opinion on the best carbon fibre fins to buy

[nz676]

im looking for a set of carbon fiber fins and im curious who makes the higher end.im looking at c4,mifsuds,mares and a handful of others they,have to be comfortable for long surface swims ,dynamic and spearfishing. ive seen several carbon fibre blades with a break at the toe or in the middle at at the apex of the bend so im trying to figure out if this is common for carbon fibre or just old.

 

[DafyddRees]

Are Spierre in your list mate?

 

[Claudio]

A few years ago I took a long look at the available carbon fins and ended up opting for C4. The company has been in the market for the longest, are known for their quality, and are constantly investing on their line by coming up with new models.

Also, the US representative for C4 -- Technosport, Inc. -- is known to provide top notch customer service and will take care of you if something happens to your blades down the line.

If you are looking for higher end, I recommend you to take a look at their Mustang models with T700 carbon fiber. I have the Fuegos 30, which I use for spearfishing, and love them. I also have the Mustangs 40s but don't use them as often as they are too hard for long spearfishing sessions.

Hope this helps.

Claudio

 

[Jon]

I've had a few pairs of carbon fins so far, and even snapped a fin or two, but have never had a single issue with any of the C4's that I have owned.

They are simply the best bi-fins that I've ever used/owned. My current favorites are the Mustang's. I have the Flap-30's, but would buy the T-700's if I were getting new fins today- they weren't out when I bought mine.

The Mustang footpockets are the most comfortable footpockets I've used to date. They can be laced up in different ways so that I can use anything from 2mm socks to 6mm socks. The blade angle is great for surfaced swimming- much more pronounced than with my other bi-fins.

Jon

 

[nz676]

yeah i was leaning to c4 what threw me off was the foot pockets and the square blade design,the t-700 are gonna go to the top of the list. ive never heard of spierre do you have experience with them?in comparision how much of a difference will i notice to a fiberglass compasite that i use now?also jon is the t-700 the type of carbon fibre used or is i the name of the fin its self as the mustang vgr use a T-700 carbon fibre

 

[nz676]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiZkTO9kdKo]YouTube - C4 carbon fin destruction test[/ame] this is helping me make up my mind

 

[DivingDane]

ALLL C4 Carbon "Carbon" fins are made from t700 now as it is the type of carbon they use (highest grade suitable for fins as far as i am aware) the models are as follows:

Fuego VGR 25 (soft)
Fuego VGR 30 (medium)
Fuego VGR 40 (Hard)

then the Mustang VGR series in the same stiffness levels, these are the ones with the flap at the end (square)

then the Mustang 3 which is slightlyb longer ithink and has a different bend curve and a slighlty more rounded flap design,

then FINALLY the MIGHTY C4 1's which are the longet fin they produce and deigned specifically for freediving. i have used them spearing and they are OK.

Depending on your build and fins stiffness preference and the fact that you are surface swimming as well as spearing i would go for the MUSTANG VGR in either 25 or 30 stiffness.

i prefer soft fins so i likie the 25's.

another option which will be interesting is the OMER Stingray Carbon being released soon, VERY soft comfortable footpocket, lots of angle in the blade and pocket and i think will become one of the better Carbon spearfishing fins on the market.

you will notice some inprovement from your Glass fins to the Carbon but its not going to magically increase your depth by 10m or anything like that, you will have to change your kick a bit as the fins are more efficient at transfuring energy so you wont have to work as hard. the biggest thing you will notice is that the effort required to cruise along is MUCH less in general and you will have more response for the turn etc.

Hope that Helps.

DD

 

[Jon]

One of the biggest differences I noticed in going from plastic to carbon fins is that they don't change stiffness on you when the water change temperature- or freezes over altogether. My plastic fins would be super stiff in the winter and complete noodles down in the islands.

I vote for softer fins too. I have 30's, but a pair of 25's, in a Mustang, would be sweet.

 

[DivingDane]

yea plastic changes hardness with temp thats for sure! glass and Carbon not so (i guess eventually at extreme temp there would eb some difference but i dont think we would be functional at those temps so not really an issue! hahahaha

yep i like the softer fins hense the 81's, really are the nicest bifins i own and i own a couple! i just really fin myself more and more drawn to mono now than anything else! so the bifins only come out for safety diving and spearing now.

DD

 

[Will]

Best carbon fibre fins I have ever tested (and Umberto Pelizzari agrees) are Merou

You can buy the blades individually and mount them in the foot pockets of your choice (I use Beuchat).

 

[nz676]

i just love the feel of bi-fins not sure why guess cause thats what i use the most i feel kinda trapped by a mono fin guess cause im not used to it.i also compete in line diving/ballast so i want them in the middle so i gues 30's would be good how about for dynamic?as i have regular pool sessions .i have noticed how stiff the fins are compared to summer as the water is now 0 degrees they get harder and less responsive

 

[nz676]

even in english the description is still in italian will have you used both c4 and these merou

 

[DivingDane]

you want have the stiffness change with Carbon fins like you do with plastic.

most of the deeper guys using Bifins are moving towards softer fins (Dave Mullins) would be one of the deepest deeper bifin divers around and uses quite soft blades for as far as i am concerend unspeakable depths. but if you like the extra grunt then 30's are the way to go.

Never seen the Mereu blades before! look nice, this is the first i have heard of them.

Having a recomendation from Will and agreement from Umberto carries some serious wheight though1 i'm Pretty sure back in the day Umberto was sponsored by C4 so he as plenty of experience with the early models (not sure about the latest ones).

Will how much were the mereu blades and where did you find them?

DD

 

[Will]

I bought them direct from the factory in Naples when I was there. I have tried C4s, but these are superior, and Umberto said the same thing.

 

[spaghetti]

indeed Umberto Pelizzari was one of the first users of carbon blades made by C4, but that was 19 years ago, while the new C4 T700 blades have been on the market for only 19 months now.
I don't know if Will and Umberto have tried the newer C4 type T700 and wether they liked them or not, but as a matter of fact everyone says the T700 are so much better than the previous C4 models.

As a proud italian, I'm happy to see Merou highlighted here on DB: it's not among the most famous companies, but they've been working with carbon fiber for more than a decade and are well regarded for high quality products.

You can buy Merou products directly from factory (in Naples Italy, not Naples Florida). Carbon blades are out for only 200 Euro a pair+shipping. You may check here: Merou - Passione profonda. Click on the "downloads" button on the left of the homepage, then select "Listini" (price lists), and scroll down to Pale in carbonio (carbon blades) and you will realize that the price is actually 200 Euro, one of the best bargains you can find for a pair of quality CF blades.
In North America the Merou products are distributed by Hammerhead (or at least they used to till recently) and I remember reading somewhere that they also have a partnership in Australia with Edge company.
Hope this helps and no, I'm not self promoting myself for any salesman position...

 

[DivingDane]

Edge in AUtralia is only buying the Mereu handles which they use to produce their own kindof miz and match railgun,

Handles from Mereu, barrels in australia, muzzles australia, spears south Africa, Dyneema south africa etc.

not a bad gun, really just another railgun, following the same path as RA, ORCA etc.

have a bit of a cult following amongst a small diving group (the owner is a very likable guy and sells direct to public) so he gets the "under dog vote from alot of people.

good work horse equipment, but doesnt have the refinement in design of the european offerings, OMER, CRESSI, Sporasub, Demka etc.

DD

 

[nz676]

yeah im really reasearching both companies now i like the fact that the c4 have the adjustable foot pocket as the water here is 0 dergees and the air is in the -5 so 6mm is nice as summer the temp is more like 17.but spag sold the hell out of those merou blades be nice to be able to test a pair but kinda have to buy sight unseen and at 200 euro that is a very good deal thanks for all the help.

 

[salibandy]

I would love to get my hands on a pair of Merou blades, but I wonder how? Don't seem to have an option to order online though.

Bjorn, still haven't found a nice mono to buy yet. Gotta stick to my mono, or buy a pair of carbons.

 

[DivingDane]

yep working with a couple of guys in Australia, to organise a buy of Rocketfins i think. still nice to have a set of bifins for recreational diving and for saftying, mind you dont really need carbon for that! depends on what you want the fins for if it is shallow diving (less than 30m) then no real need for anything remarkable, especially seeing as you already have a nice wave like mono! just something comfortable and nice to use, read soft for recreational swimming, like normal Stingrays i think are a great all round fin, maybe if you wanna blow some cash the stingray carbons when they arrive in a couple of months.

DD

 

[Spear0Joe]

The best spearfishing fins I have ever tried are Fisher Powerblades from new zealand they are long but have a lovely action, unfortunately one snapped across the screws like my C4 40's! I have a fibreglass patch on it but yet to try it, no doubt nothing like it used to be.