Full foot fins?
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CrazyScuba
Contributor
allenwrench:
Boots do 3 things for you Allen, they protect your feet when you get in and out of the water, they insulate your feet and keep them from getting cool and cramping, and mainly they protect you from blisters (because one day you're sitting in your comfy office with shoes on and the next day you're diving with wet, prunie feet so you're more prone to getting blisters). Just like if you went rollerblading 5 times in a day. Any protection is better than none. You have to remember, the more you're in the water, the softer your skin becomes. Without boots on, if you're snorkeling from the shore, your feet are unprotected.
It's also a lot harder to snorkel and keep up with the dolphins when you're wearing full foots, especially if you're snorkeling in cold water where you'll be wearing a thick wetsuit and weightbelt. The insulation of the boots keeps you from cramping, and the additional power of the fins is tremendously better in currents, surges and waves.
Britt :fish:
:fish:
CrazyScuba:
Hi Britt, I KNOW that full foot fins are better when fitted correctly and used in the right circumstances, however your point about the "office feet" makes good sense, after all I had no shoes in the office(or at home and only half the time in bars) when I worked in Cayman....
Best,
Chris
I had full foot fins when I did my OW class. Big mistake! The check out dives were done in a rock quarry. I'm rather flat & tender footed. Those sharp & big rocks can really OUCH! 
Immediately after my OW dives I talked to my instructor about my discomfort. She suggested 6.5mm boots & open heel fins because she knew I'd be continuing my diving education, including deep diving in cold quarries & for foot protection & comfort. It was the best purchase of gear I ever made. Now my feet are protected against the rocks & the cold and they can be used in almost any situation.
Immediately after my OW dives I talked to my instructor about my discomfort. She suggested 6.5mm boots & open heel fins because she knew I'd be continuing my diving education, including deep diving in cold quarries & for foot protection & comfort. It was the best purchase of gear I ever made. Now my feet are protected against the rocks & the cold and they can be used in almost any situation.
TN Traveler
Contributor
If you are diving warm water - full foot fins work great. In fact, if you read the report from 2005 in Scuba Diving Mag - the Full Foot Splits (Tusa x-pert Zooms) out performed the best open heeled fins (Apollo Bio-Fins) in thrust, speed, and slalom. But, if diving cold water or from rocky shores, you need open heeled with boots to protect your feet.
And I can attest to this personally - I just returned from 2 weeks of Carribean diving, where I wore the full foot Tusa X-pert Zooms and they performed flawlessly - and no blisters, either (2 dives per day). Normally, I dive open heeled Apollo Bio-Fins with boots - and I could not tell a performance difference - and it sure was nice to just slip into/outof the fins and not have the extra step of handling booties.
You need to make your choice based upon where you will be diving and the type of diving you will be doing. whatever you do, buy good gear - you only have to do it once that way!!
And I can attest to this personally - I just returned from 2 weeks of Carribean diving, where I wore the full foot Tusa X-pert Zooms and they performed flawlessly - and no blisters, either (2 dives per day). Normally, I dive open heeled Apollo Bio-Fins with boots - and I could not tell a performance difference - and it sure was nice to just slip into/outof the fins and not have the extra step of handling booties.
You need to make your choice based upon where you will be diving and the type of diving you will be doing. whatever you do, buy good gear - you only have to do it once that way!!
I like to use full foot fins for boat dives when I am not shooting video.
I like my stiff jet fins when I shoot video from shore or a boat. The extra stiffness lets me make small little adjustments to my position which I need when shooting video.
I like my stiff jet fins when I shoot video from shore or a boat. The extra stiffness lets me make small little adjustments to my position which I need when shooting video.
thomjinx
Contributor
I have to agree that full-foot fins can be great for warm water diving from a boat.
Like TN Traveler I have a pair of the Tusa Expert Zooms that I am very happy with! They have less drag, plenty of thrust and pack light. Many full foot fins are not suitable for diving, but some of them are.
But if you need to wear booties for protection or warmth, obviously you need open-heel. And as long as your booties fit well, the fit of the fins is less critical than with full-foot. For this reason, FF usually come in more sizes than OH. Some people with tender feet use 'surf socks' or stocking footies or even regular socks to prevent blisters.
Many divers have both FF and OH fins, for different situations. Gearheads like myself have several pairs of each. <grin>
If you were going to buy only 1 set of fins, open heel are more versatile.
Like TN Traveler I have a pair of the Tusa Expert Zooms that I am very happy with! They have less drag, plenty of thrust and pack light. Many full foot fins are not suitable for diving, but some of them are.
But if you need to wear booties for protection or warmth, obviously you need open-heel. And as long as your booties fit well, the fit of the fins is less critical than with full-foot. For this reason, FF usually come in more sizes than OH. Some people with tender feet use 'surf socks' or stocking footies or even regular socks to prevent blisters.
Many divers have both FF and OH fins, for different situations. Gearheads like myself have several pairs of each. <grin>
If you were going to buy only 1 set of fins, open heel are more versatile.
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