I was thinking about getting a pair of full foot pocket fins for warmer water scuba diving. My dive shop said it's a bad idea, as they won't be efficient enough, when compared to the open healed variety. Their basic recommendation is that if you're not snorkeling, then full foot is no good. Any advice either way?? I've heard good things about the Aeris Velocity!!!
Full Foot Pocket Fin Recommendations???
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I find that most people want to wear open-heel fins for several reasons:
1) Your LDS is correct - open-heel fins are in general bigger, stiffer (always good things <grin>) and more efficient.
2) When you are not diving (e.g. walking around the boat, across the rocky shore, back to your car) you are going to be MUCH more comfortable wearing booties.
3) Full-foot fins almost always end up trapping sand between the fin and your skin - this leads to blisters, sores and general unhappiness
4) A good set of open-heel fins will work in both warm and cold water, with any thickness of boot. If you buy full-foot fins, then you end up with a set of open-heel fins anyway.
Ask yourself this - in what way are the full-foot fins going to be better?
1) Your LDS is correct - open-heel fins are in general bigger, stiffer (always good things <grin>) and more efficient.
2) When you are not diving (e.g. walking around the boat, across the rocky shore, back to your car) you are going to be MUCH more comfortable wearing booties.
3) Full-foot fins almost always end up trapping sand between the fin and your skin - this leads to blisters, sores and general unhappiness
4) A good set of open-heel fins will work in both warm and cold water, with any thickness of boot. If you buy full-foot fins, then you end up with a set of open-heel fins anyway.
Ask yourself this - in what way are the full-foot fins going to be better?
trigfunctions
Contributor
My gf and I have been very pleased with these, and the $36 price is right:
Tusa Full Foot Split Zoom Fins, Fins, Tusa, Tusa Full Foot Split Zoom Fins
In the rankings in one of the dive magazines they were ranked as high or higher in most power and maneuverability categories than most other full foot and open heel fins. There is nothing wrong with using full foot fins for diving if you get a pair that are comfortable for you and your diving style.
For warm water diving on a boat or a sandy beach, I would much rather use full foots than wear booties. You could always wear a neoprene sock if you wanted something between your feet and the fin.
Tusa Full Foot Split Zoom Fins, Fins, Tusa, Tusa Full Foot Split Zoom Fins
In the rankings in one of the dive magazines they were ranked as high or higher in most power and maneuverability categories than most other full foot and open heel fins. There is nothing wrong with using full foot fins for diving if you get a pair that are comfortable for you and your diving style.
For warm water diving on a boat or a sandy beach, I would much rather use full foots than wear booties. You could always wear a neoprene sock if you wanted something between your feet and the fin.
lmorin
Contributor
Contrary to what some of the info written above about speed/efficiency, if you go HERE and read the results of a recent fin test, you will learn that the full foot fins did generally better than the open heel fins. Similar results were obtained in the 2005 fin test. That said, there are several good reasons to use open heels.
Well, I own a pair of Tusa X-Pert Split fins. They work well and are perfect with my booties for colder water diving. Since I don't "need" the booties in warmer water, I thought it couldn't hurt to try a full foot fin. Lighter fins, less positive bouyancy along with less to pack/clean/dry for the trip. I suppose I just viewed it as a "trimmed down profile" by shedding the extraneous pieces. I will say that I've never dived with anything but open healed/booties, so the sand n' blisters comment doesn't sound too fun!!!
Zieg
Contributor
Responding to each item:
1) I'm not to going to debate which is more efficient, depends on the fin. Bigger is not always better.
2) I personally do not find wearing booties all that comfortable, especially in warmer climates. Rocky shore yes, around the boat and back to the car, no. I like being barefoot. Besides I have a pair of flipflops.
3) I have NEVER had sand trapped between fin and skin. If you're getting sand in there maybe you should quit crawling the bottom.
4) Having more than one pair of fins may end up being the case. But one can never have too many pairs of fins. A pair of fins for any kind of diving you want to do. But then again, I have only two pairs of shoes.
A lot of people, including myself, like the Mares line of full foots.
DIR-Atlanta
Contributor
The thing to understand about propulsion is that it is oftentimes more about technique than it is about choice of fin. Divers are often too quick to blame their fins when they have problems in this area, which is an attitude that the industry is only too happy to pander to. That is why we have so many "gimmick" fins on the market.
The truth is that a diver with good technique can make almost any fin work well for them, and can make a really good fin work really well. Divers who continue to struggle with poor technique will typically never be able to develop that same level of efficiency and maneuverability, no matter what fin they finally settle on.
I've personally had pretty good success with the Mares full-foot fins, and with the Tre in particular. I can do all my kicks in the Tre (including the back-kick), so no issues there. The Superchannel appears to be an "improved" version of the Tre, so I would assume its characteristics to be similar.
They are not JetFins to be sure, but for warm water, single tank recreational diving, I don't see why they would not be suitable.
Kamchatka
Contributor
I was diving open heel for years, first TUSA Imprex, then Blades, both dry and wet. I tried Oceanic Caribes and love 'em. The first time I jumped in I thought they'd broken, the blade was that soft. But, they're super comfortable, LIGHT weight, take up less space in luggage and fast, real fast! I liked them so much I immediately got a second pair (in case they discontinued them). The only downside: when boarding a bucking boat in bare feet the ladder can be more slippery than when wearing boots. But, in warm water, I still prefer them to open heel. When topside I wear canvas or leather boat shoes.
trigfunctions
Contributor
I've never had blisters, and you could always wear a sock if you had to. Plus, booties have some bouyancy that you have to overcome. And you're right - you have to dry them or else they will REEK! If you like the Xpert Split open heels, you wil probably like the full foot version I recommended above. Here's the review:
Fin Fight - Scuba Diving Magazine
Tusa X-Pert Zoom FF-9
At first look it's easy to underestimate Tusa's new X-Pert Zoom FF-9. Combining split-fin technology with a multiflex blade system, the fin's short, flat blade is lightweight to be sure, and its simple foot pocket is comfy. But beyond that, what more is there to say?
Plenty, once you get the FF-9 into the water. This unimposing fin not only burned up the speed course, running neck and neck with Atomic's new Full-Foot SplitFin, but it also turned heads on the slalom course, then went and edged out all its competition in ergonomic tests, earning the title of best overall full-foot fin of 2004.
The FF-9 is not only top-end fast, it builds speed easily while remaining rock-steady. But agility is really its strong suit. This fin is able to dart in, out and around reefs with the slightest kick. It was the only fin, full-foot or open-heel, that test divers rated Excellent for maneuverability.
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