Orthotics (Arch Support) for Dive Booties?

[Npallasi]

I have what is commonly called "false flat feet". My foot arches collapse when I stand and put weight on them. When I carry my scuba equipment, I have a reasonable expectation that I have flat feet. Having flat feet means my calf muscles tire easily.

Are there any arch supports for dive booties? I was searching on ebay and the most common kind come with cloth material, which probably won't last long. I hope to get more generic, mass-produced ones rather than custom ones due to the cost.

If there isn't, I'll just suck it up and go diving without.

 

[Damselfish]

Fabric might be ok, since these are (or should be) made to take a lot of wear even in normal use. After all wetsuits and booties are fabric bonded to neoprene and it lasts. But I'd avoid fabric anyway more to help avoid stinky booties. I've seen some support insoles that are just gel or foam materials without any fabric coverings, either on Amazon or in drugstores or department stores. Don't know what your options are there. I tried something like this in booties for awhile, after a trip when too much walking in gear did a job on my feet. Probably not the support you could get from some other types but better than nothing. Seems like an inexpensive thing to try.

I eventually bought Sea Soft booties which I saw recommended here as having some decent arch support compared to most. And they do, not super but definitely better than your average simple flat bootie. (Of course these didn't fit in my favorite fins, resulting in buying bigger fins, but since I usually buy fins used not a big deal.)

 

[Npallasi]

Thanks.

 

[Donnah]

My podiatrist said no problem diving with my custom orthotics. He also suggested just buying generic arch supports and using those. I ended up just getting a pair of dive booties with a nice arch to them. Worked fine.

 

[lmorin]

I have really, really flat feet and poor ankles. However, I cannot envision a circumstance in which I would be impeded when conducting a shore dive without my usual arch supports. Usually, distance from vehicle to entry is short because of the gear involved. If the entry were a long distance away, I'd just go somewhere else unless the dive was really special. In that case, I'd just suck it up and make the trek, feet be damned.

 

[danvolker]

The mechanics of propulsion have your feet under load, when you are kicking your fins-- and if you have flat soles on your booties and fins, and no support for the arches of your feet, you risk cramping when the exertion or workload becomes large enough....For some people, this could be even gentle kicking.

I have a high arch, and I like optimal propulsion, so I have Arch supports in any bootie I wear with fins.
Another reason to have the orthotics, is the bootie pushing down hard on the top of your foot, stressing your arch muscles--it will force your arch muscles to fight with the bootie and fin pushing them flat...

You can use orthotics from the drugstore....I'd say you need full length, so it wont slide out of position under your foot....and thin on the heel ( some orthotics have big huge padding on the heel for impact --you don't want this, and it would interfere with fit and function.

 

[muzikbiz22]

FWIW, 4th Element has some nice dive boots with removable inner soles. Very, very comfy, as well as a nice bootie.

 

[Npallasi]

Like, like, like -- I am generous with "likes"!

It helps to know that other people have faced the same problems and how they fixed it.