Freediving Fins

[apnearevOlution]

Im looking for a good pair of fins.. im new to freediving, and im looking for a semi-stiff fin, thats a good length...

I have had my eyes out on the cressi gara 2000hf and the omer millenium competition..


anyone have any ideas? i roughly wana spend aro und 120..
i can get the omer's for 120 and the cressis for about 85 both at leisurepro..

 

[DeepThought]

I think those fins you've mentioned are stiff, not semi-stiff. Though I might not be up to date in the stiffness scale. (jeez :hmm)

 

[apnearevOlution]

well, i want something thats going to get me down fast but also something that isnt going to give me leg cramps, i have very strong legs.. but

i was looking around scubastore.com at there fins, and they all cost so cheap but shipping ruins there great prices

 

[Merlin]

I would go with a Gara 3000 instead of 2000

 

[roy_nexus_6]

I agree with DeepThought; gara 2000hf and the omer millenium competition are stiff fins.

 

[apnearevOlution]

so u'd reccomend the gara 3000's
any others? and where are some good online mail orders i could look into

 

[£íáµ]

Gara 3000 fins are good fins.
By buying Omer Mil. you can change blades for C4s ... if needed ...

 

[roy_nexus_6]

I would go with Sporasub Elites, plastic blades as beginner fins. Not too stiff and not too soft. The blades are replaceable, when you are ready for stiffer or high performance blades and the price is about $130 in you nearest Sport Chalet (they carry them here in So. Cal.)

 

[cdavis]

Any chance you can put these fins on your feet? Gara pockets are great for some but not others, same for sporasub. If the spora elites are the same thing as dessaults, I agree with Roy, provided your foot likes the spora pockets. I have both, both fit, but I prefer the performance of the sporas. Try'em if you can.

There is a real good thread on fin selection, I forget the title, but unirdna started it. Try the search function for "fins" or fin selection.

Good luck with your quest.

Connor

 

[apnearevOlution]

I wish i could, but im in New England, Massachusetts to be exact. I have been to 2 dive shops up here, however no sign of any freediving activity.. in fact they dont even have much of a variety for scubadiving :\

 

[virgil]

Hi.

I don't know of any shops in MA but there're few in Newport/Providence RI area. I'm sure Charlie at Narragansett Pier Dive Shop (www.pierdive.com) can find some fins for you. I bought replacement blades for my sporasubs from that shop. He also sells some Omer and Riffe freediving/spearfishing equipment. There's another shop in Jamestown RI that has some freediving equipment (mainly Omer). I don't remember the exact name but you should be able to search it on the internet.
I hope these shops are not too far a drive from where you live. It's also a good area for diving (in case you need further motivation for the trip...)
You may want to subscribe to the NE freedive-list (http://thayer.dartmouth.edu/~abilgili/Freedive-list-ne/index.htm) and also ask the question there. It's mainly spearfishing oriented but quite a few people from MA; they may know other shops closer to your area.
Use the internet if you don't care about touching the stuff before buying. DB shop is very good and they have excellent prices (even considering shipping) and fast delivery. In North America I tried waterways and www.norcalfreedive.com and was happy with their stuff and service.
I think sporasub fins are excellent. If I dive intensively with them (i.e. everyday for a week) I get nasty blisters on my ankle; I had to modify the footpockets a little bit to prevent it. Other than that no complaints. They're also very reasonably priced and the footpockets are compatible with many other blades (waterways, etc.).
God luck and good diving.

Virgil

 

[Murat]

For that (or little more in some specific cases) money you can get much better fins. Like waterway fins etc..New waterway nemo fins are very cool and some says those waterways blades are even better than C4 carbons. I can not comment about this though but they should better than plastic fins for sure

 

[kumuhunta]

Trying on fins is a must. You dont want to go and buy fins that dont fit well. If they're too big then youll have too wear two sets of fin socks or thicker ones. or you wont get effecient power transfer to the fins.
If the fins are too small then your feet will cramp up (narrow or short).
the best thing to do is to try friends fins or go on vacation to a state with more dive shops.
For me I used to have Omer Tunas competition (old version fins) and they were really stiff. In fact I couldnt really keep up with my friends while surface swimming becuase my ankles would get sore. But Getting off of the bottom of the ocean was easy. later I bought a set of Waterway #3 blades to fit in the omer pockets and they were great. I was outswimming my friends easily. not to mention getting off the bottom was even easier with these blades.
But as luck would have it I lost those fins becuase I didnt strap my fins down tight enough on my kayak and I got taxed by the ocean. That really sucked.
Now I use Cressi Gara 3000. The fins are good. Easy on the ankles and its not too hard to get of the bottom. But I would trade the garas for a set of waterway fins anyday.
Ive tried my friends Omer milleniums and they were pretty good fins. better than the tunas but not as good as my Waterways. The foot pocket for the new milleniums are good but they have this rubber piece in the back by the achiles which kinda gets in the way and rubs the back of ankle a bit. You could probably cut them off.

The Garas are a bit narrow so I bought them one size bigger.
The Fins I will always love are my Omer Tuna foot Pockets with Waterway 3 blades.
I just prefer the stiffness of the Omer tuna pocket and waterway blades.
but then again I may be partial to omer products (outdated).
Omer 75 excaliber 2000
Omer plush lining wetsuit 2001
Omer Camo wetsuit 2000 original Camo pattern
Omer Zoom Snorkel 2002
Omer Tuna fins (lost at Sea) 2000

 

[Murat]

kumuhunta,

how is the stifness of #3 waterway compared to Gara3000?

 

[kumuhunta]

I would say that the Gara 3000 is a little lighter. The #3 waterway is not much stiffer but the stiffness will last longer than the gara3000. Just becuase of the type of materials they use. If your not comfortable with getting the 3 you can always get the 2 or call waterway direct and ask for thier recomendation. (thats what I did). Just tell them the aproximate depth you'll usually be diving to and what you will be using the fins for (spearing, swimming or just up and down). Most people get the 3 because it provides a lot of energy but still easy enough to swim on the surface.

Many people have said that these fins arn't great for surface swimming because there is no angle in the blade near the foot pocket. However I have not found this to be a problem. In fact because I had to shove the blade into the foot pocket and the foot pocket already had the angle in it. It kind of created that angle for me.

I actually found this blade very easy to use for surface swimming. Like I said before I could outswim all of my friends with less effort and more efficiency. I was never really as tired as my friends when swimming out to the dive spot. This is great especially for spearing because that means there is less time needed for recovery.

 

[Murat]

i emailed waterway to get advise about stifness with all the necessary information but the answer i got is "number 3 is our most popular stifness" rofl I can not say i am satisfiyed with that answer.

Really i don't need any stiffer than gara 3000, i already think they are stiff enough may be softer will be better too.

Does anybody know the stifness of water ways in kg scale? especiall 1-1.5-2-2.5-3

 

[watts]

Ive used both the Gara 3000s and Waterways #2 and #4s.
Its not just the stiffness which is different but the whole feel of the blades which takes a while to get used to. Even adjusting the way you kick. I would definetly recomend the #2s for dynamics but not for constant. Even the #4s may be a bit to soft for anything deeper than 45m. I think Waterways still has the yellow blades on special at the moment to.


Cheers Nathan

Oh yeh im 6 foot 2 and 85 kgs. :wave

 

[Murat]

i am not pure freediver. Spearfisher hunting depth between 15-30 with 7-9 hours duration in water lots of surface swimming and repated deep dives. Currently i am around 75-77 kg, using 3mm suit with 3 to 5 kg lead.Height 177cm.

 

[apnearevOlution]

I love the nemo waterway fins however i just cant find any way of ordering them w/ foot pockets and im on a budget of 140 usd

 

[Asturven]

Apnearevolution,

I already sent you a PM with some alternatives for your fins or blades.

Cheers

Ivan