Scubapro Seawing hurting the top of my feet - alternatives?

[Pearlman]

Genuine question - how difficult would it be to cut open the monoprene at the front of the toebox to make it an open-toe design?

 

[makar0n]

Thanks everyone for all the tips!
It's not so much rubbing as more a feeling of them being too tight. I suspect, that I might have bought them (half) a size too small. Kind if the "I really want those shoes but they don't come in my perfect size." feeling mixed with those being my first own fins in... a very long time. So I was not sure, what to look for in terms of snugness.

I think, I'll see if I can loosen the bungees a bit. As it's not only the top of my foot hurting but also my toes going numb, it might be that my feet are pushed in too much.
I have no idea, why I did not notice it, when they were new. Must have been a combination of being overwhelmed by the awesome diving and also that our suitcases arrived only for the second week of a two week trip. ^^
But I have also tried to wear healthier shoes in my day to day life. So maybe my feet have now just "unfolded" a bit.

I'm a size 39/40 and have a size S in the Novas.

Yeah if too tight then most likely too small - looking at the size chart and with 39-40 feet size I would try M ones instead. Problem is most of those size charts for fins are a very rough guidance at best. All will depend on individual foot shape vs foot pocket as well as shoe used. If I was to follow size chart I should wear as small as M possibly, yet there is no way this would fit especially with current boots, L is the way. In fact with the dry/heavy ones I could even go with XL ;]
Again, M might work better for you, even if slightly too big in some situations - that bungee strap will keep the fin in place regardless.
Unsure if you can adjust it though and to what extent - Scubapro actually sells a separate sized strap for each fin size and that bungee is already quite flexible.

 

[CT-Rich]

if the foot pocket were to long, you might feel pressure on the top of the foot. Numbing in the toe makes me think the heel is too tight. I would loosen the heel. 3mm should be plenty of padding to avoid chafing. You might want to borrow some fins to see if you can find some that are more comfortable. It sounds like just a poor fit.

 

[Juli124]

I think, you're right. I think, I will try adjusting the bungee first, before I cut anything. Maybe that's already a solution to relieve pressure, especially prevent the toes from going numb.
I just saw online that my lds sells the straps but also just the bungee (cheaper) so I will just take my fins there and ask them for advice. Seems like they might have heard of that problem before. I hope.

The sizing chart is probably for standard feet and I have recently learned (or come to accept) that my feet have high instep/arches and are quite wide, especially the right one (where the toes go numb most often, if I remember correctly).

 

[jakehbk]

Does the foot pocket fold in on part of your kick? I was given a pair that were too small and that happened to me. Granted that caused discomfort just behind my toes on top of my foot, but it's a thought to look for

 

[Dragonnett]

My experience with sizing up on the Seawing Nova find to add if it helps:

My OW LDS sold me an XS and I found out during the pool sessions that my toes and top of my foot went numb after an hour or so in 7mm booties. Turns out my shoe size (7 US women/38 EU) is supposed to be the S size on their size chart (thankfully they swapped it on the spot for me).

It never felt tight when I tried it on dry but as my foot swelled from being submerged underwater and/or time elapsed it was pretty bad. Completely fixed with a size up without having any issues of looseness while doing frog or flutter kicks. Back then (2 years, 100ish dives ago) I was worried as there was some movement in the foot pocket when I wiggled my foot on land (with 7mm booties) but it has not been a problem at all underwater even with 3mm booties. Like others said, be worth trying a size up if loosening the bungee does not help.

 

[Juli124]

My experience with sizing up on the Seawing Nova find to add if it helps:

My OW LDS sold me an XS and I found out during the pool sessions that my toes and top of my foot went numb after an hour or so in 7mm booties. Turns out my shoe size (7 US women/38 EU) is supposed to be the S size on their size chart (thankfully they swapped it on the spot for me).

It never felt tight when I tried it on dry but as my foot swelled from being submerged underwater and/or time elapsed it was pretty bad. Completely fixed with a size up without having any issues of looseness while doing frog or flutter kicks. Back then (2 years, 100ish dives ago) I was worried as there was some movement in the foot pocket when I wiggled my foot on land (with 7mm booties) but it has not been a problem at all underwater even with 3mm booties. Like others said, be worth trying a size up if loosening the bungee does not help.

Thank you!! Very interesting... I'm now debating, whether I want to invest more money into fins that might ultimately just have a foot pocket that is too small. Depending on how complex switching the bungee is, I might try to sell them and just get new ones.

 

[happy-diver]

Stage one boil yourself up a kettle and have a good go, see the tank shape on the other fin

Warm it those fins up with hot water first and get some water soluble lubricant right up there

Beautiful, you get a lot more further in but not too far or top may dig in until stage two or not

As in is good so the fin is not pivoting in the arch of your foot losing the energy from your leg

 

[Still Kicking]

Do you have thick soled boots (like sneaker soles)?

After dealing a lot of students in Novas, thick soles can lead to foot pain even if the foot pockets are the right size in terms of length. The foot pocket material is very stiff. Heating and stretching might help but if you have the heavy duty style boot, the solution is probably either larger fins or thinner boots.

 

[lexvil]

Thank you!! Very interesting... I'm now debating, whether I want to invest more money into fins that might ultimately just have a foot pocket that is too small. Depending on how complex switching the bungee is, I might try to sell them and just get new ones.

Do a search here use “bungee , seawing, nova, s tek, and you’ll find some instructions on changing the bungee itself. I don’t know if you have a source for marine bungee there but piranha sells it by the foot. Also you can stretch and slightly reshape the foot pocket as Happy shows above.

Fin straps do not have to be as tight as some believe.