XT Diving is an important Greek brand leader in the design of carbon fiber blades for spearfishing and freediving. They have been producing blades for Pathos and are among the Greek leaders in the sector together with Alchemy and Meister. XT Diving si also master in the design and manufacturing of spearfishing and freediving wetsuits and shafts for speargun.
New Pteryx Deep Med fins
The offer of carbon fiber blades by XT Diving is huge, and we have already presented a few models, such as the fantastic XT Diving Pro T4 fins. Let’s first look at how the XT Diving Pro Pteryx Deep Med fins are designed and manufactured.
Material
The material used is 100% twill carbon fiber with 45° positioning of the fibers for the maximum power generation. Compared to other models by XT Diving, the Deep med fins have additional layers of carbon fiber to improve reactivity and thrust.
Manufacturing
XT Diving Pro laminates the fins using high pressure in the press and high temperature. An extremely long process permits to have excellent quality and performance according to the Company, meaning 8 days of production needed for the XT Diving Pro Deep Med blades, 4 days at high pressure in the press, and 4 days at high temperatures for final lamination.
Design
The angle of the blades is 24°, and so matched with, for example, a C4 250 foot pocket with 3° angle, they will reach 27° total. The stiffness offer is amazing and is: Super Soft, Soft, Medium-Soft, Medium, Medium-Hard, Hard, HardHard. The blade by XT can be mounted on C4 250, C4 400 and Pathos foot pockets.
Gerasimos Kavvadias, the great Greek Champion tester for XT Diving Pro, indicates the Deep Med blades excellent with very narrow kicks. They are indicated as all rounders, from shallow to deep dives.
Test in the water – Extremely powerful for well trained spearos
Pathos foot pockets not so good
We have tried the XT Diving Pro Deep Med fins with the new softer rubber Pathos foot pockets. In fact, the now old foot pockets by Pathos, as they were launched many years ago, have been updated with a softer rubber. The idea is good, as the previous rubber was really too hard. Unfortunately, with this new solution there is only a small improvement when one puts on the foot pockets, as the area around the heel is more elastic and softer, but the stiffness of the upper part in contact with the instep remains really rigid and somehow uncomfortable. Leaving the foot pockets in a bag they have deformed so that the upper area squeezed pressing additionally on the instep. It is much better to use the Deep Med blades with the C4 250 foot pockets, modern, comfortable, and extremely light solutions.
Power and reactivity
The XT Diving Deep Med blades we have tried were the Soft version. They have appeared immediately very reactive when flexing them out of water, and the feeling was that they were somehow stiffer than what we could expect from a Soft blade. In the water the thrust is amazing, immediate, powerful. Thanks to the reactivity of the blades the acceleration and change of direction are strong and immediate, and this is great for the spearfishing action.
Only for strong legs
If the power and acceleration of the XT Diving Deep Med fins are excellent, there is a small downside, at list with the Soft Blades. In fact, the Greek fins do feel a little heavy on the legs and need some muscles to be handled properly. Nothing critical, but definitely something to know when buying them. Surely the good news is that XT Diving, as already indicated, offer the Deep Med blades also in the Super Soft version, surely something to consider for the medium trained spearos. Additionally, a lighter and more confortable foot pocket compared to the today too old Pathos, such as the C4 250, one of the best foot pockets on the market, would additionally improve performance and lightness on the legs.
Conclusions
If you want powerful, reactive but a little rough fins, the XT Diving Pro Deep Med blades are for you. Among the most performing blades in vertical dives, they become less effective in surface transfers, so defintely fins which are better using a boat for transfers.
