Posts by jdv

Rain-X only prevents water from forming beads which 'stick'. On cars it works really well because it uses the wind created by movement to move the water off the wind shield as the beads now have less cohesion force to the glass (forms a fatty layer on the glass). A lot of UW photographers apply Rain-X to their wider domes to take surface shots without the annoying droplets 'sticking' to it when you lift it clear of the water.

It would do very little to prevent fogging. Best thing is to buy some proper antifog drops and apply it a max of 2 times when the mask is new (some new masks have a chemical layer which causes fogging), after that the best thing you could use is spit

One more tip: Do not EVER apply toothpaste to 'plastic' lenses (such as the Sphera), it works as an abrasive to remove this layer which is fine on glass but you scratch anything else.

oh and one last tip as we're discussing Rain-X: I used Rain-x on my cars windshield once and because it forms a fatty layer it tends to collect crazy amounts of filth after the first week of application. Took a few washes to remove...never again:)

Thanks Reefchief! Unfortunately not, unless you are a Bedouin you're not even allowed to fish here...

Freediving The Caves - with Linda Paganelli & Stefan Randig - YouTube

Video of Record Freedivers Linda Paganelli and Stefan Randig freediving 'The Caves' just south of Dahab, Egypt.

Be sure to watch it in full HD :thumbsup2:

Wishihadgills got it exactly right...kind of makes you wonder who was checking lanyards...

She took it really well though...and the first video shows it:)

At the prize ceremony afterwards they were playing this video on a big screen on loop along with some other highlights and people kept cheering every time it came one:P Linda Paganelli took some footage of this being shown and every two seconds as this clip is playing you see Sara jumping up and down and running left and right in frame (in front of the screen), hilarious...

WOW..this thread has evolved way beyond the answers I was going to give:P
This was going to be my response...bit late but hey:

Fishon>

“JDV eluded to the fact that comfort is quite variable depending on the individual”

Not quite...

I did actually say

“At first I was very impressed with how comfortable they [...]The only thing which initially caused me some discomfort was the two little ‘horns’ on the back of the pocket. I never got completely used to them but it might be due to the shape of my feet as I’m sure many other divers don’t feel them at all.

So did say that it might be ‘just me’

As for the ribs:

Up until the point where I posted this review I had no idea that other companies were ‘rebranding’ the same product elsewhere until Dan brought it to my attention (for example your version the ‘Delta Ones’) Keep in mind that my review was for the Salvimar 4One...even though they might have the same mould, I have no idea what rubber compound is used for either brand and the stiffness might even vary greatly, something I cannot know unless I try both brands.

I do however stick to my statement that thicker rails = a lack in the intended ‘return’ or ‘snappiness’ of the blade as wishihadgills calls it. His argument pretty much matches what I have come to know but just to reiterate my test was quite simple and the results were very clear: The same blade in two different footpockets performed drastically different...the only thing which the added stiffness in performance could be prescribed to was the thickness (and stiffness) of the ribs.

As for what I’ve used: Pretty much all the brands you named and then some (C4’s mustang pockets, Leaderfins etc) and being a full time Freedive Instructor in one of the world’s most well respected Freedive Centres I’ve developed quite a good feel for their differences, plus points and flaws.

Also completely agree with wishihadgills comment: “its not so much that the heavier pockets are "too heavy" and more that the ultra light ones are reaalllllyyyy nice.”

Final comment was that the main point of my review was to bring potential buyers attention to the poor manufacturing quality of the Salvimar 4One (and this was not based on a single pair). If ‘Delta Ones’ do it better, then good for them...but based on what Dan has showed I doubt they are that much different

Dan AWESOME trial there with the Desaults hehe Would love to hear what they felt like...
Do those Pursuit suits come in both 3mm & 5mm? Looks awesome...

Thanks guys.

O2 deprived> thanks for the link, have to mention it was Linda writing that one though

Awesome discussion guys, sorry for only responding now (been in the water for a few days:). Will take the time to read it all before responding...

Thanks

Jacques

Sara Campbell 104 Constant Weight | Jacques de Vos

I was lucky enough to be there (and to assist) when Sara Campbell did her 104 meter dive with us before heading to Kalamata for the world champs. This is the resulting video I made of the dive... The full story can be viewed here (including what happened to her in Greece):

Sara Campbell - 104 Meters Blog - Full Story... | Jacques de Vos

Be sure to watch it in HD and enjoy:)

Thanks Dan!

I was shocked to learn that others were just re-branding the same junk...its incredible how companies manage to pawn off something of such a low standard at such a high price.

Will keep posting reviews on all the equipment we use here..

These two footpockets are currently high in demand and considered by many to be two of the best currently on the market. Having now used both of them I felt I'd share my experience...the reviews are based on my own experience as a Freedive Instructor/judge (Full time:) ) where I use equipment on a daily basis for everything from my own deep dives, instructing, freedive photography and videography and working as a safety diver in our competitions. Hope it helps give some informative information to assist other divers in deciding...:)

Salvimar 4One Footpocket Review
By Jacques de Vos | Published Jan 17/2012

This review is aimed at competitive and recreational Freedivers (deep diving).
Some time ago I did some research to find the best footpockets for a pair of newly acquired carbon blades and although there are quite a few options available on the market, my search was finally narrowed down to two brands. Presently considered amongst many to be the best on the market, the two options were the Salvimar 4One footpocket and the Pathos Fireblade footpocket – which I discussed in a previous review.

As a full time Freedive Instructor and Freedive Photographer and Videographer I needed something which would be good as an all round footpocket even when doing deeper dives myself. I managed to get some very honest answers from a well known online dive store (from whom I eventually ordered the 4One’s) as they stocked both pairs at roughly the same price. Here is the original email concerning the Salvi 4One’s (the sender is Bulgarian, hence the poor English):

“Hey, Jacques…

The Salvi is a heavier but much more comfortable footpocket. It’s perfect for student dives at 30m as well as depths and deeper. It’s as soft as the fireblade if not softer. The angle is more or less the same and the pocket could be fitted to any blade.

Note that the groove on the ribs is wider (like on OMER). When mounting you glue a separate thin rib on the blade. After that you fit the Salvi with just few drops of glue. When you change the blade you can remove the footpocket without destroying it, which makes it reusable! And this is very important I believe!

my recommendation as of this moment is – Salvi, because:
- it’s good for dives to 30m.
- it’s more comfortable
- it’s reusable!

Regards”


As my blades were already drilled and I never used to be a fan of gluing blades into footpockets (that has changed), I settled on the slightly heavier Salvimar footpocket…

The Review:

I would never have guessed it but mounting the blades turned out to be a nightmare…the rails on my blades were not big enough (although they were the standard rubber profile attached to most blades) to fill the MASSIVE rail cavity in the ribs of the footpocket. The guys at the Dive store were not kidding, the groove was more like a canyon! Definitely much wider than the OMER footpockets and the ‘entry’ to the cavity measures 5mm with the actual rail section inside being almost double.

Having mounted a few blades before using Sikaflex (if memory serves me right 291 – marine grade ) as it is easy to disassemble if needed, I opted to ‘glue’ the rails into the footpocket to make it fit snugly. The part of the footpocket where the ‘tongue’ of the blade enters the footpocket also needed A LOT of padding as the groove was as wide as the rib groove and the footpocket would have way to much ‘play’ while diving which would surely result in a break.

Sikaflex is nasty, nasty stuff…no matter how cleanly you try to work you usually end up with hands so black it looks like you strangled a roughneck on an oil rig…only difference is you can wash off oil, Sikaflex on the other hand can take days to remove (quick hint: forget soap…just wait for it to dry and spend your time picking it off). The curing time is also something ridiculous so I usually leave the glued and very well taped blades to stand for at least 3 days before even considering using them.

A very important note: If your blades are not secured in the footpocket, meaning the tongue of the blade which slides into the footpocket has too much room for movement (or ‘play’) especially at the point where they flex, the blade could potentially snap due to the stress caused by lack of support beyond the point of attachment.

SO

Finally I get to start using the blades in their newly fitted Salvimar 4One footpockets and here are the results:

At first I was very impressed with how comfortable they felt especially considering they were not the lightest footpockets I’ve ever worn. I tend to dive without socks and was very happy at how comfortably the footpockets fit. The only thing which initially caused me some discomfort was the two little ‘horns’ on the back of the pocket. I never got completely used to them but it might be due to the shape of my feet as I’m sure many other divers don’t feel them at all.

Pros:

• Quite light (although nowhere near as light as the Pathos Fireblade)

• Comfortable fit and quite soft

• Lots of reinforcement across the bridge of the foot to optimise power transfer into the blades

• VERY well finished (they look beautiful straight out the box with no apparent (keyword!) defects or blemishes

• Nice angle (as stated in the email) which is ideal for deeper dives – nice angle during freefall section of a deep dive.

Cons:

• The rib grooves are far too wide…actually ridiculously wide.

• ‘Horns’ on the heel seems to serve to practical function and causes discomfort when diving

• Worked well when not wearing socks (apart from the fact mentioned beforehand)

• The Ribs are too thick – This results in a reduction of the intended blade flex characteristics and performance as the thick ribs acts like struts and reduces the ability of the blade to flex the way it they were intended to by the manufacturer. With soft blades they essentially cause them to feel stiffer…(see the review for the Pathos footpockets for more information on this)

And then…

After a month of use they started to become undone…literally!
Quite soon after I started using them I started feeling something irritating my foot and sticking my finger inside, all I could feel was a bump and some sort of ‘grassy substance’.

Soon I started noticing something resembling a thread starting to appear on the outside of the footpocket (where no friction occurs) and with every dive it became more and more visible. I realised that the thread I was seeing on the outside was somehow connected to what it was I was feeling inside the footpocket.

For some or other reason the rubber compound of these footpockets contain some sort of threadlike substance – perhaps to increase strength?…who knows, but there seems to be no logical planning into how it is distributed. My first impression was that it was a piece of string that fell into the rubber mould (its that bad!) leading to a defect footpocket, until we started inspecting a new pair and found the same thing right underneath the surface of the rubber. The only problem is that there seems to be no logical assembly to these threads and this was later confirmed by comparing other pairs of brand new Salvi 4One’s, where when viewed closely a line shaped protrusion is clearly visible in certain areas of the footpocket (in particular around the bridge of the foot) and as mentioned before they never seem to be in the same place.

I was very disappointed in the short time it took for the footpockets to start disintegrating to the point where it was too uncomfortable to dive without socks and it was clear that the largest of the threads would eventually lead to a tear right through the side of the footpocket. The first thing I did was to contact the seller for an exchange which ultimately led to my first pair of Pathos Fireblade Footpockets which was brought to me from Greece.

Searching the internet I have found very few reviews on the 4One’s as most people tend to discuss them quite vaguely (talking about comfort and weight only). I hope this review will help future buyers to inspect their 4One’s closely before paying the ridiculously high prices they sell for or if you have already invested in a pair, to at least to check them closely for any defects. The more people bring this major defect to Salvimar’s attention the more likely they are to improve the quality of their product.

Final Thought

I would be very reluctant to recommend Salvimar’s 4One to anyone wanting to use them for deep diving and as my previous review of the Pathos Fibreblade has shown the Pathos footpocket is superior in both performance and quality. Given the fact that they are roughly in the same price range its really not that hard to pick one.

Pathos Fireblade Review
By Jacques de Vos | Published Jan 17/2012

This review is aimed at recreational and competitive Freedivers (deep diving):
After a disappointing run with my previous footpockets (Salvimar 4One – a review to follow), I decided to go for the other current favourite among spearos and freedivers…the Pathos Fireblade.

Before purchasing these footpockets I sent an email to a well known online dive store from whom I purchased my Salvi 4One’s, to ask how the Pathos compares to the Salvi footpocket.
The person helping me is a very accomplished Greek spearo and the response I received was the following:

“Hi Jacques

here’s some more info regarding the footpockets.
The Fireblade is made with an angle. I haven’t measure it but I believe it’s 22 degrees. The footpocket is very soft so it would fit any blade from 15 to 26 and more. It is made with performance in mind and is preferred for dives under 30m of depth because it’s lighter. However the comfort is reduced. It’s usable with 3mm socks without any problem. With 5mm socks it’s getting just a bit uncomfortable but nothing to worry about. When I say uncomfortable I mean it compared to other brands. If you get OMER, the Fireblade is much more comfortable due to its softness… Compared to Salvimar though it’s just a bit less comfortable since the Salvi has a better pocket.
Here’s one thing that is very important – the groove on the footpocket is thinner to fit the blade directly. Therefore you have to glue the pocket directly. This means you can use the Fireblade only once! If you can’t change the blade without destroying the pocket!

Regards”

I decided that I would give it a shot and had Linda Paganelli bring me a pair from Greece…

I’m writing this review after six months of full time use of the Pathos footpockets on carbon blades, using them for everything from daily instructing, my own deep dives, freedive photography and videography to safety dives in competitions. Therefore I can truly say I’ve put them through their paces and the review is based on multiple hundreds of dives under different conditions.

1. They are SERIOUSLY Light

This is probably one of the first things which come up in any conversation when discussing these footpockets and the reason it does is because it is so true it’s awesome. The weight compared to other footpockets is so huge in difference that the feather light weight of the Pathos on my Carbon blades makes it feel like I’m holding a sheet of paper (ok, not quite…but it’s really light). A single 42-44 size Pathos Fireblade footpocket weighs an incredible 390 grams! Does this matter…yes! Having a decent blade setup combined with feather light footpockets on deep dives makes a world of difference…like having the thrust of fins while feeling like there is nothing on your feet!

2. They ARE comfortable

In the email sent to me (above) it was said that these footpockets would be less comfortable than the Salvimar 4One’s…I disagree completely!

I do all of my diving in Dahab without socks and this is how I’ve been using my Pathos Fireblades. They are super comfortable and also soft but not so soft as to lose any power. An important point to make is that Salvimar loves to advertise the ‘power band’ over the bridge of the foot on their 4One’s. Incidentally the Pathos Fireblades have exactly the same feature, it’s just not made as obvious. The Salvimar 4One’s have some reinforcement in this area and it is ‘visible’ to the wearer by the ribbed shape banding on the surface of the footpocket (purely aesthetic and great to bring this feature to your attention). Pathos has a similar band of reinforcement over the same area but it is not visible when looking at the footpockets in store (smooth, clean surface), but it is however visible when viewing them underwater. As the rubber gets wet (and discolours) you can clearly see a different colour banding across the bridge of the foot…more importantly you can feel it as a thicker less flexible part over the bridge, even when using your fingers.

3. The most important part…Ribs

When blade manufacturers produces a blade they do so with very particular specifications in the sense that a blade is designed to flex a certain way, bend at a certain point and be able to have a particular ‘return’ (the speed at which the blade snaps to its neutral position after being flexed).

So many people spend hundreds of dollars/Euros on fancy blades and then deprive them of all their awesome features by sticking them into the wrong footpockets. The biggest problem:

The width of the ribs…(the two extensions which mount to the sides of the blade)

Its quite easy to understand, have a look at the comparison between the width of the Pathos Fireblade ribs and the Salvimar 4One ribs:

Due to the MUCH thicker ribs on most footpockets (like the Salvimar 4Ones), the blade is unable to flex at the point where they fit into the footpocket with the efficiency they were intended to. This has the biggest effect on softer to medium stiffness blades as you can have the softest blades in the world, but if you stick them in a footpocket with ribs the width of your wrist they just won’t perform the way they should. You end up with the majority of the blade flex occurring at the point where the footpocket ribs end.

The Pathos ribs are so narrow (hence the statement in the email which almost sounded like it was a matter of concern) that they allow the blade to function at is optimum specs. I have always been aware of this fact but recently it was proven quite efficiently when someone using a pair of carbon blades similar to mine (I designed the blades so the specs were identical) had them mounted in a pair of OMER footpockets. Trying his fins and comparing it to mine was shocking…even though its exactly the same blades it felt like they were 50% stiffer (due to the much thicker ribs) and diving felt noticeably harder due to a lack of thrust and an increase in weight.

Based on this alone I’d buy Pathos Footpockets again and again…

4. To screw or to glue?

This point comes up quite a lot when selecting footpockets, sometimes even becoming the deciding factor. Personally I hate screws…they look crap and most importantly they weaken the blades (a point proven in my previous post).

The rib grooves on the Pathos Fireblade footpockets are so narrow that it is necessary to remove any blade trimming (like rubber profiles) and gluing the footpocket straight to the blade. The upside to this is what was mentioned before, there is less rubber ‘strutting’ to interfere with the performance of the blade but the downside is that once they are glued in, it’s permanent. I have had to remove a pair of Pathos footpockets from Fibreglass fins before and it involves cutting the footpocket to pieces (the blade of course survives), so in that regard the email above was correct. In my opinion it’s worth it…the Pathos Fireblade footpockets are constructed so well that it’s unlikely that they will perish easily so you should get years of (efficient) diving from them. As an instructor I’m in the water every day with mine and there is no sign of wear and tear yet, something my Salvimar 4One’s did not live up to…

The Bottom Line:

I have no complaints about these blades and I’m unlikely to change brands again…despite the permanent nature of the Pathos in terms of mounting, I doubt I will have any reason to replace my current pair, but when I do I will most definitely go for another pair Pathos Fireblades.

As a Freedive Instructor in one of the worlds best Freedive locations (Dahab, Egypt) I come across all sorts of equipment and thought its about time I shared my thoughts on a few bits and pieces of equipment. The first of which is the C4 Falcon 80's...

As you some of you may have picked up over the years, these blades love breaking:)

This is to be my first ‘product review’ and how it came about was through the fins I’m about to review…
I am a professional Freediving Instructor and judge (I do it full time for a living as opposed to being just a weekend instructor) and I currently work with, have dived and trained with some of the top freedivers and Freedive trainers in the world. Based on this and my own experience I hope my opinion carries some weight and helps others to form an educated opinion when buying some of the products I will start to review in this blog from time to time.
A year ago before returning to Dahab I managed to track down a pair of the almost ‘mythical’ C4 Falcon 80’s.

The Falcon 80’s differ from the Standard Falcon’s in that they are slightly longer (almost 1 meter – not so much fun when travelling!) and as a rule come in one stiffness (which is equivalent to the soft (or 25 stiffness) blade available in the standard C4 Falcon.
Knowing how sought after these fins were I was more than slightly excited when I managed to buy a pair which had been in the water less than five times in 8 years and which had been stored so well they were still in the original box (note the condition they were in). The owner had purchased them to take to Greece, they arrived a bit late, and after a few test dives he went to Greece without them, got back and stopped Freediving (and became a pilot)…the fins never saw water again.

Here is what happened next:

Two weeks later I had returned to Dahab, Egpyt and was very excited to try out my new Falcons. In factory condition (apart from a few stickers I added for aesthetic value:) they looked amazing and got quite a bit of attention when I took them out.
I had used the fins for less than one month for casual diving meaning that I used it a few times to do some shallow dives (FRC’s and dives to less than 35 meters) and perhaps two or three times while instructing. Then, without warning and during Freedive Dahab’s annual Triple Depth Competition, I was sitting on the FDD platform in the middle of the Blue Hole next to Linda Paganelli when she pointed at my fin in utter shock. I looked down and saw that the blade on my left foot was dangling at a very strange angle…the blade had snapped.

The blade had snapped right in a perfect line over the two screw holes used to attach it to the footpocket. Ironically Lotta Eriscon (with whom I also work) had a pair of C4 Falcons (standard 25’s) which she had been using for about 2 months snap in exactly the same way only a few weeks before.
It became clear that the reason the blades were breaking is because of a design flaw: The blade is too soft to be drilled. If drilled at the point of inflection (where they bend) -exactly where they were drilled -, the blade is weakened and they tend to break…not rocket science but still a hard way to learn. I then started googling C4 Falcons and breaks and the same story kept popping up: Break over the bend right in line with the holes.

Strike one:
Bad Design

My first reaction was to follow up on the Guarantee number (found at the bottom of all C4 blades).

After explaining exactly what had happened and how disappointed I was in this simple design flaw which I’ve come to find was quite common, the response I got was this (quoted):

Dear Mr.Jacques,
The Falcon 80 in the photos are made in 2002. This pair of blade has 9 years old. The guarantee is 2 years.
We stopped the production of those blades some years ago.
It’s 21 years that C4 made fin’s holes… If the holes were a problem we should have them removed.
Could you please tell us where are you from?
Thanks and Best Regards,
C4 Staff

If your Italian-English isn’t up to par here is a quick translation of the sentence concerning the holes:

“C4 has been producing fins which have been drilled (for foot pockets) for nearly 21 years. If the drilling were the reason that the blades were breaking we would have stopped doing this a long time ago…”

Fair enough the guaruntee was out of date but I disagreed with the matter of the screw holes and sent several examples (including images of our different broken Falcons) to illustrate my point. Several follow up emails later I still received no replies. C4 had blown me off…

Strike Two:
Very poor customer service, especially considering I was writing from a Freedive Centre (potential clients maybe?)

SO

What do I actually think of the Falcons 80’s:

1. They are too soft.

Blade stiffness comes down to personal preference, but now being able to compare the softness of the 80’s to a range of other far more efficient soft blades I can say that the 80’s are way too soft. Diving even at the shallow depths I got to try them on (never more than 35 meters with Falcons), they felt like ribbons on my feet and as much as I wanted to believe that they were efficient, they weren’t. I know several top freedivers have done crazy depths wearing these blades, but so have the same divers wearing Cressi Gara’s! I suppose smaller divers (women for example) wouldn’t feel this lack of push the same way a bigger guy would…as I said, for me (personally) being an average sized guy they are too soft.

The blades were designed for deep diving. Because of their softness the diver feels less strain on his/her legs on the ascent meaning that finning is very comfortable and build up of lactic acid/tiredness in the legs is delayed…it does take way more kicks than a stiff blade would need to cover the same distance/depth (stiffer = better transfer of leg effort into propulsion), it just doesn’t feel too uncomfortable doing it.

The 80’s (and softer Falcons) would be useless whenever weight becomes a factor. Best example: Try spearfishing – If you shoot a 200 kg tuna at 20 meters how much fun do you think it’s going to be to try and get you both to the surface with fins which nearly folds double when you are only trying to get yourself to the surface.

The other instance would be using them for safety…its the same concept. If someone blacks out at even 15 meters brining them to the surface is going to be hell..at best, assuming the blades don’t snap:)

2. C4 Falcons (and a few other C4 models) ARE NOT PURE CARBON.

This is where quite a few people will be frothing at the mouth at such a blasphemous, insolent and absurd statement.

I’m sorry, but its true. Many people new to freediving are not too clued up on what the difference is between a 100% pure carbon blade and a carbon-composite blade. They look the same (visibly like carbon)…so what is the difference? Its by what they mean when they keep talking about ‘composite’ blades in their descriptions when looking at the product page. Interestingly enough C4 choose not to go into too much detail about what c0mposite means on the current C4 Falcon VGR25 product page. The proof. Mine snapped, and surprise, surprise:

Why? Because it is cheaper, it makes it easy to regulate blade stiffness and if the customer doesn’t see it…

This fact was actually pointed out to me by a professional blade manufacturer and at the time I was reluctant to believe him but after seeing it for myself there was no point in arguing. Its quite easy to check: If you have holes drilled in your C4’s (or other Carbon looking blades for that matter), take out the screws and look at the layering in the screw hole. If you see a layer of white substance sandwiched in between the carbon you have ‘Composite’ blades (meaning: Carbon + Fibreglass). As an example the C4 Mustangs are pure carbon (no Fibreglass layering).

This would be fine, except C4 loves to charge an arm and a leg and the problem is something like the Falcons just aren’t worth what they are being sold for…

3. Another Interesting fact…

And this is one which you can take with a grain of salt but with a little research you might find there’s truth to it: Some C4 products (mostly fins/blades) are sold under the Spetton banner as Spetton C4 products.

After talking to a senior person in the dive industry who has direct interests in C4 I learned that Spetton (it’s a company) buys the sub-par products from C4, meaning that if something isn’t exactly up to standard for C4 (blades with defects in the carbon, badly fitted footpockets etc) but its not bad enough to throw away, it gets sold to Spetton (in bulk) who usually sells the same product at a slightly reduced price.

So beware…just because its new doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

Conclusion:

I’m sure there are a few people who have dived with these blades for years (I personally know someone who has owned a pair for 4 years) and who will argue that they are still some of the best blades on the market. In my opinion C4 Falcons 80’s and the softer variant of the standard Falcon (like the new Falcon VGR 25) are not worth what they are being sold for…even if you can pick them up second hand for peanuts, odds are they will break and in terms of performance there are far superior blades on the market at much better prices. Even if you go for the stiffer Falcons, keep in mind you are paying the price of pure carbon blades for a pair of blades which are essentially fibreglass blades with Carbon coating.

On top of this, C4’s customer service (in Europe at least) is pathetic. As a Freedive Centre owner this is not the first time I’ve come across C4’s lack of interest in post sale service (even for new products). At least when I buy a different brand of blades without the bogus ‘guarantee’ sticker I don’t expect service if it’s not advertised. That being said, be sure to read the terms and policies of guarantee’s before investing in any new product, having a sticker which says ‘guarantee’ can mean far less than you think.

I now keep the broken C4 blade (along with Lotta’s) in our Freediving centres classroom as a ‘training aid’ and show it to students when discussing equipment and blade selection…

Hi there

Just joined Spearfish.com and hope to learn as much as I can from other memebers while at the same times giving some feedback on certain topics:)

Im a Freedive Instructor (AIDA and SSI) as well as a AIDA judge in Dahab, Egypt.