Scubapro Sea wing novas - 140 dives and both broken

[RichardDM]

Hi there,

I'm a DM that's been using Seawing nova's for the last year and until this weekend I have been very happy with them. I have now logged 140 dives with the fins and on my last dive I noticed the pivot had a split in it during a dive. By the time I made it to the surface it had completely snapped. Upon inspection I noticed the second fin is starting to split too.

Obviously this is totally unacceptable and I want to send them back to be replaced. The problem is to where? I bought them in Australia and now live in the UK. Can anyone help me out with the details of Scubapro's UK outlet? Google shows up nothing.

I'm hoping I had a "bad" pair and that these fins aren't suffering from a major design flaw. I have used them in water from 15-30 degrees (Celsius of course) and also in currents in the Galapagos. They have never been forcefully bent at all other than when fining as one would expect.

If anyone has any contact info for Scubapro UK I would be very appreciative. They have not answered any messages posted via their website.

Rich

[buddhasummer]

Hi there,

I'm a DM that's been using Seawing nova's for the last year and until this weekend I have been very happy with them. I have now logged 140 dives with the fins and on my last dive I noticed the pivot had a split in it during a dive. By the time I made it to the surface it had completely snapped. Upon inspection I noticed the second fin is starting to split too.

Obviously this is totally unacceptable and I want to send them back to be replaced. The problem is to where? I bought them in Australia and now live in the UK. Can anyone help me out with the details of Scubapro's UK outlet? Google shows up nothing.

I'm hoping I had a "bad" pair and that these fins aren't suffering from a major design flaw. I have used them in water from 15-30 degrees (Celsius of course) and also in currents in the Galapagos. They have never been forcefully bent at all other than when fining as one would expect.

If anyone has any contact info for Scubapro UK I would be very appreciative. They have not answered any messages posted via their website.

Rich

Not sure what to do re contact, Ive emailed them a few times with various questions and they have NEVER replied.

There are many reports of them breaking at the hinge, so many in fact that I decided against buying a pair despite their good performance reviews. I believe Scubapro are aware of this problem and have apparently made a revised version using a different molding technique(?). Im still suspicious though. Good luck.

[diverdude74]

New versions of the fins have a different design in the hinge that is suppose to make it stronger and not affect the performance of the fin

[ajduplessis]

Any ScubaPro dealership should be able to swap them out.

[buddhasummer]

New versions of the fins have a different design in the hinge that is suppose to make it stronger and not affect the performance of the fin

They're gonna say that, Im still interested but will wait a while and see how well Ver2 hold up.

[Munkeyphist]

Hey Richard, I run a dive center in Thailand that sells many types of fins, including the ScubaPro Sea Wing Nova. There is a "design fault" with the fins that ScubaPro in Thailand have recognised as a design fault, and not caused by customer useage. The problem exists on the 2 upper spars from the top of the boot to the aft section of the fin. The new re-designed fins do not have the 3 cut outs on the top allowing for flex, as it is now a solid piece. the lower 3 cut outs still exist. This apparently is a permanent fix for those that have broken ones, and if you don't have broken ones, you might want to think about sending them back to get replaced before the break on your next dive.

As to where you can send them? Any ScubaPro outlet should be able to replace them for you as they are a "life" guaranteed item through normal use. Should not make a difference whre you bought them. I bought mine in the US last month when I was on holiday because they were cheaper there than here in Thailand. They have not broken yet, and I did not wait for them to break. I sent them to the main ScubaPro supplier in Thailand (Phuket), and got new ones. No questions asked.

Hope this helps

Gary G
PADI MSDT/EFRI

[Islandheart]

I have two pair of the Novas.

My first pair, the black ones have not yet split at the top part of the hinge. The white pair I bought, one split during a training dive with students, lucky I had the other black pair in my van, so I finished the day's dives.

Later that day, when I inspected the other white fin, I could see the split starting on it.

My SP dealer swapped out the white pair for a pair of the "Newer Designed" Novas.

There is a difference in "feel" between the two designs, with the newer ones being stiffer than the older ones.

[Imrulqays]

Problem with Scubapro Seawing Nova

[NAUIwowee]

I'm not positive, but I think you can have them replaced by any authorized SP dealer; but I believe you will need to have your sales receipt to prove you are the original purchaser. If I'm not mistaken, the warranty is only valid for the original purchaser, not second-hand.

After purchasing a pair, I contacted SP about registering them for the warranty (my SP Twin-Jet Max fins had serial numbers stamped into them that I had to register as the orignal owner, the SeaWings do not) The SP rep that replied said that I did not need to register the SeaWings; I just needed to keep my receipt in case of a warranty issue.

BTW, I really like my SeaWings! Very noticable improvement in performance over my Twin-Jet Max fins! I bought a pair of black ones back in September, but when the blue ones came out last month, I couldn't resist. Sold my black ones and now have a brand new pair of blues!

[RichardDM]

Well it certainly sounds like I'm not alone.

I posted them back to the Scuba pro workshop in the UK and got a nice new shiny set of v2's back. They certainly look a lot more robust. Fingers crossed!

Cheers all for the replies,

Rich