Any yellow Volo's yet?

[Sylvie]

jplacson once bubbled...
I'm guessing they would! Booties are usually made of neoprene as well... so they would add a bit of buoyancy to your feet vs full-foot fins.

That was my logic as well, particularly since I wear size 43 booties. However, my buddy who has the same size feet as I do, tested them out and felt no difference. As a result, I was told it's all in my head. Ha.

=-)

Has anyone else had personal experienced seemingly excessive foot buoyancy as a result of wearing booties? I'm sure it's not all in my head.

flipper feet Sylvie

 

[Sylvie]

NitroxDvrFL once bubbled...
I never had any problems with my straps on my volos i found them 100% easier than my last set you might want to look up the Do it Yourself board and look up Spring Straps i am going to try them next week ..........NDF

Thanks for the tip Nitrox Diver

I'm not quite yet ready to give up on my Mares Strapes. I'm told that I have the new and improved strapes on my fins. I suppose that I just really need to get adjusted to wearing booties with my fins more than anything else. I will however keep your suggestion in mind, in case the straps break or end up driving me crazy.

Sylvie

 

[jplacson]

Sylvie... you have the newest Mares fins!

The Volo Power fins are improved Volos. If you look at their design, they now match the Volo Race fins exactly (other than the foot section)

The older Volos had a flatter paddle, and shorter channels... the Volo Race had a longer center channel... which the new Volo Power has as well.

 

[Sylvie]

jplacson once bubbled...
Sylvie... you have the newest Mares fins!

The Volo Power fins are improved Volos. If you look at their design, they now match the Volo Race fins exactly (other than the foot section)

The older Volos had a flatter paddle, and shorter channels... the Volo Race had a longer center channel... which the new Volo Power has as well.

Hi John

I know that I have the newest Mares fins. They are after all brand new. I am happy with them. However, I found myself fiddling with the strap at my tendon all the time. I don't think that it's a problem with the strap itself, but more likely me not being used to wearing a bootie and having a strap pressing against my tendon. I personally find closed heel fins more comfortable, presumably because that's what I am accustomed to.

I bought the opened heel fins for cold water diving and for beach starts that don't have nice sandy beaches. With two sets of fins, I can choose the right fins for the right conditions.

Cheers

Sylvie

 

[jplacson]

Sylvie, just a thought.. try wearing the straps by your heel, and not above your ankle... the foot pocket of the Volo should be snug enough to hold on to your booties even without the strap... the strap is just there to help hold your foot inside.... this is probably why a lot of people break their fin straps.

When you tighten the strap around your heel (on booties, the back of your heel usually has a harder rubberized section).. the strap grips the rubber back of your heel... and this area doesn't move, or cause the strap to stretch while you fin...so there is less tress on the strap, and on the back of your foot.

 

[Sylvie]

jplacson once bubbled...
Sylvie, just a thought.. try wearing the straps by your heel, and not above your ankle... the foot pocket of the Volo should be snug enough to hold on to your booties even without the strap... the strap is just there to help hold your foot inside.... this is probably why a lot of people break their fin straps.

When you tighten the strap around your heel (on booties, the back of your heel usually has a harder rubberized section).. the strap grips the rubber back of your heel... and this area doesn't move, or cause the strap to stretch while you fin...so there is less tress on the strap, and on the back of your foot.

John, I’ve tried that, but still ended up fiddling!

flipper feet sylvie

PS: I have narrow girly feet (vs wide manly feet), thus the fins don't stay snug without the strap.

 

[SubMariner]

Sylvie, you haven't indicated what type of bootie you are using. Is it like a slipper, or is it a taller bootie style?

If you use the latter type, you may find that having the strap across your achilles tendon is not a problem at all.

Bonne chance,

 

[Sylvie]

SubMariner once bubbled...
Sylvie, you haven't indicated what type of bootie you are using. Is it like a slipper, or is it a taller bootie style?

If you use the latter type, you may find that having the strap across your achilles tendon is not a problem at all.

Bonne chance,

Ops I forgot to mention that. I have both actually. The slipper type, which are actually old windsurfing booties, but I only take them along as back up. The ones I wore on the last trip were brand new regular sized taller ones from Aqualung. They are aprox 6 cm (2 to 3 inches) above the ankle. As previously mentioned, I tried all sorts of positions, but could never get the strap to sit right. It was either, too loose, too tight, too high, too low or something, so I was perpetually fiddling on most dives.

Perhaps for my next dive holiday, I’ll go somewhere with warmer water where I don’t need booties. My sister wants to meet up in the Caribbean next week for her birthday, so my next task is to look for last minute deals. Any suggestions?

Ms Fiddly

 

[jplacson]

Sylvie, since this is the first time you've ever worn booties & OH fins, there really will be an adjustment period.

I recently moved from OH to Full-Foot... and it was an adjustment for me as well.

But you'll get used to it... it really is very different from full-foot fins since there is actually pressure on your tendon... unlike full-foot fins which slip on and feel like socks.

Actually, the holy-grail of OH fins is to make them as efficient and as comfortable as full-foot fins... since you can only use FF fins in warm waters.

Sylvie, just a thought... Mares makes booties that fit well with their fins (surprise, surprise) ... the soles of their booties grip the inner ribs better... and the back heel offers better protection against the heel strap.

I use their SeaBoot and I found that it does work better than most booties I've tried due to the extra heel protection... and I can wear my fins strap against my heel & not my tendon, and it grips a lot better since the heel protection has rubber grip specifically to grip the heel strap. I don't even have to tighten my strap as much anymore, so the heel strap is almost just resting on my heel... and not being stretched! This goes for all fins that I use with my Mares booties.

I didn't think it would make much of a difference... I just figured that I'd give them a try since people rarely think that different style booties make a big difference... well, for me... they did.

Check out the Mares Seaboot or the Avanti boots (The Avanti boots are supposedly the better ones) They are the ones with the heel protectors. The Avanti boots supposedly have better on-land grip..blah blah blah

 

[Sylvie]

Hi again

You’ve reminded me that I actually did try someone Mares booties during the dive trip. I don’t know what model they were, but I actually preferred them to my Aqualungs. It wasn’t because of extra heel protection (in fact I didn’t notice it and besides the Aqualungs have heel protection too), rather it was primarily because the fit was snugger and more comfortable around the width of my foot. Perhaps it was because the booties were slightly too short and hence narrower as well. The dive shop where I bought my fins only had aqualung booties, so Aqualung it was, as I didn't feel like shopping around.

The thing is now that I have opened heeled fins and booties, my husband wants a set as well. So I’ve suggested that he could take my almost new Aqualung booties (they fit him better than they fit me) and I’ll get a pair of Mares. We just have to make sure that both sets of booties fit well with both sets of fins. It so practical to have a partner who is the same size. ut:

In any case, I agree with you about having to get accustomed to the booties and OH fin system. After all that was one of the first things I mentioned. The only way to get comfortable with it is to dive more. Time to plan the next dive holiday.

Sylvie