The Apeks RK3 Fins Review

So I’ve had my trusty old Mares Quattro fins for about 15 years now and they’ve always felt part of me when diving and I thought I couldn’t dive without them. I’ve tried lots of other fins and find that they are either too much like hard work or you kick your legs and don’t move anywhere.

On a recommendation of one of our other instructors I thought I would buy myself a paid of Apeks RK3 fins. They come in two options, a standard weight for general diving and a tougher, harder and heavier compound more suitable for dry suit and technical diving.

I opted for the standard RK3’s for the main reason that I want to be able to use them on holiday as well as the UK. Compared to my old Quattros they are slightly shorter and wider which means they will fit in my luggage much easier. They feel a tad lighter but don’t seem to have a reduced surface blade area.

There is a range of colours depending if you go for the hard compound or standard including black, orange, yellow and grey. I opted for the bright yellow ones so my students can easily identify me underwater.

As well as the traditional up-and-down leg kick you can also frog kick in them and swim backwards. As they aren’t too long they are slightly easier to manoeuvre round on the back of the dive boat before you jump off.

The Apeks spring straps make them a doddle to put on and take off, even with a thick pair of neoprene gloves. They feel sturdy and comfortable on the foot and unlike some fins don’t feel like there is too much wobble in the foot pocket.

In the water they are great. Similar to the Quattros you get plenty of power to each leg kick. If you want more power then opt for the HDs – hard density! For general holiday diving and not blasting in to strong currents then the standard ones are more than adequate.

As well as the traditional up-and-down leg kick you can also frog kick in them and swim backwards. As they aren’t too long they are slightly easier to manoeuvre round on the back of the dive boat before you jump off.

My last impressions are that these are a great all-round fin and a suitable replacement for now quite tired Quattros.