Quote:
Originally Posted by fishon
Also on my mind was the stiffness of the ribs. Clearly a fin will not flex as drastically when braced by a thicker rib, but given that fact alone I am hesitant to make the statement that the pockets reduce the performance of the fin. I have had fins (Esclapez, for the record) that bend just beyond the toes (such as you would expect to happen with a soft rail) and in my judgement they were the worst fins I have ever used. I'd like to see some empirical evidence on the rails' effect on fin performance... and then if it shows I'm wrong, I'll gladly admit it.
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A couple things to keep in mind with the fin rails aka tendons. One is that thicker does not always mean stiffer. The other has to do with the nature of a composite fin. The reason that fiberglass and carbon fiber blades are superior to plastic is there ability to store energy and return to their original shape. This is often referred to as the "snappiness" of a fin. Plastic fins dissipate some of the energy that goes into deforming them and also do not return completely to their original shape. This waste of energy is known as dampening and is why plastics and rubber are used as shock absorbers and bushings. To use your example of the esclapez fins. They have a very long tendon that has a lot of material. This tendon negates most, if not all, of the advantage gained from putting a carbon fiber blade in that pocket. If you look at some of the top foot pockets, like the c4 and
Pathos pockets, there is little or no tendon. The
pathos have a very small and flexible tendon that allows the blade to do all the work. The C4 pockets dont have a tendon at all.
As for the weight of the footpocket, its not so much that the heavier pockets are "too heavy" and more that the ultra light ones are reaalllllyyyy nice. In your toothbrush analogy you have a very short duration. Try looking at a day of spearfishing as more of an endurance race. There arent any footpockets (to my knowledge) that are so heavy that they cant be kicked by an average diver or that will make you sink. However, if you had to run a marathon would you choose a set of really heavy hiking boots, (which arent too heavy to walk in) or a set of top of the line running shoes? Also in a sport were efficiency is very important, the less energy spent accelerating a foot pocket, the more is put into moving water. It may not seem like a lot but my pursuit 90's in
pathos pockets are roughly half the weight of my cressi garas and over the course of a day with a few thousand kicks it adds up.
The comfort of the pocket is completely a personal choice. I love my garas they are the most comfortable fins I have every owned but after a few dives to adjust to the carbon blades, the
Pathos pockets are a close second. Initially I had a little pain because I have a high arch and the pocket is a little flat but my foot has adjusted and the pockets have been broken in a bit. They now fit and feel great.