New x-treme fins, new pain?

[KenLovely]

Are you referring to Mares X-Stream fins?
Any chance you just have them over tightened or have the wrong size?
If that is US size 9, that isn’t right on the border between size S and R.

And any chance you haven’t removed the plastic packing insert from the foot pocket?
(Don’t laugh, it’s happened before...)

I am laughing because that is the first thing my shop told me to do.
But yes, its the Mares X-treme

 

[KenLovely]

Also: I've never ever had to "break in a pair of fins". These are not hiking boots. They are not going to bend or stretch to accommodate your feet. I think that your premise is bad from the outset. Your feet will break - not the fins.

Why thank you for correcting me. What I define as breaking in a pair fins, means that I am getting used to them. So i'm breaking my body in.

 

[KenLovely]

Aside from comfort and visual fit, my conversation with fin customers:
“Lift your foot up and shake side to side. Is it loose? Is there any wobble? Are you unconsciously clenching your toes to hold it in place?”

No wobble and I don't think i'm clenching my toes. Good thoughts tho

 

[tridacna]

Why thank you for correcting me. What I define as breaking in a pair fins, means that I am getting used to them. So i'm breaking my body in.

“Breaking your body in”. Hilarious. Best of luck with that stupidity.

 

[broncobowsher]

“Breaking your body in”. Hilarious. Best of luck with that stupidity.

Not entirely. I find it pretty common to get a new piece of gear and spend a dive adapting to it. New mouthpiece will sit a little different in the jaw and take a weekend to settle in. Fins will work different muscles a little differently so there may be a muscle that is a little more tired. Usually just takes a weekend of diving and everything is happy again.

But not to the extent of the OP. I'm still thinking poor fitting fins. Lots of different foot shapes (not just sizes). That's why one brand of shoe often fits one person good but someone else it sucks. At this point you are not adjusting to the new gear, you are just breaking your body.

 

[Marie13]

OP seems to be of the "no pain, no gain" mindset!

 

[KenLovely]

“Breaking your body in”. Hilarious. Best of luck with that stupidity.

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed or are you just an ass?

 

[KenLovely]

Not entirely. I find it pretty common to get a new piece of gear and spend a dive adapting to it. New mouthpiece will sit a little different in the jaw and take a weekend to settle in. Fins will work different muscles a little differently so there may be a muscle that is a little more tired. Usually just takes a weekend of diving and everything is happy again.

But not to the extent of the OP. I'm still thinking poor fitting fins. Lots of different foot shapes (not just sizes). That's why one brand of shoe often fits one person good but someone else it sucks. At this point you are not adjusting to the new gear, you are just breaking your body.

Thank you for your advice. I have similar issues with ski boot fitting. Always need an adjustment period to "get used to" or "break in" new gear.

 

[tridacna]

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed or are you just an ass?

It is not I who is being an ass here. Somehow you are deluding yourself that despite a bad fit and hurting your feet, the solution is to continue wearing your fins until your foot "gets used" to the foot-pocket. That's dumb and bad advice. Do you really think that your feet will "get used to" ill fitting footwear? Is that how you buy shoes? If you thought that from the outset, why did you come here for advice?

Ski boots are like hiking shoes - you break them in like hiking boots. Not so for fins.

 

[JackD342]

It is not I who is being an ass here. Somehow you are deluding yourself that despite a bad fit and hurting your feet, the solution is to continue wearing your fins until your foot "gets used" to the foot-pocket. That's dumb and bad advice. Do you really think that your feet will "get used to" ill fitting footwear? Is that how you buy shoes? If you thought that from the outset, why did you come here for advice?

@tridacna - I interpreted his original post as saying that he was swimming the fins to get used to them in general, and if they worked out any different muscles to get that conditioning under way. Which he described as "breaking them in." And in the process of doing that, he discovered this other issue. Better to discover that now than on a trip!!

I did not interpret his post as saying that he found some discomfort and so decided to keep plugging away in the hope that the equipment or his feet would break in. So, @KenLovely , your original question was perfectly reasonable and understandable. Sorry we couldn't be more help. (I'm still wondering what size fins you are breaking in, and if that is the issue.)