The old carbon vs. plastic debate

[0psi]

Hey guys. I've done a bit of searching but can't seem to find an answer so I thought I'd pose the question here.

I'm about to buy a new set of fins and was going to splurge on a set of Skorpio NTT fins as I really like the foot pockets. My major concern with carbon blades is durability especially as I travel a lot and I'm worried about them breaking in transit. So I'm wondering if they are really worth the extra coin over say a C4 Wahoo or Cressi Gara Pro LD? The Wahoos still have the nice foot pocket (which admittedly I've only tried on in a shop) and my last fins were Gara 3000s which I liked.

The Wahoos or Garas would solve my baggage handler fears and leave me with enough money left over for return airfares to Cairns.

A bit of background on me. I really only dive 4 or 5 times a year, mainly on holiday and we spend long days in the water when we do get out. I'm pretty happy diving to 35-40m but can go beyond 50 if there are other free divers around (I usually tag along with scuba divers so it's all very conservative). I'm 176, 65kg and was looking at the 25 stiffness if I were to go down the carbon road.

 

[hteas]

Here's a link with some data on the question

http://forums.deeperblue.com/general-freediving/75390-cheap-fins-expensive.html

 

[cdavis]

If the 25s are similar to c4 25s, that's pretty soft for 35-40 m diving. With good technique, you can do it fine, but too much knee bending and you will so overpower them that you get no thrust. A bit scary trying to ascend from depth.

 

[0psi]

Thanks hteas, I did see that link in my search but didn't think it was that relevant. For pure apnea it makes sense but doesn't really take into account long days in the water. I'd probably be able to get down and up just as quickly with my Mares Volo race as the carbon fins I've just ordered but my legs do feel a bit tired after 8 hours in the water using the Volos.

I ended up ordering the some carbon Skorpio NTTs, you only live once! And I do still have the Volo races that I can use if I'm worried about damaging the carbons. My Volos have taken me past 40m fairly regularly so they can't be that bad!

I did however order the 25 stiffness :headI was working on the theory that the F81 VGR is C4's pure apnea fin so 25 would probably be fine. I've ordered them with spearfishing.de and it looks like they haven't dispatched the order yet so hopefully they can change it to the 30 for me. I do a lot of running and cycling so I have quite strong legs so the 30 would probably be fine. If the 25s are a bit scary coming up from 40m I can't imagine it would be too much fun from 50m!

 

[cdavis]

Many types of spearfishing require immediate torque. A very soft fin is very efficient, but has minimal torque, even with very good technique.

I have used c4 vgr 25s. Absolutely wonderful for reef cruising above 25 meters. Fabulous for long days in the water. But I would not use them for depth or spearfishing. My technique isn't that good and I need a lot of torque for spearfishing with a sling, where the spear is free, no line. I settled on Specialfins kelpie mediums. Not too hard for long days, reasonably efficient and designed to deliver lots of torque when I need it. I think you will be happier with the 30s.

Connor

 

[0psi]

So it turns out they had already shipped my order so I'm stuck with a pair of 25s. Now I've gone from wondering whether to get carbon fins to wondering whether I need 2 pair of carbon fins :t

I'm considering a second pair, do you think it would be worth having a pair of 25s and a pair of 40s or should I just sell the 25s and stick with a pair of 30s?

Keep in mind I'll probably be getting a monofin in the near future as well which would probably be my go to fin for deep dives anyway. I was thinking C4's in a 30 stiffness for photography and general mucking about and the monofin for deeper dives. I can afford to have two carbon fins and a monofin (but only just) but is it worth it?

 

[hteas]

I think you should try the 25s for a while and see what you think of them. Then you can decide how many pairs you need.

 

[cdavis]

Now you got them, use them and decide later. I suspect you will love'em and decide to get another stiffer set later for depth or spearfishing.

 

[0psi]

Fair call, I get a bit excited sometimes I only get solid time in the water once every couple of months so I like to make the most of it. Heading off to Port Stephens in a fortnight for a solid week diving with sharks, can't wait.

 

[Crustyfish]

Hi 0psi

I've just got back from 2 weeks of solid diving in tonga with the exact same setup that you have by the sounds of things. c4 footpockets and ntt 25s. I'm 183cm and 75kg, max depth 30ish.

I progressed to these from plastic fins due to a knee injury that was getting aggravated by diving so softer blades were needed. They are very soft and efficient but did take quite a bit of getting used to at first as it was easy to over-power them with my poor technique. This turned out to be a great help for my diving in slowing me down and improving technique as I'm relatively new to the sport. Once I relaxed into slower dives my bottom time seemed to go up a fair bit too.

I have found that pulling a decent fish up can be awkward due to a lack of power and have just let go of the gun at depth before and relied on the float. this could be a technique failing on my side however.

Travelling was fairly simple as the blades come out of the pockets so quickly it was easy to pack them flat, wrapped in a towel, on the bottom of a hard bag.

I would like to try 30s for deeper work maybe but these blades seem to be great for up to 20 - 25m so far. It does feel like it was slow coming up from 30m but the profile still indicated 0.8 to 1.0m/s ascent speed so thats probably ok.

Cheers

 

[AquaThylacine]

Hi Crusty Fish,

I hope your having a fantastic day

I'm traveling to Tonga at the beginning of August 2014, for 8 weeks. I am taking a variety of fins with me for CW + VW Freediving, as well as spearfishing. I'm also taking a "Lunocet Pro 2014 hydrotouring fin" and a "Lunocet Standard hydrotouring fin" to use while filming Humpback whales for two weeks.

I am really interested to hear which islands you travelled to, where you went diving and what fish you speared. It would be great to know if it is possible to go spearing with locals and if you had a chance to "shore dive"

If you are happy to share, I would be most grateful

Regards,

Aqua Thylacine.

 

[Crustyfish]

Hi AT

I stayed at Matafonua Lodge on Ha'apai and loved it. Darren and Nina are great and the place is very laid back. From everything that I've heard this is probably the best place to go swimming with the whales as there are no where as many boats as on the other island. (Vavau I think). Nina is also a pastry chef so the deserts are legendary! And as luck would have it the rest of the food is great and the beer cold, so all boxes ticked there.

The bad news is that they were more or less wiped out by a cyclone in January so I'm not sure how far along the rebuilding is, although they did manage to get the boats into a safe harbour from memory. On the flip side, if they are up and running then any business that is going their way will also be helping to rebuild the local village etc, as they are very proactive in supporting the local community too.

Spearfishing over there in whale season is not really worth the effort as all boats are working on the whales, the locals hammer everything from the shore as that's their main food source, and you obviously cant spear on the dive sites. I gave up in the end and just tagged along on the scuba boats everyday and had some fantastic diving on a huge range of sites. There are so many swim throughs, cave systems and crystal clear water that this wasn't really any sort of hardship at all.

I've been following the Lunocet thread too so hope things go well with the new mono in Tonga as well. Hopefully I will have one by the end of the year as they actually sound like a good option now, from both a performance and practicality perspective.

Hope this helps in some way

Crusty

 

[HLanger1955]

Hey guys. I've done a bit of searching but can't seem to find an answer so I thought I'd pose the question here.

I'm about to buy a new set of fins and was going to splurge on a set of Skorpio NTT fins as I really like the foot pockets. My major concern with carbon blades is durability especially as I travel a lot and I'm worried about them breaking in transit. So I'm wondering if they are really worth the extra coin over say a C4 Wahoo or Cressi Gara Pro LD? The Wahoos still have the nice foot pocket (which admittedly I've only tried on in a shop) and my last fins were Gara 3000s which I liked.

The Wahoos or Garas would solve my baggage handler fears and leave me with enough money left over for return airfares to Cairns.

A bit of background on me. I really only dive 4 or 5 times a year, mainly on holiday and we spend long days in the water when we do get out. I'm pretty happy diving to 35-40m but can go beyond 50 if there are other free divers around (I usually tag along with scuba divers so it's all very conservative). I'm 176, 65kg and was looking at the 25 stiffness if I were to go down the carbon road.

When I passed from the Cressi Gara 3000 (which I like) to the C4 Falcon (soft) the difference was amazing. I do prefer soft fins (I'm 176/65 like you), now I got a mono (carbon, rather soft again). I move more smoothly and have definetely more fun. Down to 30-35 m I don'f fatigue during the ascend..