Speardiver carbon fins roll call

  • One year and I would guess.....200-230 hours in the water...and were hand carried to Philippines and Hawaii. .
    Had the channeling rail cut, probably by a knife while bouncing along in the boat. Replaced it with some material Dan sent. And I TRIED to do it just like Dan explained to me. Well, it's holding very well but I dont' think Dan's going to hire me as a fin technician in his shop.
    I was going to replace the whole rail on that fin but it was too hard to get the old one and all the super glue off so I just took off the torn piece. A video of me unsticking my thumb and index from the super glue would have been appropriate, given the "perfection" in my glue job. hah.
    No worries though. The fins are great.




    Edited once, last by hank ().

  • Dang. Shows these fins will stand up to some use.


    I have been very happy with mine, almost 2 years old now. They aren't that bad, but far from new. When I have gone back to my old cressis for a few drops they feel like bricks.

  • i bought these fins 10 months ago with the pathos pockets and this combination is not even in the same league as any fiberglass/plastic and carbons ive owned before. Super light package and you can tell Dan used the very least amount of epoxy and kept the blade super thin and reactive. one thing is the fin rails came off after a few months. I cant even look at my fiberglass fins and i cringe when i see my Gara's.

  • i used some riffe silent hunters for a while before the speardiver C90 medium stiff i got about a month ago.. the speardivers are way more responsive and way more efficient for me in the distance-per-kick deal. the riffes for me feel heavy and 'lazy'... i can get to the bottom quicker and more efficiently now for longer for bottom time.... bigger fish??? hehe. awesome fins! super stoked..

  • Still loving my Speardiver C90's with picasso footpockets, have lent them to a mate for a few weeks so he can try them out also.


  • Jono is he wearing a shark shield?


    Thats me! Yeah most of the guys I dive with over here wear them. Too many big whites over here, my wife likes the 'added' insurance.


    I figure even if they only work 50% of the time i'm still ahead! :)


    Always fun climbing into the boat without turning them off and zapping everyone holding the grab rails. :laughing::laughing:


    Not so fun when you dive straight down and it lands on your head, i'm used to the feeling now so it doesn't really bother me much.

  • Went for a quick dive today with my old cressi gara's (mate has my c90's) and it felt as though i had bricks on my feet!


    Can't remember the last time my ankles and feet were this sore :@


    I think i must have adjusted my entire diving style now to suit the c90's :cool2:

  • I think i must have adjusted my entire diving style now to suit the c90's :cool2:


    Yes that is a good thing, Dan's Carbons are very reactive, and transfer energy well.


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

  • Got my C100 yesterday and was able to put four hours on them after work. All I can say is wow! These are my first carbons and compared to my cressi gara 3000 fins it reminds me of my first dive with long blade fins. Per Dans advice I got the med-hard blades that I have to say I was worried would be too stiff for me, but after yesterday I think having a blade too weak was worse. No fatigue fighting current on the surface and after shooting a fish at depth I was able to swim the fish to the surface with out feeling like it was going to drowned me. I should have switched years ago! Thanks again Dan I couldn't be happier!!


  • Hey everyone,


    So yesterday I picked up my new Speardiver C90's in (M)edium stiffness and took 'em for a spin. I chose the Picasso Power foot pockets with the retainer knob to avoid having to drill holes for screws near the toe angle. I brought my other fins with me for comparison which are Leaderfins CF with a soft blade stiffness and Hammerhead Kuadal foot pockets. I immediately noticed a difference in the quality and workmanship of these fins and could tell that Dan put a good product together. In the water the Speardiver fins are a lot more reactive and even though they were more stiff than my first set of CF fins they didn't fatigue my legs or cramp my feet at all. The foot pockets fit so well that I was using them without socks for a little. And best of all, when I kicked I could feel the blades springing me forward instead of feeling mushy like my soft Leaderfins.


    Coming from someone who has had the opportunity to use cheaper quality carbon fiber fins for an entire year and really bang them up and put them through their paces I can definitely tell the difference between them and my new Speardiver C90's. Now I understand what others were saying regarding the difference between quality and affordable. Fortunately these fins are both.


    Later,


    Chase

  • Hello everyone,


    I have used the Speardiver blade with Pathos footpockets (3rd generation) since it was Pursuit... I love this combination. I can dive all day and I don't feel pain or cramp. The set is very light and I feel like if I had nothing in my feet! The blade works very well and it is too reactive with good energy transfer.


    Regards,


    Kleberson


  • I run the same combo with the Pathos fireblade pockets, absolutely love them :thumbsup2:

  • That's the combination I wold like to buy. It's a shame Dan doesn't offer the Pathos footpockets because "they don't support the blades".


    Stiff tenoms don't let the carbon blades flex the way they're supposed to.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

  • There are more reasons why I don't offer the shit Pathos foot pockets, other than that they don't provide sufficient support for carbon blades resulting in broken blades. Fins composed of carbon blades in Pathos foot pockets lack backbone, in other words increased stiffness due to support from foot pocket tendons in the back 2/3 of the fin. As a result they feel easy in normal conditions finning with the tip only, but are easily overpowered in current or fighting a big fish, you will find yourself making no progress. To compensate for this others who do offer their carbon blades with Pathos foot pockets make their blades way too stiff overall. You then lose the comfortable action of a nice medium stiffness blade. Due to the very low profile of the Pathos foot pocket tendons the water channeling effect that should start from the toes is reduced resulting in a less stable fin. Also if you enjoy finning with your toes go ahead and get the Pathos. I prefer the power of the fin stroke to be evenly distributed across the bridge of the foot.


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