Which C4's do I go for??? help

[dave371]

Hi, just wanted some advice on buying some new fins....I currently use cressi Gara 3000s for freediving, but I would like to get myself some C4 carbon fins, as I have just moved to cyprus and will be diving alot more. I probably won't be going much deeper than 30m, but never say never. I weigh 72kg.
Any help would be appreciated....I assume I would go for the 30 stiffness???
Cheers
Dave.

 

[CarbonCod]

Nice move. I am a big fan of carbon fins. Moving from the Cressi 3000 will be awesome for you.

I own a pair of C4 Falcon 40 and they are pretty stiff. I would have gone for the 30 also.
The 15 is very soft. I would not recommend that. Unless you really know why you would want that soft fins.

The 30's are perfect in my opinion. Go for it.

 

[Dennis77]

I own a pair of C4 81 VGR. For my needs; perfect. If you like softer fins go for them. PS: I have the same wheight as you.

 

[Ross M]

Hi Dave

I went through the same decision as you and after a lot of research on these forums I went for C4 Falcon 25s with Omer Millenium footpockets. I think I made the right decision. Had been using good old Gara 2000 HFs, which are still probably better for dynamics in the pool, but for going down and up in the sea the C4s are so much nicer. They are very comfortable (I use 3mm socks) and feel effortless.

I'm told the decision on stiffness can depend on weight, whether you have a relaxed dive style, etc, so it's hard to say what will be best for each individual. Also some people prefer the feeling of thrust at depth.

I can tell you that I'm the same weight as you and use them on regular trips to the Red Sea, where we make multiple dives all day in the 15-30 m range. (Not sure how they perform below that) so I guess I'm interested in comfort rather than outright thrust. You can check out how the fins work in a bit of footage I put up on YouTube to share with my friends:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwSXZQBT9gY]YouTube - Freedive Fun III part 1[/ame]

Once you get past my friend's monofin (Special fins Carbon fibre), you'll see the C4s and my other friend using Gara 3000LDs. My friend who monofins also bought C4 30s and finds them too stiff. He also has Gara 3000LDs, which both my friends think are great, though when he tried my C4 25s he thought they were better.

Without a chance to try these expensive fins it's certainly worth doing a search on these forums. I did that and pieced together the views from people diving in a similar way to me. Hope this helps.

Cheers

Ross

 

[dave371]

CarbonCod, thanks for your help, think the 40's would definitely be too stiff for me.
Would love your fins dennis, but don't really want to spend that much money on my first pair of cf's.
Ross, your reply really helped me with my decision, thanks for putting so much time into it, I checked out the red sea stuff too, nice footage.
I currently use the Gara3000HFs, so I'm inclined to think that I would be better off with the Falcon 30's?? its a difficult one as you can't really try them out before you buy. I have tried a friends 3000LD's, and found them a little too soft, so hopefully I will make the right decision....think I'll try the LD's once more just to be sure.

Thanks again for your time
Dave.