Pathos Abyss fins with Fireblade foot-pocket are the lightest.

The number one aim by Pathos with the new Abyss fins was to improve the previous model, looking as always for best reactivity and lightness.

The declared result by Pathos is the exceptional restart from the bottom and sufficient softness for surface finning. Surely with a deep dives spearfishing champion as Giacomo De Mola, manager of many international markets for Pathos, the new Abyss, who’s name also clearly indicates their main characteristic, will be particularly confortable for deep dives. 3 are the blade hardnesses available: soft, suggested for divers up to 75 kg, medium, from 75 to 90 kg and hard, for over 90 kg.

Aesthetic design

A very nice glossy carbon fiber shows a very regular weave. In some limited areas of the surface some tiny holes on the surface of the resin are present, which evidence the tentative to use the minimum quantity of resin to reduce weight to the minimum. This aspect does not necessarily mean these are weak points, as the pathos Abyss have been tested deeply for reliability, but for sure they represent the will to reach an extreme limit in resin quantity reduction.

Integration with the foot-pocket it excellent, with the longerons glued directly to the carbon fiber, and absence of screws on the tip of the foot-pocket or clips on the longerons. The fins we have received have black foot-pockets, but we love the coloured ones, such as blu, brown, green, red and even purple. Maybe the Pathos and Abyss logos on the blades are a little bit imprecise in the contours. These are details, but easthetically give a less refined image.

Lamination

Pathos declares to use a lamination of the carbon fibre sheets with a V profile, solution partially visibile looking at the light reflexs on the fin, which actually create a sort of X, a little bit like the Carbonio GFT Alpha. Pathos also indicates that the blades are 100% carbon fibre, so there are no layers of glass fiber or kevlar as done by some other companies.

The lamination itself, meaning the process of laying the carbon fiber sheets with the resin inside the mould, is obtained with loulds that work at extremely high pressure (not declared) so to eliminate any possible air bubble inside the resin (which would reperesent a point of weakness), and reduce to the minimum the quantity of resin, so to have an as much as possible light blade. The process is brought forwad with the blades kept two days in the moulds and subsequently a day at very high temperature (not declared) for the final hardening.

Weights and dimensions

Long and narow, the Pathos Abyss are really light. the blae in particular gives the impression of extreme lightness that, together with the one of the Fireblade foot-pocket, make the Abyss point of reference on the market for weight reduction. Pathos declares a weight of the oot-pocket equal to 370 grams, the lightst among the ones tested by AP; while the total weight of blade plus foot-pocket has been measured by AP, with a 43-44 foot-pocket, equal to 730 grams, a real lightness record.

The length of the blades is 67 cm in the centre and 68 laterally, since the final profile has a slightly swallow tail shape. The width of the blade increases quickly from the tip of the toes, equal to 13 cm, to some cm further to the end, equal to 189.5 cm and then constant (measured internally to the water rails).

AP has measured, with a Palmer caliper, the values of the thckness of the blade in three points: immediately in fornt of the foot-pocket it has not been possible to measure due to the glued conncton, while at mid length the value is equal to 0.79 mm and at the end 0.47 mm. these values are quite low an match with the extreme lightness of the blades. Still on the dimensions side, the wtaer rails have a constant height equal to (cnsidering the total height on both sides of the blade) of 1.5 cm, while the length measured from the terminal point of the longerons to the end of the blade equal 42.8 cm. The angle beteen foot-pocket and blade is given equal to 22°.

Flexion

The flexion of the blade analyzed out f water shows a high rigidity, and an excellent reactivity, togeteher with a accentuated lightness sensation. The curve of the blade shows that the bending is concentrated at mid length, while in front of the foot the bending is minimal, and also not much at the tip of the blade.

Foot-pockets

Pathos indicates the foot-pockets are made of three different types of vulcanized natural rubber, and have greater thikness in the instep to strengthen the area and improve the movement and force transmission from the foot to the foot-pocket and the blade. The foot-pockets are of two types, soft and hard, that differ for the hardness of the longerons, acting differently on the bending of the blade. Footpockets tested are black, but very nice are also the coloured versions, in red, blu, green, brown and purple. The particularity of the Fireblade foot-pocket, in addition to its lightness (only 370 gr declared by Pathos) is the fact that they fit perfectly with carbon fiber blades, since the slot in the logerons is very narrow, and so it does not require the use of additional rubber guides on the side of the blade, as done with the foot-pockets of competition.

 

Click here for the technical charts of the Pathos Abyss.

 

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