Gul fins, anyone heard of this company?

[loosenit2]

The Best Scuba Fins of 2021 Reviewed

Was perusing scuba diving magazine fin reviews and they had reviews for two fins from a company called Gul. One of the reviews was a jet fin type fin, which is not that uncommon, but what was uncommon was the $390 price tag! Never heard of the company but 390 for a hunk of rubber seemed pretty extreme, unless it has Bluetooth interaction and built in dpv functionality. Anyone heard of them before? Review in the mag just incestious paid advertising? Looks like not a lot of us distributors yet.

 

[SlugLife]

They look like rocket-fins to me & I'd strongly suspect the water doesn't know a major difference between that one, and my 20+ year old AquaLung rocket fins. You can often find old used rocket fins for about $40. Unless someone can explain what makes that one, so much better, I'd try grabbing a used pair.

 

[SlugLife]

After reading the article, the article itself seemed rather lazily written, almost as if they didn't really test the fins. My intuition is that I'd ignore that article's reccomendations, and look for another one.

It's quite often I'll come across youtube videos, where people will go the extra mile when testing gear, and actually test it. And in some of those videos, they'll test and compare the best they've found in that category. This is true of scuba, gun-parts, car-wash solution, and more. For example:


When I'm on the market for something new, usually I usually skim at at least 5 articles listing "best fins", figuring that at least half the articles are probably paid for by "sponsors."

I'd suggest if you're shopping for fins to start with these two questions:

• What are the main kinds of diving you expect to do in the next few years?
• What issues or annoyances do you have with your current fins?
• What is your budget-range?

For example, I was having issues with cramps on my heavy Rocket-Fins. I was mostly looking at open-water diving. I also wanted an intermediate fin, so something more professional than split-fins, but didn't have to be ideal for advanced diving (i.e. cave-diving) that I'm not likely to do for several years.

 

[Jcp2]

Gull is a Japanese company. I have their Mantis mask which is one of the very few that fit my face. Got it in Hawaii, where they are better known.

 

[lowwall]

Gull is Japanese, which means obsessive attention to quality. They are also one of the few companies still making fins from rubber instead of plastic. These two things, along with their very limited distribution in the US, results in high prices here.

One of the cool things about Gull fins is they are available in a ton of colors. For example:

 

[jale]

yes good colorfull Japanese stuff but...indeed expensive
GULL | Quality Scuba Diving Gear
In the same vein, you have SAS regulators

 

[Grantt]

Again, they are a Japanese company that is their target audience.
Specifically regarding their mask design, the nose pocket is shallower and wider. I really wanted to get one when I started diving, but they don't fit my European face. (Got certified from a shop in Singapore)