Hans Hass fins

[ElChe]

A few months ago I bought this pair of fins, made by Semperit. It is called Hans Hass System, and I found similar fins only in very old dive equipment catalogs. Were they marketed in the US? I'm really proud of these and I wasn't brave enough to try them but I would like to know is it a rare item? The fins are in excellent condition, so first I thought it's a very late reproduction of the original fins- or maybe the owner hasn't ever used them.

 

[Akimbo]

Totally cool. I have not seen a pair of these since the early 1960s. Most of these old fins have turned to goo by now. Nice score.

 

[ElChe]

I bought it for about 10 usd. I think the seller was a tire dealer who had some old rubber stuffs in the shed.

 

[David Wilson]

A few months ago I bought this pair of fins, made by Semperit. It is called Hans Hass System, and I found similar fins only in very old dive equipment catalogs. Were they marketed in the US? I'm really proud of these and I wasn't brave enough to try them but I would like to know is it a rare item? The fins are in excellent condition, so first I thought it's a very late reproduction of the original fins- or maybe the owner hasn't ever used them.

Thank you for posting a non-regulator thread that's European-oriented to boot! I'm pretty sure you have an original pair of early-1950s Hans Hass fins there. These fins are featured in the German Barakuda catalogue of 1953:

and the undated English C. E. Heinke catalogue of the mid-fifties:

As the years elapsed in the 1950s, Heinke brought out an adjustable version as an alternative to the fixed-heel model:


Heinke made wet and dry suits, hence the advice about fitting fins to footed suits. Finally, Heinke merged with its rival, Siebe-Gorman, in the early 1960s and the successor fins to the Hans Hass adjustable and non-adjustable fins were Explorer (with extended heel-pad) and Sea Hunter fins, both models adjustable and supplied with open toes for added comfort:

The Hans Hass System range was discontinued by Siebe-Heinke in the mid-1960s.

 

[ElChe]

Wow, it's quite exciting. Thanks for the additions! Certainly my vintage dive equipments are mostly European items, but I think this can be the most interesting one.

 

[Mike Lev]

Hello Elche I have a pair also. I think yours are newer maybe 60's from the system logo. I believe mine are from the 50's. Either way they are rare fins. You did great! Click for other pic.

 

[ElChe]

I regularly browse the local auction site's listings for rarities. Recently I found some really old-school diving masks, one of them seems like Mike Nelson's.
By the way the Semperit is an Austrian company, and because Professor Hass is Austrian as well, easy to find the connection.

---------- Post Merged on September 27th, 2012 at 07:52 AM ---------- Previous Post was on September 26th, 2012 at 03:51 PM ----------

This is the mask I mentioned, it's French, the manufacturer was Match. I especially like the white rubber.

 

[David Wilson]

This is the mask I mentioned, it's French, the manufacturer was Match. I especially like the white rubber.

Congratulations on your purchase. White rubber diving gear certainly stands out and I'm very fond of my (modern) Japanese-made white Gull Mew fins.

Jopen Match of Marseilles in the south of France was a manufacturer of masks and fins. There's an interesting collection of vintage European masks at

MASQUES - PLONGEE COLLECTION

including Match Ovale and Rectangle masks.

The "palmes" page on the website features several pairs of Jopen Match fins:

PALMES - PLONGEE COLLECTION