Scubapro Jet Fins question?

[CNicoll]

A hand drill with any typical bit would be fine.

Instead of (or before) drilling holes, another thing you can try is silicone lubricant - it comes in an aerosol or spray pump form at your LDS - a couple of spritzes in the foot pocket before the dive and the fins come on and off much easier. Also, some people like to keep the foot pockets filled with water when they exit, so they can rinse dirt/sand off their drysuit boots after the dive; you can't do that with holes in the pockets.

I have an old pair of these fins and most of the people I know who have them (me included) just drilled the holes (2 about 3/8 inch each seem to work just fine) near the toe of the foot pocket. I'm not a big fan of having to spray silicon all the time and this method works when you forget or run out of silicon.

Folks may argue that the holes are too small to do any good, but they work fine for me and don't compromise the fin in any way.

 

[b1gcountry]

I give each foot pocket a spritz after I'm done rinsing my gear. They don't "dry out" or anything so they're ready to go for the next weekend.

I can get the fins off without the spray, but a little lube makes it much faster, especially if I'm trying to time a shore exit between sets.

My mistake. I thought you were spraying it on your feet before you get in the water each time.

 

[Peter_C]

I use Jets and they are stuck to my feet, which is just the way I like them. It does take a pretty good pull to get them loose.

Drilling the holes is something I have considered, but mostly to drain the water out of them. I do not use the water and it is just more weight on top of the 180lbs of gear already on me when utilizing doubles.

 

[TSandM]

Do those Tilos boots have a thick enough sole to provide some protection from rocks? I'm current using Gill Marine surfer shoes with my Fusion, and they easily go into my Jets, but I'm a little ouchy walking over the rocks (and I'm not optimistic about how long they will last there).

 

[jeckyll]

TSnM what happened to the Chuck Taylor knock offs?!

To me, rock boots = turtles. At least for the bare boots, which are quite wide at the bottom.

 

[CompuDude]

Do those Tilos boots have a thick enough sole to provide some protection from rocks? I'm current using Gill Marine surfer shoes with my Fusion, and they easily go into my Jets, but I'm a little ouchy walking over the rocks (and I'm not optimistic about how long they will last there).

I guess it depends on the specific rocks, and how much weight you're carrying. (heavy loads pushing you onto the rocks harder)

They're a soft sole, so if you stepped onto, say, a single pebble right at your instep, you'd feel it transmitted through as the sole flexes around it. They'll protect you just fine from sharp stuff, though... if you look at the edges of the boots you can see the sole is probably over 1/8" thick of pretty solid rubber. So some protection? Absolutely. Hard to say for sure without seeing the rocks in question, though.

For walking over significant rocks, big enough to turn ankles, actual rockboots (or chucks) make sense, both due to the serious sole and for the extra ankle support carrying a heavy load. For average surfaces, though, such as plain dirt, pavement and sand (or boats), they're great. There are wetsuit booties with serious hardcore soles (close to actual shoes!), but frankly one of the things I like about these is they don't have serious soles like that, which is why they're nice and small and so easy to fit in the fins.

Oh, did I mention they're cheap? I think I paid $25 for mine at my LDS, regular price. Worth giving it a shot...

 

[ivobj]

As some friends already posted, when I used rocky boots (now I use only turbo soles and am much happier), what I did was to use a wetsuit boot, comes out of the fin much easier.

Also it is important to notice that the Jetfins have a special size for rocky boots, they have XL for turbo soles or wetsuit boots and XL for rocky boots, which has a higher profile designed to use rocky boots.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Although this may sound obvious I will chip in anyway . When removing fins , put your other foot on top of the blade portion of fin , wiggle foot left to right and pull foot out .

 

[Peter_C]

Although this may sound obvious I will chip in anyway . When removing fins , put your other foot on top of the blade portion of fin , wiggle foot left to right and pull foot out .

Do you do this while standing? Our coastal waters tend to have too much wave action or rocky bottoms to perform the task in the way you described. Instead we have to remove our fins outside the surf zone and then swim in. We are generally on your backs floating in the water to remove our fins, much like when boat diving.