The supplied multi-tool
The upper and lower ( detached ) sides of the fins , and the location of the buoyancy plates
Top end fins
S-TEK Fins
COMPANY : SCUBAPRO PRICE : £ 230 WEB : WWW . SCUBAPRO . COM
In common with many divers , I tend to find a piece of kit I like and stick with it . After many years of diving with rigid-style fins , for the last few seasons I ’ ve been kicking along with a pair of excellent Scubapro TwinJet Fins .
I was therefore happy to get to grips with a recent addition to Scubapro ’ s S-Tek line of technical kit - the S-Tek Fin . In contrast to the TwinJets , these fins are of a rigid design with an interesting 30-degree angled blade .
Constructed from a blend of polymeric resins known as Monoprene , the open heel fins are an attractive matt black colour with rigid grey ‘ strengtheners ’ situated under the foot pocket .
Similar to the company ’ s Seawing Supernova fins , the S-TEK ’ s blade and pocket are moulded separately . This feature allows them to be disassembled for easy transportation and Supernova blades to be substituted . This works vice-versa too .
The heavy-duty bungee straps make donning and removing the fins a doddle and , if you ’ re off on your travels anytime soon , then a separate full-foot foot pocket is also available for warm-water diving .
The Socket-Lock Connecting System consists of a locking plate situated either side of the foot pocket . Removal or replacement can be carried out in less than a minute via the supplied multi-tool , which also contains four spare plates should you require one at any time .
A further innovation is the Removable Stainless Steel Weight Plate System . Adding or removing the ( two-per-fin ) 7cm x 5cm weights situated on the underside of the blade gives a choice between a positively , neutrally or negatively buoyant fin .
This is a great way to customise the fins from dive-to-dive . If you ’ re wetsuit diving over a fragile reef then a positive orientation makes perfect sense , while a little more weight can be advantageous when drysuit diving with a CCR .
Comparing them side-by-side with my TwinJets , they ’ re slightly shorter in length and a little narrower all-round . My usual drysuit boots or rock boots were just as easily accommodated .
In the water , the pre-angled blade appeared to require a tad less effort to get underway using a standard flutter kick . The vent system , including horizontal slots to the top and bottom of the blade , combined with the blade ’ s progressively-narrowing outer edges , also seemed to improve thrust considerably .
While some fins are prone to aggravating my calves and hamstrings , often resulting in painful cramp during a dive , the S-Tek ’ s thankfully weren ’ t in that category .
Of course , these fins are primarily aimed at the tech diver , so they need to respond well to the different finning techniques employed . I used this as an opportunity to experiment a little with the buoyancy system and found that both frog and back kick benefitted from neutral weighting .
The rigidity of the fins , plus their 30-degree bend were both factors that made hovering , moving slowly forward or edging my way backward remarkably easy , the latter particularly .
SCUBA SAYS
There are certainly cheaper options in the marketplace but Scubapro ’ s innovative S-TEK fins offer a lot more than the average fin . Ultra-streamlined , high-performing and highly robust , they also provide alternative blade and foot pocket options plus buoyancy adjustment for their premium price .
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