Posts by Kingspear

The event was amazing. Thanks to all involved to make it happen.

How does the blade compare to the C4 40 blade? - is it stiffer just the blade, or with the footpockets rails?
Which C4 are you comparing with - the Mustang doesn't have any footpocket rails, while other C4 are using regular footpockets hence they have the tendons.

I compared them to the c4 Falcons.

What are the overall dimensions - full length with the footpocket, width?

The fins are 80cm by 19cm I didn't measure them in the pockets.

What is the warranty and how long did it take to receive them?

They say the warranty is 2 years but I haven't had to test it so I can't really attest to it. It took a little while to recieve them. When I bought them it was at the intro stage and they still hadn't recieved them from Italy yet but they were very good about letting me know right from the start that it was going to take a while. Before I even placed the order they told me how long it was going to take and not to order if i was in a hurry. Now I'm guessing they are in stock so I don't know how fast or slow you would get them.

How deep the dives? did you get a chance to count the kicks on deeper dives? Any current to speak off?'

The deepest I went is 70ft. I did a lot of diving in the 50-60ft range. I also did a lot of surface swiming and did run into current in La Paz. The have the angle like the DiveR's which really helps with that.

What is your constitution (height, weight)?
I'm 6ft 185lbs

Quote from Dan

Good review Ephraim. Looking at the pic of the back edge of the carbon blades, I can tell you that even having that slot, the depth of the slot will not not allow the back edge of the blade to go all the way into the Delta one foot pockets. This is because the tab inside the Salvimar foot pocket is longer than the slot on the blades. I know because I cut open the Delta one foot pocket before I threw them out.

Cool pic. I wonder if they have changed the pocket some recently.When I looked back into my pocket it didn't seem as deep on the sides like yours. I can tell in the picture it goes really deep on the sides in your picture. I should measure how deep it goes on mine to see if its the same or if they made some structual changes to t he pocket. In any case it does go back just far enough to line up the angle of the blade and the pocket. Thanks.

Ithought that cf fins were not supposesd to be too stiff because the memory of the material allows for good "snap" even with softer fins..do you think you are putting more effort into finning than might be needed?

I think its all personal preference. I like stiffer fins and the Medium is nice for me but medium is generally too soft for me in other fins. Just a disclaimer since I think most spearos who like true mediums would prefer teh GFT soft if there were to buy this brand of fin. They do have a very nice snap to them.

also, the pictures of the OMER and your description sound like they would be really annoying to use with the poor fit and the flexing on the hard kick cycles. would you think that a shim added to the FP area would secure the fin and reduce that? otherwise it sounds no good.

It was only noticable when kicking really hard like fighting full might against a fish. I think screwing the fins in would fix it but then you would have to move the fin forward inthe pocket so you don't drill at the angle. I think it comes down to these pockets not being the perfect fit with these fins. They fit perfectly to the delta ones so for these fins those pockets would be a better option and thats one of the reasons I kept the Delta ones for these fins.

you said the delta pockets were comfy but didnt fit as well, what in particular was less comfortable?

Nothing was less comfortable. I had not performance issues or discomfort, it just wasn't as perfect of a fit as the Omer for my foot. I can't really apply this to others because everyone's foot shape it different but for me the heel of the Delta pockets are a little larger than the omers. For my foot this leaves a very small gap on the bottom of the heel. The fin is not loose to the point of slipping off its just not as snug in that one area for me. For someone with a different type foot this might be the perfect pocket and for me it still fits great. I was just pointing out a very small difference. Basically this is a personal fit thing not really a performance thing just like a wetsuit.

oh, and if you dont mind, how much were the blades and the Delta pockets?[/QUOTE]

The price I bought at was the limited intro price they had in august to intro them to the US market. I spent like $265 for the fins and $100 for the pockets. When I saw that I jumped on it. I'm sure they are more now.

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Many have been asking me about these fins and pockets so I thought I would post up my personal toughts

Full Version:I recently purchased the GFT Carbonio Agguato fins in Medium Stiffness when they had their intro prices. I wanted to buy the hard because I like stiff fins but Brian and Mike called me on a 3 way call prior to ordering because they wanted to discuss their fins with me and make sure I got the perfect fins. This was really cool and I must say the service is top notch. They told me the GFT fins run much stiffer than than most other Carbon fins on the market. I decided to take their advice and got the Medium stiffness rather than Hard. I already had a pair of Omer Stingray footpockets that was planning on using with these fins but they discussed the differences of the Delta One pockets with me. My interest was peaked in the delta one's so I bought a pair as well. Since I had two sets of pockets I decided to do some testing of the fins with both. I have done some hard diving which included both deeper dives and also a lot of surface swiming too, both here in SoCal and in Baja. I also dove one day with one of each pocket on my foot to really see a difference.

GFT Carbonio Agguato Fins: The fins have a nice 22 degree angle to them which I have really come to like in fins. My good buddy has some C4's in the 40 stiffness which is C4's hardest stiffness and my Mediums were much harder than those. If you like a Medium stiffness in other brands you should get the Softs if you buy GFT. These Carbons have a nice rebound which is like having another kick after you kick which is a different feeling than fiberglass. The fins have a nice water rail similar to the C4 type fin, I like this and did not notice any trouble turning underwater at all. The carbon thichness tapers from thick at the base to thin at the tip. These fins were like two different fins in the different pockets so I will highlight the differences.

Omer Stingray Pockets: These are by far the nicest pockets that Omer has released. They fit my foot perfectly which I really liked. Their rails are much much stiffer than the Delta Ones. One problem of using the GFT blades with the Omer pocket was that the part of the blade that enters the pocket is about an inch too short or the the omer pocket was too deep depending how you look at it. This caused the angle of the blade be further back than it should and caused an over hang on the pocket that you can see in the picture. It also caused the fin to be a little shorter due to the fin going so far back into the pocket which you can also see in the pictures. This could be a problem if you want to put screws in since you would have to put the screw right in the middle of the bend which I don't think would be good. An alternative is to not completely seat the blade all the way back and then put screws in which might work. I just opted to glue the fins in. When kicking I initally "felt" like I had much more power due to immediate resistance I would feel but it was also hard work to dive with these fins in these pockets. One thing I found was when I kicked really hard the the bottom of the pocket that holds the fin would bend and cause me to lose power. Maybe screwing the pockets in would fix this but once again I didn't feel these pockets matched these pockets 100% but these could be great pockets for another fin if you like really stiff rails.

Delta One Pockets: It is obvious that the GFT's are built with the delta ones in mind due to the perfect fit of the two. Very comfortable, soft on top and very stiff on the bottom. The rails are really soft which was different. I didn't like the soft rails right off the bat because it felt like I did't have any power, I thought for sure I was going to stick with omers when I was pool testing. After more real life testing in the ocean I found that it wasn't the case. The Delta ones would really alow the fin freedom of movement and would cause that "second kick" effect after you already kicked. They made for a much more relaxing dive not having to work my feet as hard which I came to realize after a long day of diving. When coming up with the fins from a deep dive I didn't feel any faster than the with the Omer pocket and always came up at the same rate. These fins have a notch in the back which is needed to fit the delta ones since the delta ones has a chanel of plastic in the area where the fins go in. I think the idea is that having this will not allow the pocket to flex where it holds to fin. It seemed to work and I didn't find this area flexed at all like the Omer's when kicking really hard. The pockets didn't fit my foot as perfectly as the omers did but they still fit very well and were very comfortable.

Summary: The fins perform great and I will continue to use the Delta One's with these fins since they are made for each other but if you really like the Omer Stingrays they are a good alternative.

Sweet!

I have the Gamo Whisper VH. It is a great gun. The price for Gamo guns are great BUT there a few changes you must make for them to reach their potential.

1. They need a new trigger. the GRT III trigger is absolutly the best upgrade you can make for the gun. It will reduce the trigger pull from 6lbs to a little over 1lb. Do a google search on this product and see how many rave reviews there are. http://www.charliedatuna.com/ The best part: its only $32

2. The scope and mounts are crap. As soon as you unpack your Gamo throw these items in the trash can and put on a real scope and mount. I have the leapers mounts and Scope. No matter which scope you decide on Make Sure it is Airgun Rated. If it is not airgun rated the scope will not hold a zero and will most likely break. This is due to the reverse recoil of a break barrel Airgun.

Which operation did you go with down there?

Very sad. It says he was an avid diver and I assume he didn't drown especially since he was not stuck in the rocks. SWB is probably the most likely cause but then again I know this dive site where he was and it is no deeper then 10-15ft. This is really shallow and it SWB in such shallow water seems kind of strange. Yes I know SWB stands for Shallow water blackout but usually SWB occurs when you come up from a deep dive. I wonder if it was something else like a medical condition. Poor guy.

Awesome job. Wish I could go down there and dive with you.

Thanks. Actually I went with Chay. He is also in the same area but not associated with Palapas Ventanas.

I personally really like the no loading butt. Its one of those I say TomAto you say Tomato things. Its great that there are so many options for everyone to choose from in spearguns. It would be boring if everyone had the same speargun.

Spring Steel RA shafts are the best hands down in my opinion. Even if they are $60 I would still pay it. There is no shaft more robust and bend resistant than a spring steel shaft. I have shot so many "shaft bending fish" with my 7mm shaft (that would have destroyed my Stainless shafts) yet my Spring steel seem almost untouchable. Usually my RA shafts will rust to death after several years before they get bent. My Stainless shafts often get bent after a trophy fish and its into the trash with them. When your in some remote trip and need something you can count on its Spring steel. I'm not into trying to straighten shafts because after they get bent once they are just never the same.

I say you should just eat the cost and stick with it.

Thanks guys. It was a hard shoredive swiming that thing back and then hiking it to the car. Here is also my first AJ in La Paz earlier this year. 62lbs caught at 62ft

I just bought and tried a Spetton Hexskin. It is actually closer to a 3mm than 2.5mm so keep this in mind if your thinking of getting one. I guess they add a little more thickness because a blind stitch would show if it were exactly 2.5mm so a little more thickness allows it to be truly blind. Another thing to note is the sizing chart on website only applies to the other suits and the Hexskin suits run a FULL size smaller. I am 6ft and 180-185 and the Medium fits me just perfect the size up was way too big which is what the chart said I needed. I talked to Paublo at Spetton USA and he said it is because they are made at a different factory and from a different cut therefore the size difference on the chart.

My overall impression: Great suit, feels like butter on my skin. Its softness is very nice and also keeps me very warm. The down side is you must take care when putting it on otherwise it can easily tear. I personally like a softer rubber that can tear rather than a stiffer rubber that lasts longer. Its all preference though.

BTW I am not affiliated with Spetton or any other manufacture. I am only a consumer and my other primary wetsuits for SoCal (5mm and 7mm) are actually Omer.

Thanks.

Sweet Job.

Here is one from earlier this year. Shoredive non the less.

Hi All,

My name is Ephraim. Many of you many already know me in the local dive community and can vouch for me. I live and dive around SD and have done so for 6 years. I look forward to this new forum.

Ephraim