Jet Fins ~ Full Foot

[Alex777]

<< It also might look unprofessional >>

Actually, on recreational boat dives in the Caribbean, OPEN-HEEL fins look "unprofessional." You suit the gear to the activity.

Personally, I favor the Mares Quattro full-foot fin or its near relatives, such as the Sporasub.

 

[rndboulder]

There were early jet fins that were both full foot and full foot with a strap. And yes there was a long version as well. I have a pair and they are great fins. Here are some pics of early jets I uncovered in the Cousteau Society Warehouse (they are at the bottom of the page).

odd_equipment

-Ryan

 

[DiveMaven]

I actually dive with Jetfins and don't wear booties. I have medium Jets that fit very well and I don't get blisters (I wear a size 8 mens/10 in womens). I even did 2 weeks of liveaboard diving 4-5x a day with my Jets and no booties. My feet don't move around in the pockets and I definitely get some attention for my bravery.

You might try to find a smaller pair (a L instead of XL?) and see if they'll work for you with no booties.

 

[Jimmer]

Try Beuchat X-Jets. I use the open heel setup and they are the stiffest blade fins I've used, and I can frog kick really easily with twin 108's and a 40 stage. They make them in a full foot as well. Beuchat International

 

[Mike Newman]

I'd re-consider the use of booties. Unless you're doing all your diving off a boat, the boots can be a very useful protective item when making shore entries and exits. And how much trouble can wearing some light boots be...?

 

[oldschool]

Back in the late 70's when I began diving in Germany, I ran across a pair of fins in a small shop in Holland that were very similar to the Scubapro jet fins except these were full foot versions with adjustable heel straps as well. I never saw this type since, don't know who made them, and can't figure out the reasoning behind them. Has anyone else ever seen these?

 

[David Wilson]

The above fins were recently auctioned on French eBay. They are Beuchat Jetfins, match your description of full-foot Jetfins with heel straps and according to the seller date from the 1980s.

I have a little literature about Beuchat Jetfins dating from the 1960s. Beuchat et Cie of Marseilles were the original developers of Jetfins. They were available in three sizes, the largest of which (43-46) were open-heel and came with an adjustable heel strap, just like Scubapro's current version. The two smaller sizes (40-42, 42-44) were described as "chaussantes et réglables", i.e. full-foot and adjustable models. Beuchat also manufactured "Parallèles" full-foot fins which came with an adjustable heel strap too:



I can't comment on the rationale underlying the closed heel with adjustable strap. Beuchat also invented "fixe-palmes", which we know as "fin grips", "fin keepers" or "fin retainers":



The company must have been concerned about the possibility of fin loss when wearing full-foot fins. During the 1960s and 1970s, at least in Europe, full-foot fins were much more expensive than open-heel fins and considered luxury items back then.

 

[Alex777]

Nice bit of history. Thanks!

It is not hard to lose a full-foot fin in the water after they have aged through use and the heel pocket has softened. The heel pocket is the 1st thing to go.

 

[iceaxe]

I live in Dominica and use a variety of fins depending on what I'm doing. I use Cress Gara 3000 ld for free diving--I occasionally use them for Scuba, I'm not sure how well they would work with a frog kick and they are kind of cumbersome--but they certainly will get you moving faster than any other fin I've used. The Cressi Gara 2000 HF are ever so slightly shorter, wider, & stiffer; if you want a really powerful fin, I would check them out. I use Mares Volo race fins for places with little to no current--comfy, efficient fins, but they don't quite have the stiffness for a good frog kick. The fin I would most highly recommend is the Mares Avanti Quattro full foot. Its longer blade fin then your Jets, but still short enough to not be cumbersome. They definitely work for a frog kick. Also, I sized my Cressi fins so I could put some thin o'neill booties in them--works out really well when you have rocky shore lines to deal with. Just a thought...