ScubaPro Seawing Nova

It was the morning after Labor Day on a small island near Wilmington, North Carolina. Friends who had gone diving there came home with loads of booty: lost sunglasses, watches and such. So I was there to do a little treasure hunting of my own, with the help of these Seawing Nova fins. Once underwater, the first thing I noticed about them was how powerful my kicks felt. Unlike conventional blades, which bend gradually as you kick, these have an articulated joint much like the tail of a dolphin that enables the entire surface of the blade to reach the 45-degree angle necessary for maximum thrust. The fins’ joint design also freed engineers to remove excess material that usually attaches the blade to the foot pocket, so the Nova is lighter and has less drag—all of which leads to less kicking effort, less air consumption and, ultimately, more underwater time. I searched all morning, but in the end I found nothing—except for a new favorite set of fins.
—Mark Anders
$190; scubapro.com