Small Footed Needing Bigger Fin Surface (Nonsplit)

[Jpitus20]

All,

I have relatively compact feet (US 8.5) and dive both wet and dry (size 9 dry boot on FE Argonaut suit). I’ve run into difficulty in finding a fin with a well fitting foot pocket that also has a larger blade surface.

I use ScubaPro jet fins (size Large) and the foot pocket is snug but the blade and side thickness makes backward kicks tedious and hovering in currents frustrating with high kick frequency. My dive buddies all dive Jet Fins in the XXL or larger sizes but also have larger feet or chunkier dry boots.

I’m looking for something that can generate more power but not have a massive foot pocket (no split fins of course). Many jet fin look alikes on the market now but I’m in search of recommendations.
Thank you

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Jpitus20

Have you ever had the opportunity to try Dive Rites XTs? Slightly negative, quite powerful, good alternative kicks

 

[Mouth Breather]

To get my girlfriend into a set of Avanti quattro's, we put her in a pair of Converse sneakers. It was both fashionable and effective

 

[lowviz]

If you find yourself in a full-foot fin situation, I would suggest that for 50$ US you could buy a pair of these and keep chopping them down until they work for you. BTDT.

Be forewarned: Forget back-kicking, they don't have much of a side rail.

https://www.makospearguns.com/Fins-s/68.htm

 

[Jpitus20]

@scubadada, @Mouth Breather, & @lowviz - Thank you all for your replies and shared ideas.

It's been years since I saw the Dive Rite XT's at a diving convention but I have never had an opportunity to dive them unfortunately. I will look into those. The side rails look pretty substantial for backwards kicks and maybe the monoprene would offer some trim benefits since the Jet Fins are often a bit on the heavy end of the spectrum for me when wetsuit diving.

I like the idea of adding an additional sole or shoe over the top of my feet to help fit a larger foot pocket. Converse sound like a good lightweight solution to try. With some testing I think that may help me upsize without added looseness in the footpocket and also give some extra protection to my dryboots.

For my current diving I do need to do backwards kicks but it would be fun to try out the Mako products for snorkeling and freediving. Nice looking stuff!

I'm open to any other thoughts you or others may have. Recently I've seen XDeep's fin design and also looked at the Hollis F1/F2s along with offerings from OMS. Maybe unfairly ignoring relevant design/ergonomic considerations, but it would be interesting to see a manufacturer develop swappable inserts for the foot pockets so blade size could be maintained for a smaller foot without sacrificing foot pocket stability. Some of us with smaller feet want more power

 

[ScubaSam]

I wear a US 6.5 and use to dive the Jetfins but had to switch fins because I noticed that in my drysuit, doubles with a stage, and a deco bottle, I was not covering the distance with each fin kick like my buddy. In tropical diving with one tank and a wetsuit, the Jetfins were fine. Going to a larger size Jetfin was not a solution cause it increases the foot pocket size.

I borrowed a friend's Hollis F-1 fins and noticed a huge difference in the distance I was getting with one fin kick. No issues with back kicking in the F-1. At this moment of posting, my F-1 are with another "compact-feet" diver who is trying them out. She is experiencing the same issues I had in Jetfins when she dives her CCR unit with stage and deco in her drysuit. She loves them so I told her to use them until I get back in the water.

If you have access, and can borrow or rent fins from a local dive shop, do it before you spend the money on fins that may not work with your compact feet. Good luck!

 

[rhwestfall]

lots of good fins, and if foot pocket size is the challenge, filling it with Chuck Taylor's or "rock boot" style dive boots makes for a good option.

 

[buddhasummer]

I'm a 7 (just) I wear medium XTs (wet) love them.