Freediving Fins

[Hank49]

Carbon fiber in my experience, are the most efficient. But they are more expensive and a bit fragile. You have to be careful leaving them lying in the deck. If they get stepped on, the tendons will break loose from the blades. Easily repaired but it takes a little experience.
I haven't tried Mako's CF, but would guess they're very good, having used other Mako products from Dano.
my favorite that I've used are Moana, although I have snapped a blade and have heard from another spearo in Hawaii, the same.
Moana Waterman Carbon Fiber Freedive Fins

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

I have these:

https://www.makospearguns.com/Men-s-Competition-Freediver-II-Fins-p/mcf2f.htm

and these (Medium stiffness):

https://www.makospearguns.com/Carbon-Elite-Freedive-Fins-p/mceff.htm

I used the former until I got the latter.

I use them for open ocean scuba diving. They are awesome. They even work well for frog kicks. I think they are both worth the money. It just depends on your budget. The $90 ones really are good, and probably the least expensive freediving fins around that have removable foot pockets.

Of note: I have the largest gear bag that Ogio has ever made (as far as I know). The 9900. They don't make it anymore. My freediving fins are too long to fit in it unless I remove the blades from the foot pockets. My point: If you go with less expensive and get ones that do not have the removable foot pocket, you may have trouble taking them with you if you want to fly with them.

Thanks very much for the recommendations Stuart. And thanks to Hank as well for the positive comments.

Our gear bags are specifically designed to handle the long fins (2 pairs actually) without disassembly.

https://www.makospearguns.com/Freedive-Gear-Bag-p/mfgb.htm

 

[stuartv]

I should have been more clear in my earlier post. The gear bag I was talking about was one I use as luggage when flying. It's HUGE (but not quite long enough for freediving fins fully assembled). It is not a bag that I would use for hauling stuff back and forth to a dive site once I got to my destination. Likewise, I would not personally use the bag Dano mentioned as luggage because it wouldn't hold enough stuff to use as a checked bag (or a carry-on, for that matter).

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

As an FYI, the MAKO bag holds over 4.5 cubic feet of volume - if I did my math right.

 

[woodcarver]

For those of us that travel with long fins, there is an easy solution to the luggage issue. Baseball gear bags will not only accommodate the long fins, but generally weigh less than traditional luggage. I can fit a large AL i3 along with everything else in mind (different model, no longer available, same dimensions). They also cost less than most luggage and are built tough enough for dragging to the ballfield every day and beat up by a bunch of kids!

https://www.amazon.com/Under-Armour-Professional-Wheeled-Catchers/dp/B079NNJ9XL

 

[Hank49]

I hand carry mine.

 

[eleniel]

I hand carry mine.

Same. I've never been stopped or had any issues (same goes for skateboards, which I also hand carry).

OP: If you don't know for sure that you want carbon fiber (they are expensive and fragile, but imo worth the money once you get used to using them without kicking them together) you can go with plastic fins - Beuchat Mundial's are pretty forgiving of the learning process, and I've had good experience with the Bare predator fins as well. Also as was already linked, Mako has nice fins that are more durable than the carbon fiber models.

Another thing to consider is what stiffness you want, as carbon fins come in a variety of stiffness levels- a lot of freedivers are going more and more towards soft or really soft blades, but for moving scuba gear and playing in currents I'd probably suggest a medium stiffness fin. I haven't tried an actual stiff blade so I can't comment on how well that level would work but I've heard they wear people out a lot faster unless you have serious leg muscles.

 

[VibesAndHorizons]

I use DiveR fins for freediving and they are excellent. Check them out. Cressi Gara are also a popular fin
I always use Hollis F1's for scuba diving regardless of site.

Thanks I'll check these out for sure!!

 

[VibesAndHorizons]

Can't go wrong with these.

https://www.makospearguns.com/Men-s-Competition-Freediver-II-Fins-p/mcf2f.htm

I have been eyeing these, do you use them?

 

[O-ring]

+1 on carrying. Well, I sort of carry them. I shove the foot pockets down into the bottom of my backpack so a foot or two of fin tips stick way up out of my backpack. Once I get on the plane I pull them out and shove them somewhere. I have Cressi Garas that are probably 15 years old or so and they work fine for my crappy level of freediving.