We love our Mares Plana Avanti Quattro fins, but could not find compatible commercially
made DIR-style stainless steel spring straps. So we made them ourselves. They
work very well. There is now over 200 dives on them, some in adverse conditions.
They are admired everywhere we go.
We first made the straps with .054" wire diameter springs. They worked great most of the time, but were not secure enough under extreme conditions. We have now remade the straps with .062" wire springs and like them even better. The pictures are of our first generation straps, but the new ones look identical.
It should be obvious from the pictures how they are made. The spring material and the wire are pretty hard to work with, you will need an assortment of pliers and some patience, but it is worth it. Be careful when cutting the springs to get the length right. The best approach is to attach the spring to one side of the fin, then cut to the required length and finish the other side. Cut off the machine loops from the springs and bend off two coils to approximate a double crossover loop end. Don't forget to slip the tubing on before attaching, the strap is not easily removable.
