How Custom Are My Fins?

Handcrafting the Perfect fin

So you're thinking about taking the plunge and ordering a set of custom fins online, but you have a question, the word "custom" doesn't tell you much other than that the fin blades that you're be ordering are not a stock item. So how custom are your custom fins really going to be and how does the info. that you're entering when making your purchase, make any difference to the final product?

Here follows an outline of what the process is when you've entered your height and weight into that text field, chosen your tail design, your blade length has been entered and you've decided whether to go for Classic Black Carbon or get creative with your fin blades and add a custom Camo design.

On receipt of your order, the creative process gets underway. The first step is scrutinizing your order summary to make sure that we've captured all the necessary data to handcraft an epic set of fin blades. We make a note of your height and weight, which gives us a guideline in our selection of the formula and layering that will give the best fin blade stiffness for you. This is not an exact science and our Lead Designer, Pierre, relies on personal experience and the creative flair that has made Spierre fin blades a truly handcrafted product. The info. then gets recorded on a worksheet, blade length is noted, the divers underwater conditions that he/she is spending most of their time in (e.g. strong currents, boat diving, shore diving) and whether there are any special factors we need to take into consideration (e.g. my legs are prone to cramping or I have very strong legs and like a stiffer blade etc.)

At this stage your foot pocket choice (if added to your fin blades) are also noted and ordered from our various suppliers. Any questions that you may have about sizing etc. can also be entered with your order and sorted out at this stage.

Now the manufacturing process begins. The Carbon cloth is carefully cut and layers are carefully selected for the correct fin blade stiffness. Once the lay-up is completed the handcrafted process of wet-lamination and vacuuming begins, combining layer upon layer of aerospace Carbon cloth with UV stable epoxy resins. Epoxy resin does not like variances in ideal curing temperatures and we take special precautions to ensure the lamination stage goes according to plan and results in a high performance lay-up. If there is a Camo design involved, this is now glassed into the matrix of the blade (not a stick-on decal) and the camo design is applied to the back and/or front of the blades.



The completed laminate is now prepared for the cutting stage according to your blade length and tip design and the choice of foot pocket that it will be fitted to (each foot pocket type has different requirements and we shape the back of the fin blades to fit).

Finally, your fin blade is cleaned up, side rails are added, polished and goes through a two-step quality control and the branding is applied to the blades. This is also when any artwork will be added, by hand, to the blades if you've requested our in-house artist to add a creative touch to your custom blades.

The box is prepared, fin blades are wrapped in bubble-wrap and your fin blades are sent. This is when you receive your tracking number and 7-10 days later, subject to the postal system, you should be holding your new pair of custom Spierre fin blades.