Fin fitting problems

[rollerboi]

My wife's having a very tough time finding fins that work for her. The top of her foot is high (the cuneiform bones, if i'm not mistaken) (a better description might be where you would normally lace shoelaces). All the fins she's tried on come right up to this bump and put a lot of pressure on her, making footwear very uncomfortable.

Even in regular shoes, she has a hard time finding anything comfortable.

Does anyone have similar problems? Or know of any fins that might be more accomodating? At this point, we're thinking of adding some cushioning to a fin since there's just nothing satisfactory out there that we know of.

 

[MPR]

This is going to be difficult as the action of the downstroke of the fin/foot necessitates having a resistance strap across what we know as the top of our foot. Finding a fin that doesn't rest or put pressure on the metatarsles may be difficult at best. Force fins have an open toe but again, I don't think the arch of your foot is going to see any relief.
As far as adding padding, one option is to get 1 or 2 sizes bigger than what you would normally wear and add a piece of 7mm neoprene to the inside arch area.

 

[David Wilson]

Your message made me think of Aquanaut Shark full-foot fins manufactured by the Ukrainian company Kievgumi with laces on the top of the foot pocket to adjust fit:



They only cost 21 euros plus postage and packing, details here:

http://www.finswimming.net/rubberfins.html

Only available in sizes ranging from 44 to 48, however, but full-foot fins can be worn with socks or boots.

I have pairs of the Delfin, Aquanaut Super and Aquanaut Regular fins illustrated on that page which I often use when snorkelling in the North Sea off the North East coast of England. The foot pocket rubber of the Delfin fins is so soft and comfortable that it's almost possible to forget I'm wearing them.

Hope this helps.

 

[Igodeep]

The force fins might be a good option, but I would go to your LDS and try them on. Try going up one size and adding the neoprene pads that force fin makes. This should provide a taller foot pocket and the extra padding.

 

[Marek K]

I have very high arches, if that's the issue.

I've got very little experience with different fins; my son is using my old jet-type fins, which were uncomfortable for me (Too stiff? Wrong size? Wrong foot pocket shape?).

Now I'm using a pair of Mares Avanti X3's. The "de-tuned" version of the Quattro's. I find they're perfectly comfortable for my feet. don't know if it's their particular design, or flexibility of the foot area, or what...

--Marek

 

[rollerboi]

I wanted to follow up on this thread. My wife and I recently went diving yesterday, and the place had a pair of rental fins that she actually didn't mind too much. They were Dacor Pursuit open heel fins; apparently the manufacturer has discontinued that line. Does anyone know if the line was sold to another company, or have another similar recommendation for fins?