Scubapro Seawing Nova

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Just got back from my first trip with the Seawing Novas - a long weekend (3 days - 13 dives) in Key Largo.

The fins are great. I can get a nice consistent kick, and could really move with a flutter or scissor kick. I'm still working on my frog kick form, but had no problem getting propulsion with these fins. I still can't seem to master the back kick (no matter what fins I'm using). I probably need someone who knows what they are doing to watch me.

My legs did not tire on any of the dives and most of them involved some level of current. Due to the width of the blades, I did feel I was hitting things a little going through the Spiegel Grove, but that probably just needs a bit of kick adjustment.

Only issue I have right now is boot fit. My 7mm wet boots fit in the pocket perfectly. My 3mm low boots were a little lose, I think I'll get something a bit heftier for warm water. My EVO3 boots for my White's dry suit are just a little too big, for that I think a pair of Chuck Taylor's should do it.

I just received my size Medium Black Scubapro Seawing Novas today.

The foot pockets fits perfectly with my 3mm Men's Size 9 3mm Seasoft Sunray booties. These are great warm water booties especially for shore diving. The sole isn't flat (these booties were made for walkin', yes indeed . . . )

FREE SHIPPING!!!<br>3MM Seasoft Sunrays Scuba Diving Boots Booties Hard Sole with Heel Caps: unrealfind


I'll perform actual in-water test in 2 weeks on St. Croix - Cane Bay area! I'm really looking forward to it based on all the posts here!
 
They're awesome fins, I've been diving with them for four months now. But when diving with doubles I didn't find they had enough power, especially when doing the frog kick. A bit floppy is how they felt. Also their positive buoyancy tends to tilt you forward more (as you're not wearing a weight belt with doubles and a SS backplate, there is a slight tendency to tilt forward when you stop all activity). So I got the Hollis F-1s. I'm wondering how they will compare with the seawings when on a single tank.
 
I'll be diving doubles as well as singles, but the doubles will be rental aluminum 80's as independant doubles so I'll still need ditchable weight in 80 degree F water and a 0.5 mm westsuit.

For singles, I'll have rental aluminum Luxfer 100 ft3 tanks available, and I'll still need ditchable weight with those.

Sounds like they should work well for me for either singles or doubles for frog kick.

I'll post my results after I return.
 
Has anyone any more experience with these fins as im considering buying them but would like to hear from people who have them and have been using them for the past few months. What are your impressions of them now you are used to them ? do you have any regrets?

regards

Musicville
 
musicville: I have a pair and they work great for recreational and sports diving. Great performance, thrust and extremely effortless. However, I will be getting myself a pair of Scubapro Jet Sports, or the plain Jet fins for tech related dives. The Nova's are not great/effortless for the range of modified kicks I prefer in high silt environments.
 
I have over 100 dives on mine since September living here in Florida. Ajduplessis is correct, they tend to silt up the bottom more than the old style Jet Fin. However, I love mine and have worked on my kick or modified kick to keep the fins off the bottom. If you have good buoyancy and remain vertical in the water and use the modified kick, stay off the bottom, you shouldn't have a problem. I don't think I would use them in a CAVE situation at all, but for Ocean and most sink and clean Caverns, they are great. The really move you along using the Dolphin kick.

One thing I do notice, is it is just cosmetic, but after so many uses, they are really scratched up and look ugly. I was going to order a white set but because of the scratches on the black pair, i decided against them.

I also for some reason, and I have found nobody else with this issue, I now use a rear entry from a boat as about 25% of the time using the front scissor kick entry, the trailing fin will pull off my foot and the entire fin would travel up my calf, thus a terminated dive unless you have a good buddy willing to assist in removal of the fin and placing it back on. Since I switched to the rear entry, I have never had a problem. I have Deep Sea booties and I notice they do not have a large fin strap keeper so this could add to the problem as well as maybe a lazy entry. I am a size 10 and wear large Nova's, this is the crossover size so maybe a medium would also fix that problem. But I like the fit of the large, might try a set of Mediums or buy a different bootie as mine have just about had it after 150+ dives. Deep Sea's are not the most expensive in the world. I had a set of Pinnacle 5mils and required XL fins so I sold the Pinnacles, just too hot for our water.

One more thing, these fins are positive buoyant. Until I got used to them, I used 1/2lb weights on each ankle but then found myself silting up the bottom too much. I think I had more of a general buoyancy problem that I have since fixed. It is nice to know that they float and do not sink.

I have no other fin at this time for my type of diving that I would consider. Hope this helps.

Also, please support your Local Dive Shop. You can't buy air from Ebay or LP or any other online dealer. I said in an earlier post. In Florida, the economy is hitting the shops without boats hard. Since my last post, we have had two more dive shops close their doors. With this oil spill in the Gulf, I have a great fear what could happen to all the reefs in Florida as the oil is starting to get in the loop, or the Gulf Stream. Just my two cents. All you divers buying your stuff online, when you come down to Florida and we have fewer dive shops, then you are going to be paying a prime price for air/EAN and TRIMIX. Think about it.
 
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I like them.

Lightweight for travel
Moderate performance frog kicking
Moderate performance back kicking
No difference Helicopter kick
Less effort or fatiguge on less
No difference flutter kick

Compared to blade style fins
 
i just bought a set and will be trying them out tomorrow... will post results later
 
After my couple months old Mares Volo's started to tear up, I've decided to change to something more reliable fin. I've been reading on both Seawing Novas and Hollis F1's and can't decide which one would be better for my uses.

I'm a beginner in diving but I like to get good quality equipment that lasts a long time and are usable in as many situations as possible. So, I'm looking for a good all-around fin that has a bulletproof construction unlike the Volos.

Any thoughts on the matter are greatly appreciated.

Jukka
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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