Well after a long wait the verdict is in. The new fiberplastic power blades from waterway absolutely rock! Okay it was an extremely long and painful wait but a couple of people came through for me and I got my footpockets. Actually I have one set on the blades and another that is supposedly in transit.
First off, I was drooling over how reactive the blades were on dry land. The would snap back instantly. I could practicaly bend the fins onto itself. There is absolutely no comparison between the Cressi HF and Waterway in so far as snap. The Cressi seemed dead as compared to the Waterway.
Installation was pretty easy. I needed to trim off part of the rubber side stabilizers on the blade to get it to fit into the ribs of the footpocket. No big deal. A sharp knife did the job nicely. I trimmed the rubber down until the end of the ribs. After drilling holes and screwing them in and getting the blades into the ribs I noticed that the clamp on the end of the ribs don't clamp too well. I chose to drill a couple of hole through the blades next to the end of the rib and use a small zip tie to keep it on snug. I did this on both sides of both fins and so far so good.
The first water test was just a simple swim. It was getting late so I drove down to a beach and jumped in with no suit; just the fins, mask and snorkel. Now I had heard that I might have to alter my kicking cylce because these blades are so reactive so after my first five kicks I thought this was going to be the case. It felt like my feet were lifting out of the water with every stroke. I decided to look at my feet while swimming forward. Hey wait a minute, my feet are still underwater. What is up with that feeling? After looking at the end of my down stroke, I noticed that these fins would flex nicely then snap back like crazy. Mucho mucho power brah! I surface swam for a wile and then did a few dynamic apneas just to see how they felt. Awesome brah! The combination of OMER footpocket and waterway blade had me smiling. Very comfortable, smooth and powerful.
The next couple of dive trips pushed me to around 50 feet max. Easy dives and the fins performed very well. I can attest to the durability as I am very tough on my gear but these fins are taking the abuse. I want to and will try these bad boys out in deep water when I get the opportunity and report back. One thing that I did notice was that despite being warned about their stiffness, I can still overpower these fins. It was suggested that I go with the #2 which I did. Don't get me wrong, these fins are crazy, I just need something a little stiffer. I will probably order a #3 when I have some extra cash.
Would I recommend these fins? Oh yeah! Seeing that they come in 5 different stiffness, there is one out there that can accomodate pretty much any diver. Those that like soft fins, stick to the #1 or 2. Guys like me who like theirs a little stiff would be better off with a #3 or 4. For those guys with tree trunk legs and elephant ankles, #4 or 5. In any case, the fiberblades rock! They are just as reactive as advertised and so far are pretty durable.
Brad
First off, I was drooling over how reactive the blades were on dry land. The would snap back instantly. I could practicaly bend the fins onto itself. There is absolutely no comparison between the Cressi HF and Waterway in so far as snap. The Cressi seemed dead as compared to the Waterway.
Installation was pretty easy. I needed to trim off part of the rubber side stabilizers on the blade to get it to fit into the ribs of the footpocket. No big deal. A sharp knife did the job nicely. I trimmed the rubber down until the end of the ribs. After drilling holes and screwing them in and getting the blades into the ribs I noticed that the clamp on the end of the ribs don't clamp too well. I chose to drill a couple of hole through the blades next to the end of the rib and use a small zip tie to keep it on snug. I did this on both sides of both fins and so far so good.
The first water test was just a simple swim. It was getting late so I drove down to a beach and jumped in with no suit; just the fins, mask and snorkel. Now I had heard that I might have to alter my kicking cylce because these blades are so reactive so after my first five kicks I thought this was going to be the case. It felt like my feet were lifting out of the water with every stroke. I decided to look at my feet while swimming forward. Hey wait a minute, my feet are still underwater. What is up with that feeling? After looking at the end of my down stroke, I noticed that these fins would flex nicely then snap back like crazy. Mucho mucho power brah! I surface swam for a wile and then did a few dynamic apneas just to see how they felt. Awesome brah! The combination of OMER footpocket and waterway blade had me smiling. Very comfortable, smooth and powerful.
The next couple of dive trips pushed me to around 50 feet max. Easy dives and the fins performed very well. I can attest to the durability as I am very tough on my gear but these fins are taking the abuse. I want to and will try these bad boys out in deep water when I get the opportunity and report back. One thing that I did notice was that despite being warned about their stiffness, I can still overpower these fins. It was suggested that I go with the #2 which I did. Don't get me wrong, these fins are crazy, I just need something a little stiffer. I will probably order a #3 when I have some extra cash.
Would I recommend these fins? Oh yeah! Seeing that they come in 5 different stiffness, there is one out there that can accomodate pretty much any diver. Those that like soft fins, stick to the #1 or 2. Guys like me who like theirs a little stiff would be better off with a #3 or 4. For those guys with tree trunk legs and elephant ankles, #4 or 5. In any case, the fiberblades rock! They are just as reactive as advertised and so far are pretty durable.
Brad