Shoes with flippers

[DiverGuam]

For Beach Diving, felt bottom booties are much better at avoiding rock stabs and, more importantly, won't slip on rocks. Any rubber sole will be slippier 'n snot on some tidal rocks.

 

[danvolker]

I am heading out to Bonaire soon. I have delicate feet. Hard to believe a 6'1" 200 LB guy has delicate feet. I wear good boots everyday at work to protect my arches and in tern my back. I can not think walking up and down 100 steps with my BC and tank on my back, with nothing but booties.
So what do people suggest. I have heard Chuck Taylors, I have seen some sport boots might work.
I was wondering for some input.
Jonathan

Now you can wear your good boots for diving



Force Fin Force Fin Pro - Military

 

[John_B]

Now you can wear your good boots for diving


View attachment 186996
Force Fin Force Fin Pro - Military

No, really, we're laughing with you.

 

[danvolker]

No, really, we're laughing with you.

This would be one of the Internet communication breakdowns.....I think it is hard to know what you are saying....
Does this fin and boot look funny? Yes it does
Would this boot and fin combo work better than any of the other suggestions so far? Most Likely so....

The sad reality is, most scuba divers have no clue about effectiveness and efficiency of the fins they use, and most hang on tenaciously to the choice they made in fin purchase, as having been the best choice....It is like most divers want to pat themselves on the back, more than they want to actually KNOW what the "best" fins for them would be....and a huge excuse is, " well, diving is not a race, and you are not supposed to swim fast anyway--you miss seeing erything..." or some version of this....

The worst offenders are most split fin wearing scuba divers, of course. But this group also includes Jet fin wearing divers. The jet fin wearers know that the jets are about ideal for frog kick, and that cavers use them and hollis fins almost exclusively -- so these become the defacto standard for many advanced ocean divers, even though the challenges in ocean, are very different from the challenges in cave.

The thing about the Force Fins, is that they have models that are geared at different levels, which equates to allowing each diver to get a Force Fin that is ideal for their power and drag in the water.....the Force Fins are far more efficient than either split fins or Jets, and the difference is particularly fascinating when you match gearing between either the splits or jets to a particular model of Force fins....this means if you want to compare SP Jet fins, you would be using the Extra Force Fin, or the Accellerating Force Fins ( and they would have the whiskers on).....going very slow, the Jets can't be really beaten--they have a big control surface, and there is really little downside to them going very slow with frog kick, or any kick. If you have to fight flow....things change.....as long as you can continue with frog kick, you will still love the jets...but if you need flutter, or modified flutter, the extreme lack of efficiency in the low tech dynamics of the jet fin blade as it is used for flutter kick, quickly penalizes the diver attempting to fight a significant flow or current. The quads are burning, whereas with the models of Force fin I mentioned, efficiency is so high, that the same speeds that caused quad burning in the jets, could be held for very long periods of time, comfortably. Reverse kick is also easier to do with the Force Fins...the downside is that if you are in a frog kick race with a jet fin wearer, the jet fins are a bigger surface than even the Extra force, and you are just pushing on a board , and the fin dynamics and flex system and hydraulics just don't factor in so much--so with the frog kick race, the jets could still win.

As to booties, there is no doubt that Force fins are going to allow a much broader selection of booties, sneakers, hiking boots, military boots, or even bare feet. And...no cramping ( they don't force your high arch to be shoved down and crushed like most fin pockets and booties without arch supports/orthotics.

So...yeah, I see the humor in the funny looking picture....the looks were hard for me to get past....but...I am way more into Function than I am into looks for dive gear, for bikes, for cars, and for most sports.
The OP seemed serious with the question, and I don't think having everyone just talking about what they bought is necessarily the right answer.

I tend to use DiveR Freedive Fins for most dives in Ocean...but there are dives where the Extra Force Fins are better, and where I will use them instead....and there is NO Dive where I would use my SP Jet fins, or my Hollis fins, over my Extra force fins ( I have all these, and many more....fin selection and efficiency of each is something I am into).

 

[NAM001]

find some drysuit rock boots

 

[Lorenzoid]

IMO, a bit more neoprene in a dive boot is not a bad thing. I dive both of those dive boots exclusively in warm water, the extra 2mm or 3.5mm in thickness is not a problem, in fact I find they provide better support for sloshing in from a shore dive than the 3mm booties I've used in the past (and have since relegated to the useless-scuba-stuff-container-of-shame).

As an example, I used the 5mm Pinnacles for an entire week's worth off dropoff dives at CCV last week. I found them perfectly suited to the task.

YMMV.

Interesting points for me to think about. It has never occurred to me to use boots with thicker neoprene than my thin tropical wetsuit so as to provide more support. When I dive my 3 mm suit, I wear 3 mm booties--my hard-soled ones for Bonaire, or soft-soled ones for boat diving and sandy shores. When I dive my 5 mm suit, I wear 5 mm booties. Seven mm?--yep. Maybe I need to stop being so dogmatic.

 

[Bob Evans]

Simple Solution Just Purchase a pair of Adjustable Dive Blade Force Fin. I surprised after 25 years diver's..... most divers..LIKE ME never were exposed to the all the mode's of Force Fin's we make here in America... If it weren't for my Friend Ken of Heartland Scuba you have never seen this Adjustable Force Fin Force Fin. He loved it....and Ken I will never forget you. Love, Bob and Susanne.