• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Looking for advice on finding "best" freedive fin

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
The Mustang's have the most comfortable footpockets I've ever owned and are great for surface swimming too.

Jon
 
Here is the Marwan thread on fins, it has a lot input, but fins are very personal. I have tried C4/30 with omer pockets and the medium hybrid with omer pockets, I like the hybrids the best (so did Marwan). That is my impression, unfortunatly one has to buy the fin to try. I also own a pair of Hybrid hards ,C4/40 and Bat25 among many others plastic fins.

http://forums.deeperblue.com/hunting-equipment/66457-best-fins-spearfishing.html
 

Thanks....it was a good read.
I should get me new Mustangs by this weekend, and will report on them afterwards.
REgards,
Dan
 
Thanks !

Those look really long , I've seeing them on the Hawaii Skin Diver magazine, personally I don't like those very long fins for spearfishing. The C4 and Special Fins are a good lengh.
 
Hi, i'm almost sure that Carbontek, " CARBONTEK
used to have a carbon blade for SCUBA, same that their freediving blade but shorter, i don't know if they still make it, but may be it's a good option for what you're looking for.
Edit: they aren't in the web page anymore, but i'm sure they can make a pair if you ask.
 
Last edited:
I have a question about carbonfiber bi-fins. I read some posts here from a guy that builds custom monofins. And he had some facts concerning differences between fibreglass and carbonfibre. He said that if you put the same amount of energy into bending the two materials you would get alot more back from the fibreglass. I think almost all custommade monofins (gipperfins, glidefins etc) are made of fibreglass. It seems fibreglass monofins are dominant in both freediving and finswimming. Why would you spend extra money on the more expensive carbonfibre? I guess the lesser weight isn`t a big deal.
 
I finally got to try my new C4 mustangs ( 40 stiffness) last weekend...
The ocean was so rough, it had to be the Palm Beach inlet, or nothing...this left 30 to 35 foot depths to be the deepest you could get to without borring a hole in the sand.....
I dove about 2 hours, and my impression of the C4's are that they are easy kicking fins--I don't really have any idea how they can be rated at a 40 stiffness..though they are less like noodles under high power than are other freediving fins I have used...
I would much rather have a bigger--wider and much longer C4 blade....I would be happy to pay for this, if Mark L. has any juice for a 1-off production

Overall they are good fins, but I do not see them as a great deal better than my B&W Specialfins ..... They do require a slight change in kicking technique, and because of this, perhaps after a few more times out, I will see even more of a difference.

Dan V
 
could you explain your stiffness rating comment? I ordered 25's and dive with a 7MM suite and 8Kg of lead (YUUK) and am happy with them even pushing of from 60 feet. I am happy with the stiffness. I plan to use them in warmer waters for some max CW. depth "attempts".

I do weigh 65Kg (about 155lbs I think) though.

things that surprised me:
- you don't feel you have fins on, yet move as quick as ever
- descents seem faster, like, "wow I'm there already"
- ascents seem about the same
- i hate hitting them on rocks!!!!!!!!!!!
 

I was hoping for a bigger fin that would allow me to engage more power, and would push back harder....these are not noodles, but I would like more return when I kick harder....I really believe the issue is the size of the fin..for the real increase in propulsion I want, I think I need a bigger fin. I weigh 210 pounds, was a competitive cyclist ( still a cyclist now, still fairly fast) and I do have a lot of muscle mass in my legs....and I would like to be able to use this

If I can't get C4 to make me something, I may even pay force Fin to make something custom--since Bob Evans of Force fin said he would---he had me try a custom force fin freedivng fin about 5 years ago--it was about normal freediving fin length, completely unlike any force fin you have ever seen--it had some problems in the blade angle that made it destoy your straight horizontal vector of motion--making it onworkable--but Bob is now ready to correct this....and to begin custom work again....I would also like a custom C4, about 1.5 times the current length of the mustang, and maybe 15 to 20percent wider...and maybe this at a 40 stiffness rating...

Regards,
Dan
 
aha, I may know where you are coming from. You *may* be wrong in your thinking. what fins did you have before? If they were plastic as mine were you get used to driving them hard, coming up from depth, fighting currents etc. Carbons push equally hard IMHO but you don't get the feeback.

Try this:
dive along with a similarly sized buddy, him on plastic and you on carbon. You will see that you are hardly doing anything but leaving him behind..

just thoughts..
 
I was using the B&W specialfins......I will have to see what happens when diving with my normal dive buddies next time, as you suggest

Regards,
Dan V
 
You're headed in the wrong direction on your fins Dan.

If the 40's are too soft, and you're using them for DIR style diving, then you should look into a pair of Specialfin's Hybrids, or PRO's, in a #4 or #5. They will be stiffer, for your leg power and weight, plus allow for many different styles of kicks. You're already using the B/W, so you know how they kick. The #4/5 will kick the same- only stiffer.

Having anything made by Force Fin was a joke- right??rofl
I used to own a pair of their Tan-delta freediving fins and they sucked!:rcard I could dive deeper with no-fins than I could would those things.:head Thankfully, there are plenty of people on Ebay who seem to like force fins and I got most of my money back for them when I sold them.

I really like my Mustang flap 30's, and may consider investing in a pair of Mustang 81's when they come out- just need to sell off my C4-30's and ICE fins first.

Jon
 
I may well try a pair of the specialfins you suggested....As to force fins, for years I had made an open challenge to any force fin wearing diver, that they could not even keep up with Jimmy Abernethy and me on a cruising pace dive---like 90 feet for 20 minutes....or 60 for 60. a few took me up on the challenge, for the offer of a free dive vacation, none could keep up...a few years go by, I am at DEMA, walking around, Bob Evans ( owner of Force Fins) jumps up from his booth, grabs my shoulder and has his friend take his photo with me -- like we are buddies

I ended up talking to him for quite some time, and he over the next couple of years, he would ask me to test a number of fins. We came to an understanding, that Force fins are aimed at the diving masses, who are NOT fit, and most need a "smaller gear" than a highly fit freediver would want. Also, as most divers are configured like puffer fish, they have no kick and glide anyway...
So Bob then sends me a Force Fin FREEDIVE FIN ( not the tan delta--this has never been released to the public)...it is a big fin, more like what we all use for freediving, but with a few notable differences in design...this had one catastrophic problem, which I went over with him, and he planned on fixing.....he dropped this for several years though, and now is excited about doing it all over again.....It would be NOTHING like Force Fins, as you have ever seen them, and would be aimed at extremely fit freedivers, and have an adjustable flex --you could go from a 25 stiffness to a 50 stiffness in the same scuba dive.

It may be a waste of my time and money, or it may be a huge leap forward---while I hate the idea of the typical Force Fin, Evans passionaltely believes in what he does for "typical" scuba divers, and is now ready to go after "our market"

I figure, with all I have pissed into my boat for diving ( an Express Cruiser) , tech gear, recreational gear, etc, spending money on gettting the PERFECT FIN is a drop in the bucket....And to me, the propulsion part is a huge issue.
Regards,
Dan
 
I figure, with all I have pissed into my boat for diving ( an Express Cruiser) , tech gear, recreational gear, etc, spending money on gettting the PERFECT FIN is a drop in the bucket....And to me, the propulsion part is a huge issue.
Click to expand...


Time to buy a Gavin.

I bought a pair of Force fins when they first came out- back in 82'. I was a skinny kid who cramped up using an extra large pair of rocket fins. Instead of buying a softer pair that would work. The only good thing good I'll say about them is that they work out nice when climbing a ladder when wearing a drysuit and full tech gear. They aren't great to swim with, but they are nice to walk in.

I was so fully disgusted by the last pair of, so called, Freediving Force Fins that I seriously doubt that I would take a chance on another pair- especially when I consider how much they cost me.

Jon
 
I see some of you would like a bigger blade on your fins. Have you tried leaderfins or specialfins? They can customize almost all of their fins. An example is leaderfins carbonstereofins. They have 20x85cm blade and you can choose between 4 levels of stiffness, but they can make the blade stiffer, longer and wider. So if you would like 25x110 they could probably fix that for you I think they can even make the tip of the fin in a different shape if you want to.
 
Before going for a stiffer fins, make sure you use the current ones properly. People often falsely think they need a stiffer fin, because it gives more resistance and feels like propulsing better. The contrary is often the case. The more resistance the fin poses, the more water it usually moves just in the vertical direction, wasting so a bigger part of the energy. For a more efficient propulsion with stiffer fins, you then necessarily need to bend your knees much more than you should, bringing so the blade into the proper working angle. That has a negative impact on the continuity and efficiency of the kick, though.

The best prove for me that soft fins are more efficient than stiffer ones, are top freedivers like for example David Mullins who use the softest ones, despite being very tall, and having very strong legs. David even did many comparative tests with plenty different fins, but came to the conclusion the softer ones are the best for him. Similarly other great record holders use quite soft fins - i.e. Tom Sietas, or Stephane Mifsud.

On the other hand, although softer fins are definitely more efficient for continuous swimming on medium or long distances, the stiffer fins may have indeed an advantage for maneuverability and acceleration. In such cases you usually just need a very stiff blade (even better a solid wooden board) to push off it, and the "correct" and efficient style plays no role at that moment. If you learn, though, accelerating slower, and maneuvering gentler with less effort, you will find that you are much more efficient, spend less energy, make longer distance, and are in fact faster with soft fins than with the stiff ones. It is like learning to drive a car without the excess use of the brake and accelarator pedals - you will drive further, and perhaps even faster, with much lower consumption than an agressively driving freak.

Perhaps if you let someone making a video of yourself when swimming with your C4, and posting it here, we can check it out and tell you if you really need stiffer/longer fins, or if you rather need changing your kicking style.
 
Last edited:
Yes, yes, video. I love it. Please go to the supportforum and support my suggestion of a new "category" here on deeperblue which will be for people who want feedback on their technique caught on tape
 
Once we get rid of all the hurricaines and storms running through South florida now, I will see about having one of my friends video me on a dive. This sounds like an excellent tool, given that there are some very gifted freedivers that can comment on technique here.

Dan V
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…