Taking fins off in deepwater

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Wow. Thanks for the responses!

Some of you asked why i need to take my fins off in the water and how deep the water is: we dive off a small boat on the Great Lakes where depth can range from 60 to over 200 feet. Water can be extremely choppy which makes stability a challenge even without having to manage my fins. The ladder on the boat is too small to allow us to exit the water with our fins on.

I have been asking a buddy to help strip my fins off so its nice to hear others have resorted to that too.

Whether i am fully inflated or not, the act of bringing my second leg up causes me to lose balance and either turtle or fall face down without a good means to right myself (maybe this is normal for most of you too?).

I have NOT tried to put silicon in my fin boot to loosen it but that sounds promising! Does this have any downside? Does the fin still feel secure?


For me, there is no downside to spraying the inside of the boot pocket with silicon. Using spring straps, I do not notice any loosening of the fin or foot sliding around inside the pocket, and I cannot imagine it being much different with well fitting rubber straps or bungees. When another diver suggested the silicon spray to me a couple of years ago, I was a bit skeptical, but what a difference a little silicon made. That was 100% the best solution to a sticking fin problem. I spray the foot pocket well before the dive (usually the day before) to let the silicon dry in the fin pocket, and to prevent silicon dripping from my fins on to the boat deck if boat diving.
 
For me, there is no downside to spraying the inside of the boot pocket with silicon.
I do the same thing. It makes a world of difference. My fins were so hard to remove that I actually got something like tennis elbow from trying to yank them off. I find that a moderate spray of silicone will last 6-7 dives. Do not overdo it. When I was first experimenting with this and overdosed things, I had a spring-strapped fin come off when I entered the water with a giant stride, leaving me to try to fix the fin with the spring strap around my ankle as I descended. Luckily, that time it was on a NDL, single tank, wetsuit dive.

I think one of the problems is that when you are upright on the surface preparing to get on the boat, the air in your drysuit leaves your legs and makes it harder to bend the knees.
 
Just checking... are you using adjustable fin straps like these?
612ZPN0mymL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


Or spring/bungee straps like these?
XSSFUSS.jpg


If you're using the former, I'd recommend switching to the latter. They are plenty stable and much easier to remove :)
 
I am using spring straps and I really like them. The strap is less of a problem than the boot getting wedged in the pocket.

I am excited to try the silicon spray solution however and have already given my fins a once over for my weekend dive. I am so grateful for the recommendation!!!
 
I am using spring straps and I really like them. The strap is less of a problem than the boot getting wedged in the pocket.

I am excited to try the silicon spray solution however and have already given my fins a once over for my weekend dive. I am so grateful for the recommendation!!!
Silicon spray works well, as does drilling a hole in the fin pocket (depending on the fin).
 
Cut or drill a few 1/2 inch holes in the toes of your fin foot cups. You may be developing a bit of suction in the foot cups when you try to pull off your fins.

I had the same problem as you when trying to remove my Jet fins, but the vent holes solved that problem.
 
+1....I don't dive doubles but I got tired of struggling to pull my fins off after a dive even in shallow water so I drilled a few holes in the bottoms of them. I drilled 9/32 inch holes and it worked quite well. Not sure I would drill 1/2 inch holes as recommended above for fear of weakening the foot pocket area, but if larger holes are desired/work for you then go for it....remember you can always start smaller and go larger until you find a hole size that works best for you and your fins.

Good luck.

-Z
 
I don't know about anybody else, but if I try to pull my fin off by grabbing on the side closest to my hand it can be quite difficult. But, if I reach down more, so my wrist is passing under the sole of the fin, and grab the opposite side of the fin to pull it off, they come off much more easily.

E.g. if I am removing my right fin, the natural thing would be to grab the left side of the fin to pull it off. That is hard. If I grab the right side of the (right) fin and pull, it is a lot easier to pull off.

I've seen a couple of people struggling the same way at different times and suggested this to them and it has worked for them as well.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

Back
Top Bottom