Ultimate Spearfishing & Freediving Fin Guide 2024

What to look for when buying spearfishing or freediving fins:

What stiffness will I need?

Depending on your body weight, most composite fins and some plastic fins are available in different stiffnesses to suit you.

Generally most are setup like this unless specified otherwise:

Below 75kg – Soft / 75-100kg = Medium / Over 100kg = Hard

Some fins like the XT Diving Pro carbons have a stiffness every 10kg and different bending profiles between their fin models, meaning you can get a precise match for the best fin for your diving and finning technique.

What size do I need?

This will depend on the exact model of fin: some fins will be sized barefoot and some with a 3mm sock in mind. For example the Mares X-Wing Pockets are sized barefoot so a UK size 10/44 will fit in the 44/45 size nicely and likely fit a 3mm sock too; whereas the next size up will be needed for a 5mm sock. Generally you go up a size for each thickness of sock.

Everyone is different however, so you can get pretty close by using that formula – but there’s no substitute for trying them on and testing the fit. If you were using the Mares Razor Pocket which sizes with a 3mm sock in mind, that same size 10 would fit the 43/44 with a 3mm sock or barefoot – but you need to go up a size for a 5mm to the 45/46.

If you’re ever not sure if you’re going to fit, or you’re on the border of two sizes, it’s always safe to go up a size as you can always wear fin savers/grips which sit on your heel to secure the fin, a cheap £7-£8 rubber accessory that means you don’t lose any efficiency from the fit of the fin. Alternatively wearing a thicker sock and going for the size up can also help – once you’re in the water and the pressure is on the fin as it moves, your sock and heel will grip the fin and stay secure, even if it’s a little loose when sat still.

When trying fins on, if you stand upright and move your foot up and down. it’s likely even with the best fitting fin your heel will lift upward and you may think the fins do not fit. What you need to do is extend your foot to tighten the pocket as this is the position when finning, then give the fin a good kick and wobble around to test how it feels as this is the tightest it will be. If there’s any pressure or discomfort, go for the next size.

What material should I choose?

Fins are divided and categorised by the materials they’re made of. Each material has its own pro/con and in many ways shouldn’t be seen as better or worse than any other.

The best and most powerful fins are those which are made of composite materials – Carbon and Innegra being the most efficient. These materials are exceptionally good for deep diving and swimming long distances. Most divers begin the sport with plastic fins which are very durable, and fine for surface swimming and diving to medium depths (5-15m). When divers start to look to go deeper, they will usually move onto a more advanced Fiberglass, Carbon or Innegra fins like those offered by DiveR, Pathos, RUKU or XT for example.

• Are you diving from the shore or from a boat?
• What depths are you diving?
• Do you swim long distances, more than 1km in a session?
• Do you need durability or efficiency, or both?

These are some common questions to ask to figure out what sort of fins suit your diving. If you’re only hanging around the rocks in a few metres of water and not swimming more than a few hundred metres in a few hours, then plastic fins will be fine; whereas if you’re diving to 15-20m or swimming continuously for hours at a time even if that’s stalking in the shallows or moving around between duck dives, fiberglass or Carbon fins will be much more beneficial.

Plastic fins

These are usually £60-£100, often with pockets permanently fixed to the blades – some more expensive options will have removable pockets.

These fins are great for beginners as they are very durable and fairly lightweight. The main downside is that they are not very efficient and will fatigue you quicker over a few hours. Some softer and longer fins like the Salvimar TURN 151 are better suited for divers below 90kg bodyweight who are more likely to get fatigue when using standard plastic fins.

Most plastic fins between £60-£80 are basically the same with some cosmetic differences, whereas fins like the Rob Allen Scorpia £71.99 are made from a floatable plastic which makes them harder to lose when getting the fins on and off; or like the Picasso Speed fins £81.99 which use very soft foot pockets making them some of the most comfortable on the market.

If you can find a pair of plastic fins with detachable pockets, this allows you to save money over time as you can likely reuse that pocket with a composite blade down the line, therefore investing in the pocket. However, you can just jump straight to composite fins and skip this step entirely.

Fibreglass fins

Jumping from Plastic fins to Fibre is probably the most noticeable difference in performance that you will feel compared to changing from fibre to carbon. Ideally if you can skip plastic fins and start with a pair of entry level Fibre fins like the Leaderfins for £135 or Spearmaster for £181, you will be getting much more value for money. As a decent pair of plastics can set you back £100, you may as well skip the fatigue and save buying twice. An entry level pair of fibre fins will likely last you years before needing an upgrade and are generally considered as a intermediate level pair of fins.

Fibreglass fins are very durable but still lighter than plastic fins, making them perfect for shore divers, especially those with a tendency to abuse their kit or not watch what they are kicking. You still need to be careful of not kicking off the bottom or standing on your fins because these fins can flex more they can be broken if pushed past their limit, just like plastic or carbon fins.

If you are wanting to improve your depths or swim further but are on a bit of a budget then fibre fins are the way to go.

The entry level fins like the Leaderfins are great value but not the best quality – fins like the Spearmaster Fibre or Picasso Master will offer a lot more strength and quality and also gain a bit more reactivity and efficiency.

More premium Fibre fins like the RUKU and DiveR are basically indestructible – we even know someone who has driven over his RUKUs in his Land Rover and they were fine. The RUKU are a shorter and wider fin, giving more agility and better performance down to 25m; whereas the DiveRs are a longer sleeker fin designed more for efficiency.

Carbon fins

A common name used for carbons is Carbon Fibre – this is actually incorrect and this refers to a Carbon and Fibreglass sandwich construction which is less common but is a nice mid way from Fibre to Pure carbon fins, as it retains a lot of strength but is a good jump-in efficiency.

Pure Carbon

These are your carbon fins made from 100% carbon with just a layer of resin on top, either hand laid or vacuum pre preg, the latter being stronger and far better quality. Ideally you want pre preg for the strength especially with a thin carbon blade – however a cheaper hand laid carbon blade such as the Leaderfins can be found with pockets for less than £220 which is exceptional value for money, but don’t expect them to last years and years and you will need to be much more careful in how you treat them. If you’re purely a freediver however, this is less of a concern as you are finning in clearer water with less obstructions.

Pre preg are made in a vacuum process and have almost zero imperfections or chance of faults making them the ideal choice for more serious spearos or freedivers. Fins like the Pathos Maximum, Ultimate and Nero, or XT T4, T4 Long are some of the best pure carbons on the market and with pockets, most are below £350. These fins are often less than 250g per blade and allow you to swim through the water with hardly any feeling of weight on your feet. The focus on efficiency will mean you can swim much further and deeper for longer on less energy than a fibre or plastic fin. This is where carbon fins really set themselves apart: it’s the amount of energy you save that makes your diving so much better. Making a single dive on one breath means you need to keep that heart rate low and every little thing you can do to save energy will result in a longer bottom time, less fatigue and more comfort, resulting in a better spearfishing and freediving experience.

With the more expensive fins you can find a pair that suits your specific diving style, whether that is the flex profile, the blade angle, length or stiffness.

Carbon fins are often considered and talked about as being fragile and easy to break. That is partly true as the cheaper ones will be more brittle, but generally carbon is a very strong material and very hard to break. It’s often misuse and kicking off the bottom where people break fins, so always take it with a grain of salt if someone tells you one specific brand is crap because they snapped them. The strength of carbon fins is laid along the length of the blade in order to support the flex of the blade – this makes the fins very strong but is also its weakness – some fins have some torsional stiffness diagonally to add strength. If the pure carbon fins take a big impact directly to the flat side of the blade, this can cause a crack or chip them and the thin bottom edge of the blade is easier to chip if you’re not careful. As long as you bear this in mind, even the most careless shore divers can use pure carbon fins with no issue. All of our team divers use carbon fins and the majority dive from shore and often hunt in the top 2-5m of water most of the time.

DiveR Innegra

These are the king of spearfishing fins: they are stronger than a fibre glass fin and just as good as the top pure carbons but with ZERO downside. You can roll them up like a newspaper and they wont break, making them indestructible. DiveR retain the rights to use the Textreme Innegra material exclusively for their fins. The Innegra material is used in Formula 1 Motorsport and in Aerospace technologies – it allows the fin to flex much more than a regular carbon whilst still retaining maximum efficiency in a lightweight package.

We have thoroughly tested these fins and most of our team use them as you can beat the hell out of them and abuse them without worrying that they will break.

• Impact Resistance: Protects fins from damage and enhances durability.
• Flexibility: Improves energy transfer for efficient propulsion.
• Lightweight: Reduces fatigue and enhances maneuverability underwater.
• Used in industries: such as Formula 1 and aerospace
• Vibration Damping: Provides a smoother and controlled swimming experience.
• Chemical Resistance: Protects fins from degradation in various diving environments.

Our top choices for each material

Plastic:

• Our top choice – Salvimar Turn 151 £108: Extra length and flex making them softer and more efficient, ideal for people below 90KG.
• Our top choice below £100 – Picasso Speed fins £81.99: Standard length and shaped plastic fin but uses very soft pockets helping to stop cramp.
• Best budget – Labrax Boom Plastic £64.99: Fitted with detachable foot pockets makes these a great option – the pockets are not as comfy as others like the Picasso Speed but overall are very lightweight.

Fiberglass:

• Our top choice – RUKU Blades £309.99 – With pockets can range up to £400 – Bombproof high end fibre fins with a 3 year warranty, available in loads of designs. A shorter and wider shape better for shallow diving and agility but with plenty of performance down to 25-30m.
• Best budget Options – Spearmaster Fiberglass Fins £181 with Leaderfins pockets – Solid and reliable intermediate fiber fins with great reactivity and efficiency for the price. Leaderfins Fibreglass £135-£138, a cheap entry level composite fin providing a perfect jump from plastic fins, uses detachable pockets. Great value for money but won’t last as long as the Spearmaster; the fixing sets are also weak and have a habit of threading.

Carbon:

Our top choice – DiveR Innegra blades £586 – With X-Wing pockets they are just shy of £700. Ultra reliable and indestructible, ultimate performance, worth every penny as you never have to buy another pair of fins.

Our top recommended pure carbon blades –

• XT T4 & T4 Long blades £244 – £285.99: Top quality Prepreg carbon blades backed by great R&D, with a stiffness every 10kg you can match the exact fin to your weight to maximise the performance for your diving. The entire range of XT fins are designed to match different types of diving and different finning techniques.
• Pathos Ultimate blades £293.99 similar shape and design to the T4 Long, the Pathos Ultimate Carbon Blades fins are made of 285-T4 and 285-T2 pure carbon fiber. This is the best choice of fabric to provide the perfect combination of high resistance and instant reaction.
• Pathos Nero blades £253.99: New from Pathos, a more efficient design perfected for free divers although slightly more delicate than the others mentioned they are still suitable for spearfishing.

All the blades above can be glued to the Pathos Fireblade pocket but we recommend the Mares X-Wing as they are lighter and detachable.

Best Budget Options:

Leaderfins Carbon Fiber £164.99: A great budget option, uses two layers of carbon with a layer of fibreglass in the middle to add strength, a less common design but a safe option for a more efficient fin on a budget.

Picasso Master Carbon £264.99 including pockets: Our cheapest prepreg carbon fins fitted with ultra soft Picasso pockets for ultimate comfort. Our team member John has been using these for the past few years only from shore often hunting mullet right on the shore line and has had no issue with them or worry about damaging them.