Breaking in fins?

[BWDubbs]

I've got a new pair of rubber full foot fins, mostly for training because they're short bladed. I have been using another pair of longer bladed ones that seem to fit great and the one I got is pretty similar in construction--they also fit similarly when I first tried them on. The new ones fits snug, not tight but a bit more snug than the other pair. I can still move my toes, take a few steps, turn my foot left/right/up/down, etc.--no pain came from this. I'm just concerned because I went down to a 11-13 versus a 13-14 for the long ones and I felt the 13-15 (which isn't in stock anywhere) would be too long. So my question is: over time, do rubber fins break in like shoes? I'm not relying on that to happen, but a tiny bit of the rubber relaxing would make a reasonable fit a lot better. I ask because I can't tell through use if my long ones stretched just that little bit. (I'm not expecting a breaking of like dress or athletic shoes where you might go from quite painful to total comfort.) Thank you.

 

[David Wilson]

So my question is: over time, do rubber fins break in like shoes? I'm not relying on that to happen, but a tiny bit of the rubber relaxing would make a reasonable fit a lot better. I ask because I can't tell through use if my long ones stretched just that little bit. (I'm not expecting a breaking of like dress or athletic shoes where you might go from quite painful to total comfort.) Thank you.

I've snorkelled with all-rubber full-foot fins for over fifty years and I'm very happy with this kind of fin. No, in my experience, they don't stretch. A snug fit is certainly what you should be aiming at and if you can't match your foot dimensions to a particular fin's range of sizes, then err on oversizing rather than undersizing and you can always bulk out the foot pockets with socks or booties. It's a myth that full-foot fins can only be worn barefoot. You can also secure slightly loose fitting full-foot fins with fin grips:


Rubber full-foot fins whose foot pockets are tight are likely to cause cramps and reduce circulation. Don't expect them to improve their fit over time.

 

[BWDubbs]

Thanks. I wasn't expecting anything like a break in on an athletic shoe. I did try the fins in question in the pool and they seem just fine. I swam for about 30-45 minutes in them. I have one spot that's known to rub on shoes when they're not wide enough or are too short and that spot didn't have a problem. So unless I start seeing blisters or rubs, I'm going to assume they're great. I know I could use fin socks but I'd rather prefer to not do so. Either I have a really good fit or am just not as susceptible to blisters as I've used my other pair for hours straight and they feel absolutely great. A bit more use and I'll know for sure on these new ones. I just figured there's a tiny bit of break in that happens which makes them fit ever so slightly better. Thanks! Also, is it necessary to always roll the foot pocket back to put them on?