Full Foot Fin Feedback

[wkyongae@aol.com]

I used to snorkel with a pair of full foot fins with heel strap in the middle 80's when I was stationed in Spain. I don't know what they where called. But, they where long and very powerful like free diving fins just not quite as long but longer then the normal full foot fins. Happy searching David Wilson.

 

[David Wilson]

Zulu6:

I think the original poster wanted to know about full-foot fins with ankle straps. Incidentally, Cressi of Italy patented full-foot fins with open toes in the aftermath of World War II.

Bodyboarding fins typically feature a fixed, non-adjustable ankle strap but no heel protection. Non-adjustable open-heel fins were used by the first sports divers States-side. This style of fin was first designed and patented in the USA before World War II by Owen Churchill, details here together with a picture of his prototype fin:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/sports/exhibit/removers/churchill/index.cfm

In recent years there's been a fashion trend towards matching different types of fins to particular kinds of water activity. So non-adjustable open-heel fins are commonly perceived as bodyboarding accessories, adjustable open-heel fins as cold-water scubawear and full-foot, closed-heel fins as swim-training, freediving and warm-water snorkelling gear.

In reality, every individual doesn't quite "pigeonhole" fins according to his or her intended aquatic pursuit. This morning I went snorkelling in the cold waters of the North Sea wearing classic rubber full-foot fins, simply because they're comfortable, suit my leisurely swimming style and were the fin design of choice when I first learned to dive in the late 1960s. During that decade, different styles of fin were commonly classified according to another criterion: cost. Open heel fins were for youngsters with growing feet or for adults who couldn't afford full-foot fins. It's curious how the relative position of these styles has since reversed and full-foot fins are often cheaper than their open-heel counterparts!