Quick question about fins

[ToddneyX]

Hi,

Long time since visiting these forums, and still never made a purchase on the fins. The local shop in Sweden only had one brand, which I had never heard of, and so decided to wait a while and purchase them on the net back in the UK.

But anyway, but only concern atm is with the cold water I will be swimming in - and whether this means I definitely should be getting an open-heel, or full foot? I hear people saying some fins are great for warm water - but I don't understand why?

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I use open heel fins because I do a lot of shore dives that involve walking over barnacle encrusted rock and our water temps here. With open heel fins you can wear boots for thermal protection and protection from cuts and slips.

In the winter time I wear thin neoprene socks inside my boots for an additional layer of thermal protection.

 

[tstormdiver]

I agree with Petunias. Full foot fins are not really designed to be worn with booties; whereas open heel fins are. The booties prevents chafing, protects the feet from the cold & abrasion. Full foot fins are best designed for warm water & smooth surfaces (ie. a boat deck, smooth beach & so on). Open heel fins give you the option of sizing & you don't have to walk bare foot until you're ready to don the fins.

 

[David Wilson]

Full-foot fins are not just for bare feet and tropical waters. I always use full-foot fins when I snorkel from a sandy beach in the cold waters of the North Sea. I wear them because they're more comfortable than open-heel fins. By choosing a pair of full-foot fins one size or more bigger than my shoe size, I can wear the fins over booties.

There's an element of fashion and custom when it comes to making the choice between open-heel and full-foot fins. When I joined my university diving club in the late 1960s, full-foot fins were the fins of choice. Back then, most people had two pairs, one normal-sized for the pool, the other larger-sized to wear with booties in open water.

In Japan, full-foot fins are still preferred and on the base of Japanese-made Gull and Apollo full foot fins you'll find the fin sizes embossed for both barefoot and booted wear. Here in the West, the current diving culture shows a distinct preference for open-heel fins, but each individual is still entitled to make up their own mind and not just follow the crowd's lead. The truth of the matter is that full-foot fins can be worn in cold waters and over boots, but check first that the pair you intend to wear has a big enough foot pocket to accommodate your bootie-clad foot.

 

[CaveMD]

open vs closed is a matter of preference, it is however a lot easier to put open heel fins on with boots. I wear my full foot freedive fins with neoprene socks but I can't imagine trying to put them on with neoprene boots even if they were sized up one.

Good luck using full foot fins in a dry suit lol. But thats a different story

 

[Didje]

Being from Canada, I use open-heel fins as well. They fit wetsuit/drysuit booties, and whenever I travel to warmer places I use them as well, with either my wetsuit booties or just "dive slippers". Those slippers are basically a shorter version of a bootie but they are great to protect your feet when walking around.

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

I would get the open heeled fins. Even with the comments above, I believe that you would have many more choices for fins in an open heeled variety. Like most cold water divers, I have only used open heeled fins. Good luck.

 

[David Wilson]

Full-foot fins worn with booties:

and here's a diver who prefers using traditional full-foot fins when he does his underwater photography:

My favourite kit - Pete Atkinson - Divernet
Let's get away from the simplistic notion of tropical waters=full-foot fins, cold waters=open-heel fins. The central issue isn't the fins, it's the footwear worn with the fins. Neoprene socks and thin-soled boots can be worn with full-foot fins if their foot pockets are spacious enough. It would be better to focus on the fact that some footwear is so thick and bulky that it's going to be hard to find spacious enough foot pockets on full-foot fins.

As for wearing a drysuit with full-foot fins, I actually do just that when I snorkel in the North Sea. My old-fashioned drysuit comes with thin socks that fit very comfortably into my full-foots. When the Unisuit drysuit came out in the mid-1960s, Cressi marketed special full-foots with huge foot pockets to accommodate the bulky boots:

Finally, if you ever get the chance, have a look at a pair of full-foot Apollo Bio splits. The walls of the foot pocket are much thicker than normal and the design is intended to be worn by divers over footwear and not barefoot.

Make up your own mind about what kind of fins you want, whether full-foot or open-heel. As I said in my original post, the current diving culture in the West is in favour of open-heels. It wasn't always that way. If you want to bow to the majority view and opt for open-heels, fine. I shall continue to snorkel in the North Sea in my full-foots nevertheless!

 

[RJP]

Quick question about fins...

No such thing!



Well, I guess the question can be quick.

The answers, on the other hand...

 

[bowlofpetunias]

No such thing!



Well, I guess the question can be quick.

The answers, on the other hand...

you got that one right. Waiting for someone to say that open heel fins are the Devil's work.. or you will die if you wear full foot fins

I would suggest you wander on down to the dive sites you are likely to frequent and have a look.... what are people wearing.. bet you could even ask a few of them why they chose whatever they are wearing.

The only ones I see gingerly walking barefoot across the rocks at our dive sites carrying full foot fins are students or people with rental gear....