Carbon vs. Fiberglass Fins
Posted in Guides
By Support Team
01May
01May
One of the most common dilemas any spearfisherman and freediver face when choosing a new pair of fins is whether to go with carbon or fiberglass fins. While both make great spearfishing and freediving fins, each material has its own unique advantages and weaknesses.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass fins are most suitable and commonly used in reef and rocky environments. Fiberglass blades are slightly heavier and less resilient than carbon blades but what they lack in weight and flexibility they make up for in extreme endurance and durability.
A well made pair of aerospace grade fiberglass blades is virtually unbreakable. Fiberglass blades can take a considerable amount of damage before they are rendered useless which makes them a perfect choice for spearfisherman who do most of their hunting in the shallows, around reefs and rocks that are bound to eventualy come in contact with the blades.
Some fins models are available with a fiberglass / carbon composite blades. These blades are a perfect marriage between carbon and fiberglass, supplying the blades with extra resilience and reduced weight while retaining the extreme durability of fiberglass.
Carbon
Carbon fins are extremely lightweight and offer resilience unmatched by any other material. These unique properties of carbon make it the most efficient material to construct fin blades from in terms of energy conversion and conservation. They are commonly used by performence freedivers and open water spearfisherman.
But theres no good without the bad. The major downside of carbon blades is their fragility. Carbon blades will burst if hit forcefully enough by a hard object such as a rock or the edge of a reef. This renders the fins useless for inexperienced freedivers and spearfihserman who do their hunting near reefs and in rocky underwater surroundings.
Carbon fins are a great choice fo open water spearfishing and performence freediving. As long as you don't get to close to hard objects that might damage your fin blades - carbon is definetly the way to go.
