help with boots

[raposarose]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to scuba and am in the process of getting my personal gear. I have everything except for the boots now.

And this has been giving me a quite a problem! Everything is either way too wide or a little too short. At first I read advice saying that when confronted with the choice of imperfect fits choose the larger. So I got a pair of 5mm xcel booties with a flexible sole size 12 (too wide, great length). I bought some 2mm dive socks to fill the difference. They fit great in my fin (Jet Fin size xl). But then I tried them in a pool and my foot arch cramped and it seemed a lot of water got caught sloshing around in there. The dive sock made it worse and that trapped more water.

So I decided to try a pair with arch support and a more snug fit. I got some Seasoft stealth boots. The width is perfect but my toe touches the front of the boot (though not hard enough I have to bend my toes to get it on). That makes it slightly uncomfortable for walking but not for swimming. But I still got a little bit of an arch cramp in one foot and I think they don't fit all the way into the fins as well (the top of my foot felt a little compressed).

I can still return those boots but I am at a loss as to what to try next. I tried a lot of boots in the stores and always have the same problem. Really I need size 11.5 or 12 narrow.

Any advice would be very helpful. After trying about 7 pairs or so I am not sure what to try next!

Thanks in advance for your time and help.
--Raposa

 

[JimC]

Here are some options off the top of my head:

- You can get a custom booty made, your LSD may have some sugestions as to where to get these localy
- Wear a wet sock (or 2) in a very large closed heal fin
- Wear a wet sock (or 2) in a cheap hightop running shoe and use a larger open heal fin (Tutles if you like your jet's)

 

[raposarose]

Thanks. Right now what I am trying is the Henderson Hyperstretch boot. It is still a little bit wide but not as much as the others. It is loose around the ankle but with the wetsuit over it I think it is fine. If worse comes to worse, since it doesn't have a zipper maybe getting it taken in a little around the ankle is cheaper than a whole custom boot. I hope it works -- if not your custom boot idea might be the best. I wish they just made dive boots in "narrow." Part of the problem is that I am new to scuba so out of all the trade-offs (length vs. width, what is perfect fit for the fin, etc) it is hard to figure out what is best. I have just been trying the gear out in a pool and going by trial and error!

Thanks again,
Raposa