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Post by tomcatpc on Mar 30, 2019 15:15:15 GMT -8
Once again I have a fin question. Last week it was the Dacor Turbo II Fins that were at the shop I haunt. When I went last Friday to buy them, I dug through though the "pile" of fins along the wall.
In the pile I dug up a pair of US Divers "Spoiler" Fins. I had never heard of them before, but they sort of intrigued me for some dumb reason.
I did some research last night and found these were for sale from circa 1972 to at least 1975. The next US Divers cat. available to view was 1980 and they were not carried then.
Just have not heard about these ever and was wondering about them. I might be snagging them next time? Getting a lot of fins here LOL!
Mark
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Post by Aquala1 on Mar 30, 2019 15:58:38 GMT -8
Mark, show us a pic! They sound cool.
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Post by snark3 on Mar 30, 2019 16:05:54 GMT -8
I have 4 sets of Spoilers. They are cool. Be careful if you plan on diving with them. They're about as flexible as a sheet of plywood, once I got older they gave me leg cramps.
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Post by tomcatpc on Mar 30, 2019 18:53:36 GMT -8
I don't have any photos, check out US Divers catalogues from 1972 to 1975. How I can describe them from my dyslexic mind would be the bottom half (blade) of a US Divers Rocket Fin or ScubaPro Jet Fin, but the foot pocket is sort of like a Voit Mk. IX? But the "vents" on the blade are different than the Rocket/Jets... So there...that describes absolutely nothing LOL!!!
Mark
Odds are I will pick these up too....
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Post by tomcatpc on Mar 30, 2019 18:56:43 GMT -8
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 30, 2019 19:56:15 GMT -8
I have a set that were NIB, and still have the box. But they are really inflexible, and that makes them not so good as a fin. I had them in the pool a week or so ago, and while they do work, they don't work as advertised. There is no "water jet" coming out of the channels that I could determine. And the lack of flexibility made finning difficult for my 73 year old legs. I'll see about getting photos later.
John
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Post by tomcatpc on Mar 31, 2019 2:18:01 GMT -8
I guess that is why the Rocket Fin made it a lot longer (still available?) the the Spoiler fin? Anyway, I think I might pick these up, just for the "interesting" factor. When it comes to fins, I really don't notice a "bad" fin unless it is "in my face bad"...if that makes sense? I actually loved my Oceanways "Professionals" copy of Cressi/Healthways "Rondines".
Mark
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Post by snark3 on Mar 31, 2019 2:34:20 GMT -8
I guess that is why the Rocket Fin made it a lot longer (still available?) the the Spoiler fin? Anyway, I think I might pick these up, just for the "interesting" factor. When it comes to fins, I really don't notice a "bad" fin unless it is "in my face bad"...if that makes sense? I actually loved my Oceanways "Professionals" copy of Cressi/Healthways "Rondines". Mark They do qualify as interesting. The only time I use mine is when I'm diving at my parents lake house. I'm very close to shore and my dives are usually short. If you pick them up I would definitely try them, but the first time you do, be safe use them in a controlled or somewhat controlled situation. A pool or a close to shore beach dive would be the best until you get comfortable with them, as I mentioned in a previous post they are so stiff I get leg cramps if I use them on a long dive. |
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Mar 31, 2019 7:25:08 GMT -8
I have a paper copy of the 1976 issue of the US Divers catalogue and the Spoilers are in it:  I'm afraid I don't have access to 1977-1979 US catalogues. I'm intrigued by the explanation of the fin's name in the 1972 catalogue: "It will spoil you, that's how it acquired its name." The verb "spoil" has many meanings and I'm left wondering which of them is appropriate in this case. DRW PS. For what it's worth, The Complete Outfitting & Source Book for Sport Diving compiled by the Great Outdoors Trading Company features the US Divers Spoiler Fin. This book was published in 1978. |
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Mar 31, 2019 7:40:38 GMT -8
I actually loved my Oceanways "Professionals" copy of Cressi/Healthways "Rondines". Mark  Here's a video showing how Oceanways Pros are made: I have a blue pair of Oceanways Aquapros large enough to wear over booties. I love them and I've often wondered why Cressi didn't keep at least one rubber Rondine model in its repertoire in the same way as it continues to offer the Pinocchio mask 60 years after its launch. DRW |
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Post by cnotthoff on Mar 31, 2019 17:33:31 GMT -8
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Post by technidiver on Mar 31, 2019 18:20:33 GMT -8
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Post by nikeajax on Apr 1, 2019 9:28:26 GMT -8
Gosh, ya know, when I think of "spoiler", I think of cars with spoilers on the rear end, and the car that come to mind is the Plymouth Roadrunner-Superbird:  My wife and I see all sorts of cars with spoilers added to them, doing absolutely nothing: an engineer told me that street cars can't go fast enough to actually take advantage of wing to push the rear end down: I want to say it was something crazy like 175+ MPH. We call the "god handles"... YANK!  JB |
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Post by tomcatpc on Apr 1, 2019 11:05:10 GMT -8
That is what I thought of when I read "Spoiler" Fin on the fins. I thought of a 1970 Mach 1, or Boss 429, etc. These fins came out circa 1972 in the twilight of the muscle car era... That is what I thought at first.
Mark
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Post by snark3 on Apr 1, 2019 12:22:27 GMT -8
Gosh, ya know, when I think of "spoiler", I think of cars with spoilers on the rear end, and the car that come to mind is the Plymouth Roadrunner-Superbird: My wife and I see all sorts of cars with spoilers added to them, doing absolutely nothing: an engineer told me that street cars can't go fast enough to actually take advantage of wing to push the rear end down: I want to say it was something crazy like 175+ MPH. We call the "god handles"... YANK! JB JB, That's a pic of my favorite muscle car. The Dodge "sistership", the 1969 Charger Daytona turned 199+ MPH at Talladaga....stock. Never mind what the Nascar guys like Richard Petty made them do. These were actually designed for the track and to meet Nascar requirements were detuned and sold to the public. Chryslers way of saying "in your face" to Nascar.
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