We have indeed presented a very interesting blades by Leaderfins. The offer is wide and complete with 3 materials: 100% glass fiber, glass and carbon fiber sandwich and 100% carbon fiber. Also the geometry changes with 20° and 33° blade angle and 3 lengths: 60, 70 and 80 cm. But the Estonian company is also able to offer complete fins, with three different options for the foot-pockets. The Leaderfins foot-pockets are: Forza, Long Wings and the Extended. Let’s take a look at them.


 
Material
Made of soft rubber, thermoplastic rubber, the Leaderfins foot-pockets Forza are probably the top offer by the Estonian company for freedivers and spearos.

Thickness and weight
The transmission of the force from the foot through the Forza foot-pocket to the blade is optimized thanks to the variable thickness of the rubber. In fact, the instep of the Forza foot-pocket is thicker. More specifically, the general thickness is 2.5 mm, while the instep is 3.5 mm and the border of the foot-pocket around the ankle is 4.0 mm. There is also a small reinforcement in the area where the fingers come out at the tip of the foot-pocket. This vein is 3.0 mm thick. The rear of the heel of the Forza have 3 vertical veins to stiffen the area.

 
The sole of the foot-pocket is even thicker, around 1 cm, to be able to generate a rigid base where the blade connects to transmit the force in the most efficient way. Under the sole some veins stiffen the structure and have an anti-slip effect.

 
The weight of the Leaderfins foot-pocket Forza, in the size 43-44, is 435 grams excluding lateral clips, screws and plate.

 

Blade to foot-pocket connection
The connection of the blade to the foot-pocket is quite traditional and simple. The blade in fact slides into the slot present between the two layers of rubber at the base of the foot-pocket. The connection is then insured by two screws at the tip of the foot-pocket inserted in a plastic plate. In addition, the blade lateral rails (in PVC) connect to the short lateral rails of the foot-pocket. These are insured by clips to reinforce the connection. The mounting and dismounting is extremely easy and fast.

Foot-pocket lateral rails
Made evidently of the same material, thermoplastic rubber, as the foot-pockets, the lateral rails are simply a continuation of the foot-pocket itself. The length is reduced to 11.5 cm as for all the most modern foot-pockets that tend to let the blade work as freely as possible. Also, the free part of the lateral rails, meaning from the end of the main body of the foot-pocket to the end of the rail, are 2.5 cm thick at the start and constantly reduce their height to 1.5 cm. These are quite low values that do not interfere much on the bending of the blade.

Available sizes and colors
The excellent aspect of the Leaderfins foot-pockets Forza is the fact that they are available in a really wide number of sizes. Specifically the are offered in the sizes 31-32, 33-34, 35-36, 37-38, 39-40, 41-42, 43-44, 45-46, 47-48, 49-50. This is an unbeatable offer! The sizes refer to the bare feet. So you need to choose the next size if you intend to wear 3-5 mm socks. For example, if your bare foot size is 43-44, with a pair of 3-5 mm socks you should choose size 45-46.

Also the color possibilities are many and nice, also considering the various water rail colors and blades fantasies available by Leaderfins. The colors of the foot-pockets, including the lateral clips and plastic plates for the screws, are: black, white, red, light blue and pink.

Material
The Leaderfins foot-pockets Long Wings are similar in the material to the Forza, as they are in thermoplastic rubber.

Thickness and weight
The thickness logic is the same as the Forza, but the general value is 2.0 mm instead of around 2.5 mm. The instep thickness is measured equal to 3.1 mm, while the border around the ankle is still 4.0 mm. The small thickened border at the tip of the foot-pocket where the fingers are is 3.0 mm thick. The rear of the heel of the Long Wings have 3 vertical veins to stiffen the area. The base (sole) of the Long Wings, just as the Forza, is greatly thicker, around 1 cm.

The weight of the Leaderfins foot-pockets Long Wing in the size 43-44 is 560 grams, so definitely heavier than the Forza.

Blade to foot-pocket connection
The connection blade to foot-pocket on the Long Wings works exactly as the Forza. This means that there is one clip on each lateral rail and two screws working on the tip of the foot-pocket on a plastic plate.

Foot-pocket lateral rails
The lateral rails of the Leaderfins foot-pockets Long Wings, as the name suggests, are much longer than the ones of the Forza. The length from the end of the foot-pocket to the tip of the lateral rails is 32.5 cm. Quite some difference also in the thickness of the lateral rails, that are 4 cm high in the area where the foot-pocket ends and get thinner to 2.5 cm at the tip.

Available sizes
Sizes of the Leaderfins foot-pockets Long Wings are also many just as the Forza, except for the absence of size 31-32. The logic for choosing the size is identical to the one explained for the Forza.



Design, and material and sizes
The Leaderfins foot-pockets Extended are also in soft thermoplastic rubber. The particularity of the Extended is the closing system at the rear, which is obtained through an adjustable rubber band. It is similar to the ones used on masks, and quite typical in the scuba diving sector. The rear part of the band has a thick border ring to pull it and make wearing the foot-pocket extremely easy and fast. This solution represents a less professional design, that can determine some loss of power transmission to the blade. Still, it is a very simple and comfortable solution to adapt the foot-pocket to many different size feet. In fact, the measures available are only M 40-42 (EU) 7-9 (US), L 42-44 (EU) 9-11 (US) and XL 44-46 (EU)n 11-13 (US).


Thickness and weight
The thickness of the Leaderfins foot-pockets Extended is 5.5 mm in a central almost rectangular area on the top of the instep. Such area has a different design compared to the Forza and the Long Wings. The base of the foot-pocket is particularly rigid and is complete with three veins all along to stiffen the area and also help inserting the foot. The inferior part of the sole also has cross like veins to improve stiffness and eventually have a small unti-skid effect.

The Leaderfins Extended foot-pockets weigh 795 grams each in the size L.


Blade to foot-pocket connection
The blade to the Leaderfins foot-pocket Extended connection is done with the same technique as the Long Wings and the Forza, two clips and two screws on a plastic plate. At the same time the area under the foot-pocket where the blade comes to contact is much wider than the ones of the other two models.


Foot-pocket lateral rails
The lateral rails are pretty high in thickness, with 4.2 cm at the start and 1.5 cm at the end. The total length from the end of the foot-pocket is 31.5 cm.