Hard or soft

[shoutatthesky]

I am currently researching monofins before I lay down some cash. I think I will go with the Leaderfins 'Hyper' as this seem to fit my needs (CW & DNY) but what I am unsure of is which stiffness to go for. I have reasonably short, stocky legs so in my uneducated opinion I am leaning towards the hardest stiffness (is this a correct correlation?). Any ideas?

[Mullins]

The guys at leaderfins will probably ask you for all sorts of information then retreat into their workshop and come out a few days later with what they think is an appropriate blade in terms of size and stiffness.

If you choose your own blade my advice would be to get a soft or medium one. Hard blades are inefficient and make it way too easy to develop poor technique. If it was just for dynamics I would go soft.

One thing to keep in mind about the hyper is that it will compress at depth.

[shoutatthesky]

Thanks Dave, Don't you use a Hyper? Is compression a big issue if the primary use is dynamics in the pool? Ideally I would like a fin that is a good compromise between the two - DYN and CW.
I hope to be at the Auckland competition in August so if you're there and if I bring enough booties I'll fit your fin and you'll be kind enough to let me try it?

[Waterenthusiast]

I had exactly the same questions going through my head for weeks. Finally i asked some guys on the french forum plongeur.com who owns various advanced monofins (Chen bin, ww one wing, leaderfin hyper....) and tested them in different hardness. As i owned a WW Model 1 Long distance (soft) and in their opinion the waterway and leaderfin soft fins behave very similarly, i decided to order a hyper in soft hardness with 70x70 dimension yesterday .
I also first thought to go for a harder monofin this time, but after training a bit more with my WW, i realized that even a soft blade could be used for sprints. It's all about technique. By undulating with a very high frequency i have no probelm with my blade at all, but if i push hard on the fin by using more my knees i will waste energy as the blade is not conceived for such loads. So in my opinion just go for the softest blade that is suited for you. Now that's the tricky part, if you are a real heavy weight it may be a better option to get a harder fin. In the end the best would be to try out some monofins, even if they are not from leaderfins, and get an idea of which hardness suits you best.
My 2 cents
Christophe

[Mullins]

I use a "hyper freediving", which is the solid rubber equivalent of the hyper pro. A fair bit cheaper and the construction quality is not so good, but I really didn't want to deal with that buoyancy change for my CW dives. Mine is fine for the pool despite being very heavy.

Compression is probably not a big issue if you're mainly going to be using it for dynamics though and the hyper pro is a very well made fin.

You're welcome to try it in Auckland but the footpockets are very large. Too big for me even, I need to wear 3mm booties to get a snug fit.

[jome]

I think a hyper pro works reasonably well for deep diving as well. At least I could not feel any significant change in the properties in numerous deep dives (50+). Of course when you're aiming for 100+ things are different Naturally it's pretty good for dyn too, but you need to decide which is more imporant? Anyway, as a compromise (you do a bit of both but not WR level in either) it works really well IMO. But I can tell you this that I was REALLY concerned about the buoyancy change (neurotic even), but now I don't consider it much of an issue (although my fin is also slightly less buoyant than a standard hyper)

But anyway, I thing a soft or medium hyper is a fairly good choice. One "trick" you could try (at your own risk!) is to as them to make the foot pocket a bit wider than standard. So for example if you foot size is 44. As for 44 in length an 46 in width. At least for me that works really well - it is the first fin I'm able to wear practically for ever but it still functions really well (can fit 3mm socks in there reasonably well too).

A soft fin might feel like you're overpowering it at first, but most likely the problem is in your technique or weighing...(I had absolutely no problems getting up with a soft blade and 90kg of body mass)

[shoutatthesky]

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess what I really need is two monofins(I wish $$$).
Seriously, I need to have a think on your advice and try some more models and thicknesses out. I have tried a soft blade and like you said Jome, I did feel like I was overpowering it. My technique is certainly a long way away from where I want it.

[SnuFPunK]

With good technique, you will be able to operate virtually ANY monofin - LD, MD, SD.

If you feel that your kick is very powerfull (dont do the short legs - hard fin long legs soft fin thing- because its plain wrong - its like trying to guess maximum depth by maximum static) take a Medium, I would AVOID a hard mono unless what your looking for is a short distance sprint tool.

~ Snuf.

[shoutatthesky]

Thanks Snufpunk, that clears up a lot. Soft = slow, efficient. Hard = Fast, but uses more energy.

[jome]

I agree that if you have to buy one fin, medium is probably the safest thing to go for.

You might consider getting a really soft cheap one (you can get them for 80-100e) for technique training alone.

For speed alone the stiffness does not make as much a difference as you might think with an experienced swimmer. For example a guy who used to have a WR in 50m sprint that I know, for him the difference between a soft training mono and extremely stiff start mono was around 1 second. Of course in a world class sprint that is for ever, but for a freediver, I'd say the difference is negliable. Especially since the latter mono could be worn only for minutes and one lap before absolutely mincing the feet.

A freediver needs efficiency, not speed. A medium blade is probably the safest choice, although soft is much better for learning a good technique.

Of course then we have the problem of what makes a soft and what makes a medium. It is totally dependant on the manufacturer and sometimes even the individual blade specimen. I've seen "medium" blades that I'd grade as soft, as well as one's I'd grade as hard...

One more argument for going for medium is that soft blades are often very thin on the tip and can break quite easily. Especially in open water where you have a good chance of bumping into the bottom etc, a medium is much more rugged.

So as you see, it's really hard to choose. The important thing is that you get your first fin and get started with it. Just make sure it isn't too stiff, because a very stiff first fin can ruin your technique for years to come (been there done that

[SnuFPunK]

Originally Posted by jome

So as you see, it's really hard to choose. The important thing is that you get your first fin and get started with it. Just make sure it isn't too stiff, because a very stiff first fin can ruin your technique for years to come (been there done that )

Thats actually a very good piece of advice, just get one, and by the time you'll get the next one, you'll KNOW what your looking for

[shoutatthesky]

Excellent advice guys. I didn't think about the variation or toughness. I'm leaning heavily toward the medium.

[island_sands]

adam i bought a special fins hard blade and it was definitely the wrong choice. it's tough work and my ankles hurt after a while. Emma saw my fin and suggested that i switch to a medium blade,especially for my height/build
(62kg/5ft6")

[samdive]

I've got a Special Fins Hard Blade and a Hard Carbon Special Fin and I love them..... sorry if that confuses you further!

[shoutatthesky]

Some say soft. Some say medium. Some say hard. Most seem to be leaning away from the hard.
Obviously I just have to find what suits ME. It seems the only way to find out for sure to to try them all.
Thanks for your input.