SP pro fin

[WolfY]

Any one that can tell the history of this kind of fin? Can't find any info. on the net.
Maybe some that have or used them?
These were my first fins. Got them about 30 yrs ago. One of the pairs have got broken a few years ago and since they were laying in the closet.
If I could get another pair or only one I'll be very glad since these are the fin I liked most so far.
Notice the water passage to the "wrong" direction.

 

[james croft]

I would put a pair of spring straps on them since they look to be OK other than the buckles being gone. As long as the foot pockets are not dry rotted and cracking they should still be fine. Spring straps can be obtained that allow you to install them very easily with a pair of channel lock pliers and you are good to go. I have a pair that old and they are still serving me well. I put spring straps on them.

 

[WolfY]

I would put a pair of spring straps on them since they look to be OK other than the buckles being gone. As long as the foot pockets are not dry rotted and cracking they should still be fine. Spring straps can be obtained that allow you to install them very easily with a pair of channel lock pliers and you are good to go. I have a pair that old and they are still serving me well. I put spring straps on them.

Thanks for your kind advise. I took of the SS springs I had on them and have the old straps too. That's not the problem.
One fin is cracked on the flat side. See the pict below that I forgot to enclose on the first post. You can see the crack on the side with no name on.

 

[David Wilson]

The pictures above are on a great French vintage diving equipment site, with a gallery extending far beyond the usual bunch of regulators. You can view it for yourself at:

Dive Collector - PLONGEE COLLECTION

Dating your Scubapro Pro fins is harder to do. I have a 1972 Scubapro catalogue which lists SP Jet Fins, SP Full Foot Fins and SP Surfins, but no SP Pros. If you go to the Finnish diving equipment catalogue site at

www.sukellusmuseo.fi

You'll find a 1975 Scubapro catalogue to download, in Swedish. The resolution isn't good, but you will find, on page 12 of the PDF, an image of the Pro Fin. The caption reads:

För att dykningen skall bli ett nöje mäste fenorna vara bekväma och ge stor effekt med rimlig ansträngning. Pro-Fin är en modernisering av den äldre Jet-Fin. Kanalerna är nu "rätt vända" för att ge SLIPSTREAM-effekt. Materialet är gummi i tre olika kvaliteter för olika delar av fenan. Bladet styvt och stabilt, foten mjuk och bekväm. Hälrem. Finns i tvä storleker för stora resp. normala fötter.

Here's a rough translation into English I made:

It will be a pleasure to dive with these fins. They are comfortable and provide great performance for reasonable effort. Pro-Fin is a modernisation of the older Jet Fin. The channels are now "turned round" to give the slipstream effect. The material is rubber in three different grades for different parts of the fin. The blade is rigid and stable, the foot soft and comfortable. Heel strap. Available in two sizes for large and normal feet respectively.

The fins are not listed in the Scubapro section of the chapter on fins in Larry Clinton's "The Complete Outfitting & Source Book for Sport Diving", published in 1978. My tentative conclusion is that divers preferred the original SP Jet Fin, which was itself an adaptation of Beuchat's JetFin. The SP Pro may have been quietly discontinued a year or two after its introduction, some time in the mid-1970s.

Hope this adds a little to your knowledge of the historical background underlying your fins. As a vintage snorkeller, I know nothing about the usual focus of vintage divers, the regulator, so I'm always delighted to have an opportunity to share my research on the history of basic gear. Thank you for your question.

 

[WolfY]

Thanks David,

This is more then expected and so fast.

What an effort. Thanks again

 

[DaleC]

Just to add a bit more.
Here's a shot of my two jets and a US Divers Rocket fin (their attempt to copy the jet).
On the left is a large jet and in the middle is an extra large. Quite a size difference.
Two different logo designs. The lightning bolt makes them go faster I have found.

 

[WolfY]

Thanks for your contribution.
Do you find noticeable differences btwn them?

 

[DaleC]

The blade difference with XLg is pretty big and requires more force to drive it but also generates more thrust. Because I use them for different types of diving I can't really give a straight across the board comparison.
I have had comments that at times I seem to "take off" and my buddies have to kick hard to keep up but I am really just kicking purposefully. The Jet is a great fin (my pairs cost $10 and $17 second hand) and can compete with any off the shelf $200+ model.

I am curious about your fins (and those linked by David) as the holes are above the vents and not below as mine are. Seems like quite a design change. Plus yours have all those patents for various countries. I was told that the lightnings were a later model (newer) so I wonder if, in fact, yours are older than previously suspected. Or maybe that was a change specific to the pro models? Your toe pockets also look different (flat and boxy) when compared to mine.

Bit of a mystery that someone here will surely be able to solve.

 

[Couv]

Nemrod started a couple of good post on the Jet Fin.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/vintage-equipment-diving/325238-jet-fin-vs-rocket-fin.html

Here is a post by Sam Miller you'll like.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5077005-post11.html

 

[Luis H]

I have been told and I tend to agree that the small round holes are only part of the molding process. They are needed to take the several-pieces of the mold apart.

Notice that the vents on the US Divers (and most of the other imitations) do not overlap. The mold is a lot simpler for this type of vent.

The Scubapro long overlapping requires a more complex mold.


I remember seeing a picture of the Pro-Jets back in the early or mid 70’s, when I was working on a Scubapro dealer, but we never actually saw any of the fins. I think what I saw was either and add on Skin Diver magazine or maybe an individual flyer from Scubapro. I am fairly certain that those fins were never shown in any of the catalogs in the US (but I may be wrong).

Obviously, they didn’t make many of them and probably even fewer ever made it into the US.