)

sven

 

[Erik]

Willer, I dive with 3mm socks all year, including the last 2 days out here in Vancouver, and my feet do not get cold. I am also slim (6'1", 180lbs), and get cold very easily, so I would recommend that you try them before using the 5mm in a bigger footpocket.
The water temp is 7C right now, and I have used them in 1C for ice diving....they get numb, but no pain, unlike when my hands get cold.
As a side note, Sporasub makes a giant footpocket that is for size 13 to 15 pontoons.
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[Amphibious]

how many sizes does a 3mm sock add?

 

[Bill]

Hey Willer

Your feet are the same size as mine but my arch is higher I guess. 44-46 will be close with a 2 or 3 mm sock. I have to cut/split about 5 cm on the top to fit my arch. Then I punch 2 or 3 holes on each side of the split and use 'shoe' laces. You also need a hole at the end of the split. My size 11 feet are loose in the two brands of 46-48 I tried, even with 6 mm booties. I can use them by adding strips of 3-4 mm neoprene. It's easy to put on and/or change until you get them snug.

If the fins are a little small and the water is cold, use a pair of 6 mm booties XL and cut the toe off about 10 cm back. Suit up, put the big part on, shove it up your leg out of the way, put toe piece on your foot (you will end up trimming it a little), put on a nylon sock, put on the fin and slide the big part over the whole thing as far as it goes. There's a picture on page 55 of Terry's 'Freedive' book. I like the over-boot and use one all the time. I put it on faster than I can type the instructions.

If all else fails, ship the Sporasub 44-46 foot pockets out here and I'll give you your money back. The ones that I'm using in the pool need to be replaced. I bought them in '84 and I think they'll fall apart any year now. If that happens, you'll get to hear the story about making fins fit if they're 2 sizes small. It really worked, sort of.

Aloha
Bill

 

[icarus pacific]

WhadidItellya? Is that Bill some kinda guy or what?

When you punch the holes for the laces and at the end of the slit, I found that using a 16d nail heated up red hot made the holes very easily and sealed the holes well, so the 1/4" nylon parachute cord I use slides without cutting into the pocket further. I'm one of these guys that like the gear on tight... Before you go to the cutting and punching bit, try using a shoe stretcher in the pockets for that last little smidge of room for the next size sock to fit.

sven

 

[Amphibious]

If you guys are ever in Ottawa, I'll buy you all a beer....

Willer

 

[Cragrat]

Hey Amphibious, If you'd like to try out my Omer Milliniums (sp) they are a size 45 (11) and I wear a 3 mil sock with them. Seeing as I'm in Ottawa as well that should make it rather easy for you I've got a couple masks you could try as well.

I also have a pair of OMER ICE blades but one cracked 1/4 of the way across the blade. They seem to be the same length as the Millinuims.

I sent you an email via your Yahoo account a few days back but hadn't heard from you. If you'd like to arrange a fitting email me at david@grimwits.com.

I'm away this weekend to attend the "Beneath the Sea" Scuba show in New Jersey but I'll be back on Tuesday. Anyone else heading to the show?

If you don't mind hunting, you can sometimes find deals on E-bay for fins.

 

[Amphibious]

I have a Yahoo account? news to me......

I'll fire off an email, thanks!

I've got a very ugly (clear skirt and light blue) Sphrea mask I use for freediving, why the hell did they stop making them?


Willler

 

[Cragrat]

Whoops

Whoops, Hotmail.. I ment hotmail. I've got a sphera as well. My favorite mask in fact. DiveInn still sells them, though I had to special order mine at my local dive shop. They occasionally have a couple in stock.

 

[Amphibious]

I can't seem to find a black on black mask though, I use a Mares Lirica Tech for scuba/hunting. fell in love with the black skirts.

so when do you think Morrison's will be open?

Willer

 

[sturgeon]

OMER Ice

I just received my sample pair of the new OMER Millennium Ice fins. They look really nice. When I bend them they respond like a carbon blade (quick snap back). They don't seem to have the memory problem associated with a plastic blades. Somebody on the DB Forum said they thought they looked short in a picture. They're not, they are actually about 2 inches longer than my OMER Carbon Pro's (on the outer edges, in the center they're about 3-4 inches longer). I'm hopefully going to be able to test them this Sunday and I'll let everyone know what I think.

Scott Turgeon
West Palm Beach, FL

 

[Angus]

Comfort

Here are my two bits on this. Buy the fin that is the most comfortable. Nothing will spoil the experience more than foot pain. It is the equivalent of a wetsuit that binds, is too stiff, or is cold; or a mask that leaks all the time. Thrust to energy ratios and all of that will be meaningless if your feet hurt. I am still using my first pair of longfins (Picasso Black Team) because they are so incredibly comfortable that I pretty much forget that aren't really a part of me when I dive with them. Each person's foot is different and each kick style has unique characteristics that are extremely hard to determine. The single most important thing to consider, after safety, in all aspects of diving is comfort. You will dive longer, better, and safer if you are comfortable. I have dove with people who, because they were cheap (the cheap person always ends up paying the most) or they needed the most "cutting edge" equipement, or they were gear freaks who were always trying to squeeze out every little miniscule advantage that they believed their equipement would provide, were miserable while diving and as a consequence spent much less time doing it and never really having much fun. If I had choice between a short comfortable fin and long uncomfortable fin I would choose the short one.

 

[scott]

Sporasub Pure Carbons

I received my first pair of carbons this past week (Sporasub Pure Carbons) and gave them a test drive on Saturday.

Man have I got some practicing to do (and no time before the Keys Kraze)! My usual dive site has plenty of depth but is in a narrow limestone cavern, a seemingly too rough a site for the carbon fins. So I went to the closest "open water" springs, which is only about 30' deep. The first thing I noticed was that I had to use alot more energy to propel the fins, especially since it was such a shallow depth and required much more stopping and starting than deeper sites. I'm hoping that once I get going, the carbon efficiency will be evident but it certainly wasn't at this site (or with my current style of kick). I tried a series of quick up and downs and soon my calves cramped terribly. Then I tried some fast dynamic horizontal swims and, again, my calves cramped.

After about an hour, I was worn out. On Sunday, my legs were sore - which was a first. My initial conclusion: these fins are not made for the kids at home and I will have to practice how to kick efficiently with them so as to not wear my legs out (or I simply need to build up different muscles than required for my Picassos).

Other observations:
The fins are slightly narrower than my Picasso BT's but several inches longer. The foot pockets are a little softer in the heel and I had to wear a 3 mil bootie instead of just a lycra sock (like I usually wear) to keep the fin from rubbing excessively against my foot. The carbons "snap back" when bent, unlike the plastic fins.

If any of you guys out there have comments on helping speed my transition, I would welcome it.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[fjohnson]

Scott,
I've been swimming in a pool all winter (one trip to the ocean) with the pures and they will eventually work for you. I've ended up with at least 4 styles of kicks that I use at different times. Main one for depth is a large slower knee bending flutter not quite bicycling type kick for depth and distance, another the same but smaller and quicker kicks for a little more speed. The other two are dolphin kicks.. I put my arms out in front (same as the flutter) and kinda start with my hands snaking and send a ripple all the way down to the tips of the fins. in a large, exagerated type undulation this doesn't use much oxygen and is pretty efficient although I guess for depth I still prefer the flutter. The other style dolphin is very short (small) rapid undulations from my hands to my fin tips.. kinda like if you grab onto the end of a rope that's anchored on the other end and really whip it to send many small waves through it. That kick is super fast but uses up the oxygen fast also. That short dolphin kick works good in tight places and swim throughs but I'd slow it down a bit.

When I went to the ocean I took the old fins along but only wore them once, after the carbons there's no going back, no matter what I was diving in.

Fred

 

[scott]

Thanks Fred for the comments. Looking forward to the day when the Carbons become my fin of choice.

Scott

 

[sturgeon]

Ice Fins

Everyone,

I finally got a chance this past weekend to try out my new prototype OMER Ice fins. I spent 7 hours in the water on Saturday freedive spearfishing in the 60-ft range with them. I liked the fins very much. To me, they feel just like a carbon fin (same push and responsiveness). I used the Ice fins like I would any other pair of fins (not very delicately) and they held up fine. When Mark first sent them to me I thought, "It'll be nice to have a cheap pair of plastic fins as a backup or for shallow water diving". Well, that's not the case at all and instead I'll use and cherish my Ice fins the same as I would any good pair of carbon fins.

I look forward to hearing/seeing what some of the deeper apnea guys think of these new fins once they become available to the general public. I think the OMER Ice fins have great potential and I highly recommend them for anybody who needs/wants the performance of carbon but can't afford a pair of carbon fins.

Scott Turgeon
West Palm Beach, FL

 

[Clovis]

another fin type

Hi there,
One fin type I've never seen mentioned is Tugullio Grinta.
Here in Oz it is a bottom feeder sold cheaply thru a diving discounter distribution company,
for beginners I recomend it:

Upsides: Cheap as chips, Plastic (thick)(strong)(tough),longblade tech similar to esclapez,(hold em up to the light and you can see the material taper and they have the same thru the water action and feel)they have a high angle of attack so almost come off your feet in line with the body for a highly directed thrust. snorkels well, dives well and remarkably goes almost as well as my JBE. violets for the long haul.(and for fun they spint well when you want to put the hammer down). They flutter, scissor and dolphin capably as well.

Downsides:There's no such animal as a perfect fin, so these are obviosly a compromise in all areas,(what I meant by well in the upsides is that they are eminently usable) not as good at any one thing as the best. They really must be regarded as an allaround fin, that being said they are relativly heavy, in comparisson to a set of cressi, the foot pockets are tight in comparrison to a set of picasso, you have to work them harder in comparison to a set of omer
but hey what do you expect.......'entry level is they keyword'
Use them to define and practise kicking styles and you will still be using them even after you change to a more specialized fin. I know I still do. (mostly because I've overkicked the violets again and have to repair them.....oh so nice but oh so fragile.)

hope this helps and no I am not advertising a product, just passing on some information.

 

[SThompson]

Well I have to thank everyone for thier great advice in this and several other threads. I -almost- went with the Omer Ice.......but my wallet got the best of me and just ordered the Gara HF from the DeeperDiveInnBlue shop. I am now anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new toys. I will post how they work out just as soon as I can tear the box apart to get to them. I have been freediving in my Quattros to 60 feet easily with my head shoved in the mud at the quarry but am ready to move up a bit. However, most of you seem to be "heavywieghts" here ( I am only 5'8" & 145 pounds) so I will let you know how the old legs hold up to the stiffer fins.