Fin Retainers

[Tiro_Afila]

I have a bit of an issue with my dry suit boots. They are attached boots, and a little big for me. Not much, just a bit, but enough to allow my foot to slip a bit when I kick hard. A dive friend of mine once showed me a pair of fin retainers like these Activeaqua > Fin Retainers , and I am wondering if anyone knows of a place to order these in Canada or the US. I only seem to find them in Europe. Thanks for your help.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

I have a bit of an issue with my sry suit boots. They are attached boots, and a little big for me. Not much, just a bit, but enough to allow my foot to slip a bit when I kick hard. A dive friend of mine once showed me a pair of fin retainers like these Activeaqua > Fin Retainers , and I am wondering if anyone knows of a place to order these in Canada or the US. I only seem to find them in Europe. Thanks for your help.

I've got some. I'll send you a pair.

 

[Thalassamania]

I have a bit of an issue with my sry suit boots. They are attached boots, and a little big for me. Not much, just a bit, but enough to allow my foot to slip a bit when I kick hard. A dive friend of mine once showed me a pair of fin retainers like these Activeaqua > Fin Retainers , and I am wondering if anyone knows of a place to order these in Canada or the US. I only seem to find them in Europe. Thanks for your help.

They also go under the name "Fixe Palms." You can easily make several dozen pair from one old inner tube. Lay the tube flat and cut out a "Y" with the top of the "Y" on one side of the tube and bottom at the other.

 

[Matt S.]

Trident has them too, so pretty much any shop should be able to get them if you don't want to make them.

This is the first online shop I found that has them but I am sure there are others:
Freediving Fins

 

[David Wilson]

Fin retainers are also known as fin grips or fin keep(er)s. Their original French name, fixe-palmes, is a tribute to the Marseilles-based diving equipment company Beuchat which patented the idea back in the early 1960s and which also devised the original Jet Fin.

Fin grips are designed to keep full-foot, not open-heel, fins attached to the feet in strong currents. They generally come in three sizes, Small, Medium and Large. Be aware that the Large version isn't that big, so if you are wearing bulky drysuit boots under your full-foot fins, the fin grip straps may stretch, making a very tight, circulation-restricting fit. Try the boots, fins and grips together at home before you use the ensemble in open water.

Here is an image showing how the triangular straps are worn over the instep, arch and heel of each foot and how many colours are available. The range of colours is popular with underwater hockey players who need fin grips to secure their fins when they play in swimming pools.

Click on the thumbnail to see the full-size version:

Such coloured fin grips can be purchased online from the French Underwater Hockey Association at the cost of 10 euros a pair.

If you just want plain black fin grips, there are indeed several North American online retail outlets selling them, e.g.:

Fin Grips - Scuba Gear & Diving Accessories
Fin Grips

 

[Thalassamania]

Fin grips are designed to keep full-foot, not open-heel, fins attached to the feet in strong currents.

While that may be so, divers in California have used them since to beginning with strap type fins (adjustable and fixed) to prevent loss when surfing into the beach. They were also regularly used with early drysuits to prevent fin loss during inversion.

 

[Matt S.]

I guess I am using them wrong! I put them over my drysuit boot before I put on the fins. My suit legs are a couple inches too long and the keeper keeps my foot glued into the boot.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

I guess I am using them wrong! I put them over my drysuit boot before I put on the fins. My suit legs are a couple inches too long and the keeper keeps my foot glued into the boot.

That is the way they are normally worn with a drysuit. It might also help you to replace your standard fin straps with spring straps, if you have not done so already.

 

[Thalassamania]

I guess I am using them wrong! I put them over my drysuit boot before I put on the fins. My suit legs are a couple inches too long and the keeper keeps my foot glued into the boot.

It's no big deal to have a couple of inches cut out of each leg, and life will be much easier then.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I guess I am using them wrong! I put them over my drysuit boot before I put on the fins. My suit legs are a couple inches too long and the keeper keeps my foot glued into the boot.

I wear them the same way. My boots fit fine and I don't need them to keep my fins on. The only reason I, and most other dry suit divers, wear them is to keep air out of the boots so my feet don't float.