Fins?

[Freedive WI]

Lots of good fins, but I wouldn't recomend the Pipin's to anyone- as you found out.

There are basically three types: plastic, carbon-fiber, and fiber-plastic.

As far as collapsable fins there is one model made by Sporasub, called the Varient, but I wouldn't recommend it becasue they break- a lot. :'(

Most other fins, besides the carbon-fiber fins wich are actually glued into their footpockets, comein two pieces- the blade and the footpocket. THis is so you can upgrade to different blades as time goes on. There are a couple of fins which can't- like Esclapez, Cressi sub, and some Picasso's, but I wouldn't recommend any of those blades to start with.

For the cheapest, plastic, I would say that a base model SPorasub Dessault would be really good. It's hard to beat that fin for the price.

For Carbon-fiber fins, I wouldn't recommend any, unless you can find an out-of-production pair of Sporasub Radical's. They are just too fragile for scuba- which I learned the hard way.

THe Fiber-Plastic fins are something new on hte market and all the buzz with the spearo crowd these days. THey can be beat upon and still give a kick that rivals many carbon fiber fins.

One of the best for Fiber-plastic fins is:
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They made my good monofin and have a wide selection of fins. Any of their fins also comes in a varitey of stiffnesses to be matched to the diver's legs. THey make blue, clear and camo fins, plus they can even put your name on them. THey can even put your flag, or diveshop/dive club logo on the fins as well. They are not cheap, but are VERY nice fins. THey frog kick better than many other long bladed fins that I have tried and can give you a really nice kick when fighting against a strong current.

Thereis a slightly cheaper fin out of Canada thatis made out of Fiber-plastic, but it is a flat blade- meaning it has no angle to it. This is the same problem as the Cressi sub Garas. The lack of blade angle makes it hard to surface swim, but it works out pretty well underwater. THe comapny is called WATERWAY, but I am sorry to say I don't have their website handy right now. I have oneof their monofin's and it is a nice fin for the money, Fred has the same one, but I like my Specialfin's mono much better.

Lot's of information and I don't know if it helped you, but this is the order in which I would look at the fins- from cheapest to most expensive:
1- Sporasub Dessault
2- Waterway
3- Specialfins

IF I was going by performance alone it would be:
1-Specialfins Hyrbid
2- Specialfins Kelpie
3- Waterway
4 Sproasub Desault

Jon