fins

[FreediveWI]

Speaking of fins,

I was sent a few pairs to demo and write up. They come from a company in Estonia, the same one that made my custom monofin. They will be available to try out at Freedive-A-Palooza later on this summer.

The fin on the left is called the Kelpie. It is a vacuum molded fiberglass Spearfishing fin, hence the camo coloring, and comes in 4 different stiffness levels- this pair is a medium. It sells for around $273 us.

The one in the middle is my trusty old pair of C4-40's. They are made in Italy by a carbon fiber Racing bike manufacturer. They come in 4 different lengths and stiffness levels. They are my favorite fins by far and cost me more than I'd care to admit- since I had to have them shipped from Europe. Nowadays you can buy them at Deep Blue, in Milwaukee, for about $100 less than I paid for them a year and half ago.

The one on the right is also from Estonia and is called the Classic. It sells for around $140 US, and is vacuum molded fiberglass. The reason it is so much cheaper than the Kelpie's is because it’s a straight blade and is made without the bend in the blade that the other two fins have.

All of these fins come without foot pockets- those are extra. The reason for this is so you can get the exact kind of foot pocket that you want- OMER, Sporasub, or Spetton. It also allows you to switch in-between foot pockets for summer, barefoot, diving and winter, 6mm sock, diving.

The technology that goes into Freediving fins rivals that of any pair of skis, or golf club, that you will ever see. SCUBA fins don't have, or really need, this kind of detail because dives move so much slowely through the water.

The one thing you will never see on a Freediving fin is a split of any sort as they waste too much energy. If you don't believe me just try to play underwater hockey in a pair!

Jon