Question Replacement straps Apollo Prestige fins

[Jcp2]

I have acquired a pair of Apollo Prestige fins where one of the attachments of the straps to one side of the fin is missing a tooth. It’s not where the buckle attaches to the strap, but where the buckle attaches to the fin and is hidden unless you pull the buckle and strap away from the side of the fin. Is the only option for replacement a pair of the Dive Rite XT replacement straps which have this toothed clip at the ends?

 

[Akimbo]

 

[Jcp2]

The first photo shows the intact black c clip next to the buckle on one side of the fin. The second shows the black c clip with a missing tooth next to the buckle on the other side of the fin. I took them off and it looks like they serve as spacers that push the buckle back to keep it attached to the fin. My solution for now is to make a spacer with wraps of cave line. I haven’t found a place to get the clips individually.

 

[Akimbo]

I switched to bungee straps and will never go back to springs or rubber straps, thanks to @MaxBottomtime. Here are some images that might help inspire a solution. The left is a Jet fin and the right is a Hollis F1. I had to drill out the lobes on the F1.

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[Jcp2]

So this is what I’m going to try out for now. Maybe $6 of material for both fins.

 

[Akimbo]

You might consider running the bungee through both eyelets to reduce the risk of one failing and messing up your dive.

Many fins like this have a molded hub that the clip attaches to. You remove the clop and wrap some small diameter stainless steel rod around to create a stronger attach point.

 

[Jcp2]

To close out this thread, the stem on one side of one of the fins snapped off due to age and brittleness. I ended up buying a pair of Hollis F1 LT fins in yellow to use and have been happy with these for local drysuit diving. I still use my white Eddy fins for travel wetsuit diving.