Fins

Fins

From the very beginnings of diving, man strived to mimic fish in order to improve speed and agility of movement under water.

Various devices were invented and experimented with from ancient times, continuing on through old Greece and renaissance era ending up with some truly remarkable modern fins of today's age.

Famous people toying with fin inventions include Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin while Louis de Corlieu in France and Owen Churchill in the United States, working independently of each other, were the first to make swimfins a practical reality.

Invention of rubber and composite materials revolutionized fins and made them available on market at very acceptable prices.

Although till today a large variety of fin designs have been developed and tested, it never stops to amaze how new and quite ingenious ideas are still available.

Fish tail - an original inspiration
for diver's fin

Some of such examples will be shown here not because they have something to do with spearfishing but more over to show how various approaches have been tried to give various results.

Spearfisherman with rubber fins about 1960's

Early spearfisherman have used pretty much any fin available on the market. From simple style fins for skindiving, to open heel type for scuba diving.

Increased popularity of spearfishing, and more focused approach to developing specialized fins for this particular activity resulted in new type of fins being developed in early 1980's - a spearfishing fins.

So what is so different about modern spearfishing fin? Well, fins for spearfishing have developed pretty much as did the sport itself.

A modern hunter will try to spend as much time under water as possible in order to prepare good "ambush" for fish hidden somewhere on the sea bottom.

To increase period of time which hunter could stay under water, it is necessary to descent in such way as to spend small amounts of oxygen and energy. To allow for such "elegant" descent, large size fins have been developed.

Such fins not only allow for really smooth descent, but in fact allow quick maneuvers and impulse action on behalf of diver if necessary. Of course this comes at expense of energy and more importantly - oxygen.

So is that it?

Although today's fins have really reached perfection in many aspects including materials, design, durability, practicability, thrust and also price; every now and again a new idea is being explored to solve other problems and challenges.

Thus interesting efforts have been done in terms of camouflage, a new aspect which became a necessity since 1990's, and is explored in various parts of this site.

So please continue on and have a look at some examples of fins from very early concepts to modern era fins, and see how at first glance very simple device has grown and matured to reach almost perfection.

Modern era spearfisherman

continue ...

*Fins*

From the very beginnings of diving, man strived to mimic fish in order to improve speed and agility of movement under water.
Various devices were invented and experimented with from ancient times, continuing on through old Greece and renaissance era ending up with some truly remarkable modern fins of today's age. Famous people toying with fin inventions include Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin while Louis de Corlieu in France and Owen Churchill in the United States, working independently of each other, were the first to make swimfins a practical reality. Invention of rubber and composite materials revolutionized fins and made them available on market at very acceptable prices. Although till today a large variety of fin designs have been developed and tested, it never stops to amaze how new and quite ingenious ideas are still available.		Fish tail - an original inspiration for diver's fin
Some of such examples will be shown here not because they have something to do with spearfishing but more over to show how various approaches have been tried to give various results.
Spearfisherman with rubber fins about 1960's	Early spearfisherman have used pretty much any fin available on the market. From simple style fins for skindiving, to open heel type for scuba diving. Increased popularity of spearfishing, and more focused approach to developing specialized fins for this particular activity resulted in new type of fins being developed in early 1980's - a spearfishing fins.
So what is so different about modern spearfishing fin? Well, fins for spearfishing have developed pretty much as did the sport itself.
A modern hunter will try to spend as much time under water as possible in order to prepare good "ambush" for fish hidden somewhere on the sea bottom. To increase period of time which hunter could stay under water, it is necessary to descent in such way as to spend small amounts of oxygen and energy. To allow for such "elegant" descent, large size fins have been developed. Such fins not only allow for really smooth descent, but in fact allow quick maneuvers and impulse action on behalf of diver if necessary. Of course this comes at expense of energy and more importantly - oxygen. So is that it? Although today's fins have really reached perfection in many aspects including materials, design, durability, practicability, thrust and also price; every now and again a new idea is being explored to solve other problems and challenges. Thus interesting efforts have been done in terms of camouflage, a new aspect which became a necessity since 1990's, and is explored in various parts of this site. So please continue on and have a look at some examples of fins from very early concepts to modern era fins, and see how at first glance very simple device has grown and matured to reach almost perfection.		Modern era spearfisherman
*continue ...*