Scuba Pro S tek fins

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I tried S Teks in the pool the other day. Not an extensive test but enough to get a feel for them.

I am longtime Jet Fin user. Not the most efficient fin certainly but I use them for the position control/frog kick/back kick etc. I don't care about fin weight.

I tried Super Novas a few years ago and found them very efficient -- much more forward thrust with less effort -- but they lacked the level of control I had with Jets. Side motions cut through the water easily with no "bite." Also I felt a lot of ankle rotation, which bothered me a lot.

The S Teks seemed to have similar thrust to the Novas without the feel of ankle rotation as well a much better degree of control. They didn't give me quite as much control as the Jets but certainly enough and allowed me to do frog kicks/helicopter turns etc.

I believe that fin comfort improves over time as our kick styles evolve to make the fins do what we want them to do so I think I would learn to love S Teks if I dove them full time. I am not quite ready to dump my dinosaur Jets yet but the S Teks are a strong contender for me.
A few years ago you probably tried Seawing nova’s, the Super Nova is a lot different and in my opinion better then the STek as delivered for control etc. with both they have eliminated the blade instability of the older fins.
 
I now have 8 dives / 10 hours, 41 min with the SCUBAPRO S-Tek Fins (size XL). This has all been on an Optima BMCL CCR in cave/cavern environments.

Prior to the S-Tek I used Mares Avanti Quattro+ (size XL). I have both weight plates in the S-Tek which make the fins about .2 pounds negative in fresh water (.1 pound negative each). The Quattro+ finds are neutrally buoyant in fresh water.

On the very first dive it took me about 30 minutes to fully adjust to the different feel of the fins. For frog kicks, I think the fins are about the same. I think the Quattro+ are better at the modified flutter kick, where the S-Tek is much better at reverse/back kicks and helicopter turns. I actually surprised myself the first time I did a back kick and saw how much I moved. Rhys Couzyn says these fins are great at the standard flutter kick, but that is not a kick I use very often and have not performed that kick style while diving these fins to date. I will use these fins when diving sidemount also, another style of diving where I used the Avanti Quattro+ fins.

I honestly do not see these replacing my Scubapro Jet or Hollis F1 fins. Even with both weight plates, they are still very light fins. In-water weight of the Hollis F1 and Jet are 1.2 pounds negative (.6 pounds negative each)...that is a full pound more negative than the S-Tek Fins. In back mount doubles with 2 to 4 deco / stage cylinders, I like the heavier fins.

With only one weight plate, the S-Tek Fins will float in fresh water with just the top of the bungee strap breaking the surface...I estimate about .4 pounds positive. With both weight plates removed, these fins float at the surface and are about .5 pounds positive in fresh water. The weight plates are about 2.75 ounces each.

My original idea was to have a set of finds where I could adjust weighting so one set of fins could replace both the Jet Fins and the Quattro+ fins. That simply can't happen because the S-Tek Fins are too bouyant. They can be adjusted from slightly negative, to slightly buoyant, to very bouyant. I also don't think it is smart to be changing the plates very often...they screw into a piece of plastic and after a few times removing the plates, I already find that the "bite" of the screw is not what it originally was. I can see these stripping if changed too often and requiring a new plastic mounting plate to screw into.

I have not played with the MFS, but I will be heading to the Philippines in January and will separate the foot pocket and blade for travel. Scubapro provides 4 lock plates with the tool they ship with the fins, and I see they are now selling 4 lock plates on their own. Are people losing their lock plates left and right...or, like the weight plate screws, do the lock plates weaken after multiple uses and will no longer securely lock into place?

For me the S-Tek Fins are an excellent replacement to the Mares Avanti Quattro+ fins. Since they lack sufficient negative buoyancy, they will not replace the SCUBAPRO Jet Fins for the Hollis F1 "Bat" Fins. I also feel that you need to find the ideal weight you want for the fin set and leave it. The design of the weight plate retainer does not lead itself to being something you want to be removing on a frequent basis.
 
I see they are now selling 4 lock plates on their own. Are people losing their lock plates left and right...or, like the weight plate screws, do the lock plates weaken after multiple uses and will no longer securely lock into place?

No, they were available from day one. I ordered an extra set from day one but never used it.




I also feel that you need to find the ideal weight you want for the fin set and leave it. The design of the weight plate retainer does not lead itself to being something you want to be removing on a frequent basis.
I imagine that if I needed to change the plates often, I'd just get more blades and designate each for a specific purpose with different number of plates. I also think there will be a way to add a third weight plate in the future (not an official statement).
 
No, they were available from day one. I ordered an extra set from day one but never used it.





I imagine that if I needed to change the plates often, I'd just get more blades and designate each for a specific purpose with different number of plates. I also think there will be a way to add a third weight plate in the future (not an official statement).
A longer screw would allow a 3rd plate...but then your plates are no longer flush. I don't know how important having a plate stick up a little higher would be...I don't see any major issues just thinking about it without a set of fins in front of me. That would make each fin under .3 pounds...still not even half as negative buoyant as a Jet Fin.

A set of S-Tec Fin blades is $129 list...so less than a set of Mares Avanti Quattro+ ($189.95 list), so extra blades is a possibility if you needed to shift the weight of the fin by around .5 pounds. (.275 negative to .25 positive).

It will be interesting to see the weight distribution of the new Halcyon Fin. I think everybody is past the issue that the newer fins don't look like the traditional paddle fins (Jets, Turtle, Slipstreams, etc). For me, the S-Tek cannot replace the Scubapro Jet fin for certain diving applications.

I would like to see reports on how long the locking plates last. I can't imagine Scubapro expects people to constantly misplace them, so I suspect they are a part that wears out over multiple uses and requires replacement to keep the Socket-Lock Connecting System secure.
 
I would like to see reports on how long the locking plates last. I can't imagine Scubapro expects people to constantly misplace them, so I suspect they are a part that wears out over multiple uses and requires replacement to keep the Socket-Lock Connecting System secure.


I have people here that lose stuff all of the time. One person just gave me all of his spare parts and tools to keep them for him. He is always losing stuff. I have a plastic container for my friends' stuff I keep for them.
 

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