What fins shall I get

[Vissy]

I have been spearfishing now for 12 months I've have been using beauchat mundial 50 wich are great around the rocks but as I'm progressing I need something a bit longer and give me more power been looking at the seac motus fibrex / cressi gara modular / anyone think these are any good ?

 

[Mr. X]

We briefly had a pair of non-Fibrex Motus fins (too big for my son ). I was impressed by the apparent quality of the fins which were part what had been a bargain "kit".

Do the garas have replaceable blades? Might be worth considering Beuchat & Omersub fins too - their footpockets seem to be something of a standard. C4 perhaps?

 

[Vissy]

Hi mate yes the Garas have replaceable fins read lots of good reviews on them and seem to be much like beauchat fins with the narrow foot wich I have so much choice out there the garas are £64 on decathlon wich I think is a good price .

 

[Okis]

If you getting Garas modulars be aware that the footpockets are very large in size. Im a 42-43 and i had to go for 38-39 for a good fit.

 

[Vissy]

If you getting Garas modulars be aware that the footpockets are very large in size. Im a 42-43 and i had to go for 38-39 for a good fit.

Ok cheers for the heads up I'm a size 9 my beauchats are 43 44 there quite tight with a 5m sock but ok what size do you think would be ok ?

 

[Mr. X]

Hi mate yes the Garas have replaceable fins read lots of good reviews on them and seem to be much like beauchat fins with the narrow foot wich I have so much choice out there the garas are £64 on decathlon wich I think is a good price .

Beuchat footpockets have that reputation but I have wide feet and mine fit great, in fact I like them so much, I bought a second pair last year. I've been using them for more that 10 years.

In cold weather, I wear my fins with neoprene booties (~4mm I think) but on a hot summer days I wear them barefoot because: 1/ my feet swell from increased circulation so I need more room and 2/ I am warm and so don't need socks! In fact it is quite possible to overheat in spearo wetsuit, even in the UK. In both cases (hot & cold) the fit is very good for me.

BTW I find the Euro sizes work best/most consistently for me, so I tend to use that as my guide: I go for size 45 (ideally 45-46). My UK shoe size varies from9.5 to 11 but usually 10.5+ (higher for narrower footwear, e.g. LaSportiva/Nike). My US shoe size is about one size higher than my UK shoe size. I have found that it is better to go a bit larger because you can pad to fit -- but if you go too small you circulation could be dangerously compromised, your feet will get cold and there is nothing you can do to fix it (other than perhaps not wear socks).

 

[Brochman]

I use the Open heel Riffe Silent Hunter blades myself and find they fit my feet well and wether i choose to wear 2mm neoprene socks or 5mm socks then they always fit my feet as they are adjustable. Nothing worse than a fin that does not fit your feet in one way or the other. Fins are like masks they need to fit you right and if they don't then they are not worth buying.

 

[Walter Welsch]

Mr x, how wide are your feet from ball of your foot to lateral side of fifth metatarsal? I'm having trouble finding a wide sole freediving fin and I'm reaching out to others for comparison

 

[Kodama]

I have wide and short feet and like the omer stingray footpocket. They come fairly large and I use 3 mm socks. I wear shoe size 41 and the footpocket size is 41-42. Without socks the footpocket would be too large but I can wear socks up to 5mm during the winter too. Hope this helps.


Sent from the abyss

 

[Walter Welsch]

I looked up my shoe size and it converts to around 47-48 in euro size and my feet are extra wide

 

[Mr. X]

Mr x, how wide are your feet from ball of your foot to lateral side of fifth metatarsal? I'm having trouble finding a wide sole freediving fin and I'm reaching out to others for comparison

11cm. Measuring machines consistently measure my feet to be UK 9.5D but I recently bought:
1. A pair of Clarks shoes size UK 10.5G (= US 11.5M = EU45 = CN 275/2.5), which are an excellent fit, and
2. A pair of Clarks boots size UK 10G = CN 270(2.5), which are a close fitting on width.

I also own 3 pairs of size 11 wellies (EU46), but they all have extra insoles fitted (one or more sets) for improved fit, comfort and warmth, and are always worn with thick socks.

Actually, I have bought boots based on measuring foot length & width measure in cm in the past and it work very well. The "standard sizes" seem to vary wildly (a pet peeve!). However, I find that EU size 45 is normally correct for me - but what that equates to on other scales varies! Why is that? Perhaps something to do with the archaic history and/or manufacturers shoe forms:

"The barleycorn is an old English unit that equates to  1⁄3 inch (8.46 mm). This measure is the basis for current U.K. and U.S. shoe sizes, with the largest shoe size taken as twelve inches (a size 12) and then counting backwards in barleycorn units."

Ref.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_size

So perhaps size 10 = size 12 minus 2 barley corns (i.e. -2/3rds of an inch) ~= 11.33 inches?

 

[SubSub]

If you getting Garas modulars be aware that the footpockets are very large in size. Im a 42-43 and i had to go for 38-39 for a good fit.

I second this. They are not just very large, they are rediculously huge and totally off from anything you'd expect. I'm 43 and got the 40s, and they are still om the large side. I could easily fit into a 39.

 

[Walter Welsch]

So my regular shoe size is a 14 which converts to a 47, so how much smaller should I go for the Garda modulars?

 

[Pawel Dziadura]

If you getting Garas modulars be aware that the footpockets are very large in size. Im a 42-43 and i had to go for 38-39 for a good fit.

Hi there. Are your fingers not poking out too much?? Are you wearing any socks? I'm 42EU and finding 40-41 modulars way too big...

 

[Vissy]

Hi there I've got the garas wish I didn't bother !!! the sizes and fit are rubbish I wear 5 m socks with mine I am looking at carbon fibre fins now

 

[Pawel Dziadura]

Hi there I've got the garas wish I didn't bother !!! the sizes and fit are rubbish I wear 5 m socks with mine I am looking at carbon fibre fins now

Are you suffering the same skinny narrow feet syndrome? Have you tried Mares Razor? Fibreglass/carbon Matrix version should be available soon in Europe, not too expensive either.