Yeeee Haaaah. My old favorites are back on sale. Thank you Mr. H. Dessault for not letting Sporasub's brain-dead decision to end your contract deter you from making the world's best footpockets (yeah, you heard me, you "omer-loving masochists" 
).
I ordered a pair of "new" H. Dessaults from Scubastore in hopes that they would work with my new Specialfins blades. I have a 2003 set of Specialfins blades (prototype, first set ever sent to the U.S.) with a 2003 set of Sporasub H. Dessaults. After having tried 15+ kind of freediving fins, I decreed that THESE are my fins. But, last year, the baggage throwers gave one fin a nice smash at the tip. I epoxied (is that a verb?) it, but it became a wakeup call that my fins won't last forever. So, I wanted a backup pair. Podge was looking to unload a pair of Kelpie Mediums, so I didn't hesitate.
Anyway,
Both came in the mail today. The Kelpies slid into the "new" H. Dessault footpockets the exact same as they had before - when Sporasub "made" them. The only difference between the pockets is that the "new" ones are a bit softer/thinner rubber. Not much, and certainly not "cressi thin", but noticeable. Note the two photos of me holding the fins by their ends. Do you see how the heal of my palm digs into the "new" footpocket a bit more than the old one? That is a function of the thinner rubber.
Other than that, things look the same, and so far, I am very pleased that H. Dessault stuck with the old mold. They slip on the same, are the same size, and feel very similar across the bridge of my foot. I haven't tried them in the water yet, obviously. But, I don't foresee much difference (other than my old blades are "hard" and my new ones are "medium")
Here are the photos. Enjoy.
).I ordered a pair of "new" H. Dessaults from Scubastore in hopes that they would work with my new Specialfins blades. I have a 2003 set of Specialfins blades (prototype, first set ever sent to the U.S.) with a 2003 set of Sporasub H. Dessaults. After having tried 15+ kind of freediving fins, I decreed that THESE are my fins. But, last year, the baggage throwers gave one fin a nice smash at the tip. I epoxied (is that a verb?) it, but it became a wakeup call that my fins won't last forever. So, I wanted a backup pair. Podge was looking to unload a pair of Kelpie Mediums, so I didn't hesitate.
Anyway,
Both came in the mail today. The Kelpies slid into the "new" H. Dessault footpockets the exact same as they had before - when Sporasub "made" them. The only difference between the pockets is that the "new" ones are a bit softer/thinner rubber. Not much, and certainly not "cressi thin", but noticeable. Note the two photos of me holding the fins by their ends. Do you see how the heal of my palm digs into the "new" footpocket a bit more than the old one? That is a function of the thinner rubber.
Other than that, things look the same, and so far, I am very pleased that H. Dessault stuck with the old mold. They slip on the same, are the same size, and feel very similar across the bridge of my foot. I haven't tried them in the water yet, obviously. But, I don't foresee much difference (other than my old blades are "hard" and my new ones are "medium")
Here are the photos. Enjoy.
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