New Fins...any way to make them more bouyant?

[Hemlon]

I bought new fins recently and they are a bit less bouyant than my previous fins.

I really like to think that I'm enviro-friendly so I would like to make them more bouyant so that I'm not trashing the reef when I blue-water dive. Sigh...dreaming about blue water.

But I digress...

So, is there any way to make them more bouyant? Does any company make a float that attaches to the fin or strap?

PS- I thought about just wrapping the strap with some neoprene but compression at depth would cancel the positive bouyancy effect.

 

[Firefyter]

I'm not trying to be rude, but the solution is not in making the fins more bouyant, it's in correcting your trim in the water. Maybe if you could move weight around a little, it would help get you more horizontal.

Just a thought, YMMV.

 

[Hemlon]

My trim wasn't a problem prior to the new fin purchase.

 

[*Floater*]

It may depend on what kick you use. If you use the frogkick with negatively buoyant fins, then you can easily pull your feet closer towards your butt (and launch the kicks from there) to shift the weight up and thereby maintain horizontal trim. I assume this would be harder to do if you flutter with your fins out as the norm.

What fins and kick are you using?

I can't tell from your profile how experienced a diver you are (and the dive profile updating is down anyway), but if you are a fairly new diver and new to the fins, then diving more with them may take care of the problem on its own. I say this because I know a lot of people who use jetfins (probably the heaviest fins out there) and they rarely seem to have this problem.

Alternatively, you could just shift some other weights up. For example, you could take some weight off the belt and put it around the top of your tank with a cam strap.

 

[cerich]

My trim wasn't a problem prior to the new fin purchase.

Any new piece of equipment will impact trim/bouyancy, the answer is to adjust your weighting and kick/body position so it isn't an issue with the new fins.

 

[The Kraken]

Nope, you can't make fins more buoyant than they are.

I suppose you could cut some holes in them to remove some weight, but the buoyancy of the fin is dependent upon the material from which it is constructed.

the K

 

[Jim Lapenta]

You need to look at modifying your trim and kick. The only other option is to go back to the same model of fins you were using. I use many different fins and fin styles through the shop. Testing and trying to be able to give customers as much info about a piece of gear as I can. Perhaps it's because of this that I find that my trim is rarely affected for more than a few minutes into the dive or pool session before I adjust my kick, leg, or body position to correct any trim issues caused by the buoyancy characteristics of the fin. I've used Aqualung blades since day one which tend to be slightly negative. I've tried many of the plastic composites that are a little less so. I've sine gone to rockets and super rockets depending on what boot I'm wearing(regular foot pocket too small for dry suit) And these are more negative yet than the blades. However as stated earlier it took about 5 minutes into the dive to adjust to them. Only thing I did notice a big difference in was easier to back kick and do helicopter turns. Move a little weight higher up or take some off. And look at this as incentive to improve or switch to that frog or modified frog kick. It's much more efficient and for me easier on the legs. And in alot of cases I can cover more distance with less effort. It's also the enviro friendly kick as the force goes mostly back as opposed to back and down. It's also buddy friendly since you are not creating silt clouds. Purposely practice it. I know it's all good when I'm cruising 6-8 inches off a silty lake bottom and the vis behind is as good as the vis in front.

 

[Hemlon]

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[dkktsunami]

Nope, you can't make fins more buoyant than they are.

I suppose you could cut some holes in them to remove some weight, but the buoyancy of the fin is dependent upon the material from which it is constructed.

the K

You can, however, add a pair of neoprene dive socks under your booties. H20 Odyssey makes these in a 3 and 5 mil. I would do this after all else has failed: first try reducing total weight, moving the tank higher, moving weight from belt to trim pockets, swimming in the "superman" position, etc. If none of this works and your feet remain hoplessly negative then try the socks. Good luck.

 

[Walter]

Lean forward .