Closed heel for freediving

[audission]

I'm keen to do some freediving on my next (overseas) holiday. I want to get some closed heel fins for this purpose.

Any suggestions? My knowledge of fins is limited, should they have shorter blades?

 

[meesier42]

you don't NEED different fins to go freediving, anything will work. Some will work better. If you want to get new fins for freediving, you should first think about how into it you want to get. You can use the fins you have and be ok, your scuba fins will do the trick for some light recreation, but if you want to get even moderately serious look into some entry level (ie. cheaper) free dive specific fins such as Omers or Cressi Long Blade FreeDiving Fins. Then when you are ready look into the high end to really get something out of your finsC4 Mustang ($$$).

Just be very aware, these are very large fins, they are hard to pack and travel with, and some can easily be broken

My personal recommendation for a scuba/freediver is to get fins that work for both scuba and freediving, they may not be quite as good for freediving, but you'll be able to use them in both arenas very well, and only have to pack 1 set of fins. I personally used the ForceFin Extra Force for years and love them, although now I like the ForceFin Excellerators more, in fact most of the ForceFin line is pretty good, and the Apollo Bio-Fin isn't terrible.

 

[magicwanz]

I dove Cressi Gara's for a long time (freediving and scuba) and liked them very much.

I recently (last month) picked up a pair of Picasso Black Team fins (lifetime warranty- $125 at the Freedive shop with spearboard discount freediving and spearfishing equipment, FreeDiveShop) and absolutely LOVE them . The main reason I switched was because the Picasso's felt so comfortable when I tried them on. After using them on about 50 dives over the last month I can say that I think this was the best bang for my buck that I have ever spent on dive gear. The foot pockets on the Picasso's are a little wider than the Cressi's and the blades are a little more stiff. Also, you can change blades on the Picasso's (you can't on the Cressi's).

I think the most important thing you should consider is fit and comfort, I would definitely try them on (with the socks you are going to wear) before purchasing.

FYI, narrowest to widest footpockets:
Cressi (Gara)->Sporasub-> Picasso->Omer

I was at the Florida Freedivers (https://www.flfreedivers.com/) yesterday and Mike has a KILLER deal (closeout) on Sporasub Instinct fins($79), but only has the smaller sizes left. The green blades are really flexible, so they are also great starter fins (the footpockets in these are also removable so you could change to stiffer blades later) if he has your size.

 

[Manuel Sam]

I went from regular scuba fins to the Cressi Gara 3000LD. It takes about a day's worth of diving to get used to them because they require more effort to kick than regular scuba fins; but once I got there, I loved the speed and the fact that I could kick against mild currents much easier than before. The next step would be the 2000 (stiffer and more powerful).....and beyond, as suggested by previous posters. I've also used them for freediving (30-40 feet) and am quite happy with them, altho my primary focus is on scuba.

The 3000's in my size (42-43) are 36" long, so as mentioned Meesier42, they are hard to pack and required getting a new bag that was long enough for travel. I've seen one set made by (I believe) Sporasub that you can take apart for ease of packing and travel. Don't know about their performance tho.

Also, as Magicwanz said, fit and comfort are most important. I wound up getting one size smaller than my regular shoe size. You want these things to fit snugly to get everything out of your kick and also to avoid blisters. These fit me so well (I guess I have comparatively narrower feet) that I don't even have to use socks.