Where are Scubapro Jet Fins made?

[ozziworld]

I was wondering where Scubapro Jet Fins have been made throughout the years. Do the colored ones last as long as the black ones?

Do the clones perform the same ?

Other than the shape/mold, I think the formulation of the rubber would be the biggest factor impacting performance / durability.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

They are (and have been) made in Italy. When the whole country goes on holiday in August, back orders start to pile up.

How well Jet Fin clones perform depends on the clones. OMS slipstreams for example are an extremely close copy of the Jet fin in terms of shape and size but are made of a monoprene material that is much stiffer. However in the water in a normal swimming kick they feel virtually identical and the same is true in a frog kick. However when back kicking you start to notice the additional blade stiffness and it make them a bit more responsive with a bit more accelleration compared to the softer Jet Fins. I have also noted that in some very high flow caves wher ethe flow wants to blow me out, that you feel the stiffer blade then as well and they are a lot less forgiving if you let the fin tips catch the flow.

Durability is a major difference. In the mid 80's I used to dive a lot below hydro electric dams and in rivers with rocky beds and to slow your drift and prevent going arse over tea kettle, we'd keep the fin tips on the bottom to keep them from getting caught by the faster current we were drifting in. As such my Jets have drug across probably hundreds of miles of river bottom gravel and show almost no wear. In contrast, my OMS slipstreams looked far more beat up than my 20 plus year old jet fins after a half season of use. But like the old monoprene power planas I had before I switched to Jets, they still work great despite the beat up looks.

Other clones don't fare as well. Many people swear by Turtles, but I've always sworn at them in comparison to Jets. Same with USD Rocket fins - they are a lot stiffer but a lot less efficient in the water, and not surprisingly there are very few fans of those fins.

I have never hear any issues of the colored Jet Fins not holding up as well, but even if they only lasted twice as long that would just mean it has a 20 plus year life instead of the 40 plus year (and counting) of the black Jet fins. The problem with colored Jet Fins is that Scubapro never sold many of them in the US.

 

[Swigart]

I was wondering where Scubapro Jet Fins have been made throughout the years.

They are (and have been) made in Italy.

I bought my fins 3 years ago, and mine say they are made in the USA.

 

[David Wilson]

I bought my fins 3 years ago, and mine say they are made in the USA.

I was also under the impression that Scubapro had its fins manufactured in the USA, and to be precise at the Pacific Molding plant in Corona, CA. If you visit the latter company's website at

pacificmolding.com

you can see workers at the firm removing blue Oceanways Professional fins from their moulds and stacking Scubapro split fins. If you look at the YouTube video at

YouTube - How is made - Scuba Dive Rubber Fins

you'll see the full process of making Oceanways fins from start to finish. You will also see notices relating to Scubapro gear, leading me to conclude that if Scubapro jetfins aren't made there, then their other fin lines are.

So far as I am aware, the Pacific Molding plant is the only place in the USA where scuba fins are manufactured.

 

[Randy43068]

In the fin factory!

I was wondering where Scubapro Jet Fins have been made throughout the years. Do the colored ones last as long as the black ones?

Do the clones perform the same ?

Other than the shape/mold, I think the formulation of the rubber would be the biggest factor impacting performance / durability.

 

[Randy43068]

I bought my fins 3 years ago, and mine say they are made in the USA.

Same..

There are some clones from off-shore that I've seen, however.

 

[rye_a]

I don't know about ScubaPro Jet Fins, but I can tell you that their Seawing Novas are made in South Africa.

 

[DrunkenParrot]

I was also under the impression that Scubapro had its fins manufactured in the USA, and to be precise at the Pacific Molding plant in Corona, CA. If you visit the latter company's website at

pacificmolding.com

you can see workers at the firm removing blue Oceanways Professional fins from their moulds and stacking Scubapro split fins. If you look at the YouTube video at

YouTube - How is made - Scuba Dive Rubber Fins

you'll see the full process of making Oceanways fins from start to finish. You will also see notices relating to Scubapro gear, leading me to conclude that if Scubapro jetfins aren't made there, then their other fin lines are.

So far as I am aware, the Pacific Molding plant is the only place in the USA where scuba fins are manufactured.

Thanks for sharing that I always wondered how Jets were made.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Thanks for posting the video links. It's interesting to see how Jet Fins are manufactured. I've been to an couple of injection molding factories (Oreck and Coleman), but I've never seen how rubber products were made.

I might have to buy another pair of Jet Fins, just to support that business. Mine are never going to wear out. I could leave a pair with a friend at a favorite destination.

-Mitch

 

[rye_a]

Call me crazy, but I don't think the factory in the video was in Italy...