After presenting the T5 George Vasiliou fins, some time ago, and also testing them with excellent results, and publishing the X-Rays of the XT Diving Pro Pteryx Andrea Zuccari, now we want to go deep in the manufacturing, structure and design of the XT Diving Pro T4 fins.
Best for which kind of use?
Thought for medium to deep diving, the T4 are evidently focused on spearfishing, also in the standard version, even though a long version is also available, as this is necessary to adapt to taller divers, as XT Diving Pro indicates.
Materials
100% standard twill carbon fiber and low amount of resin to reduce weight, which is a key characteristic of XT Diving Pro blades, making them particularly efficient and light, reducing effort and fatigue for the spearo.
Production process
XT Diving Pro laminates the fins using high pressure in the press and high temperature. Two days of production are needed for the XT Diving Pro T4 fins, both standard and long, one day at high pressure in the press, and one day at high temperatures for final lamination.
Design and external look
Glossy surface and extremely high perceived quality for XT Diving Pro T4 fins, that give and immediate sensation of lightness. Grafics are fused with the resin for best duration and a higher level result. The surface of the blades show almost no pores in the resin.
Tip of the blade has a slightly convex flap shape for best push during the final phase of the kicking, while water rails, of constant 16 mm total height, are positioned all along the blades, but are small to avoid interfearance with the bending of the carbon fiber, no excessive weight increase and no overlaod on the blades, which would effect the fatigue on the legs. Remember, in fact, that water rails avoid water sliding excessively laterally to the blade instead of along it, but an axcessive height of the water rails can determine too much water remaining on the blade and loading the legs of the spearo too much.
Footpocket on our pair of T4 is by KM Dive, the Greek company recently presenting interesting rubber products, from weight belts to foot-pockets.
The new foot pockets by Km Dive are made with up to 3 different compounds of vulcanized natural rubber. Soft rubber placed at the top of footpocket giving maximum comfort. Hard rubber placed at the bottom of footpocket giving the best results for what concerns energy transmission from the foot to the carbon fiber blade. A middle hardness of soft and hard rubber placed at the tip of the foot pocket giving the opportunity to the blade to work without changing the technical funztioning. T-rail rubber makes the rails of footpocket, giving the chance not to glue all the blade. UVA and UVB protection is added to the natural rubber compound. Km Dive footpockets are available full black color and in 3 different camouflages.
Angle between foot-pocket and blade is 24°, quite a normal value angle that gives good performance, and is easy to use for all divers, with no need of extreme technical skills not training.
Dimensions measured by AP are length equal to 62 cm from the curve under the footpocket to the tip of the flap, and 56.5 cm laterally to the flap, not particularly high values, confirming these fins are indeed for medium water use, but flexible for use in shallow, with their limited dimensions, and deep, thanks to their high performance and quality. The maximum width of the blade measured inside the water rails is 18.3 cm. Thickness of the blade goes from 0.48 mm on the tip of the flap, quite a low value that permits very good bending of the terminal part of the blade, to 1.00 mm at mid length, and 1.38 mm almost in front of the footpocket.
Flexion
XT Diving Pro has already shown its great capacities to produce carbon fiber fins with the T5 George Vasiliou blades. XT Diving Pro indicates the flexion type of the T4 as Middle End, Type 4, as visible in the image below, meaning the flexion is shifted between the middle and the tip of the blade.
In particular this effect is obtained positioning the layers of carbon fiber in specific positions and cutting their profiles with a V shape. Specifically the T4 have 2 V shape profiles among the carbon fiber layers, creating somehow an X image on the blade.
To download and read all technical data of the XT Diving Pro T4 fins click on Data Chart XT Diving Pro T4 fins
