The struggle for short, stiff, weighty fins for female feet

[MrsBBC]

I am interested in those of you ladies that dive stiffish, shortish, heavyish fins.

Or, if you dive something else, how you find the level of control, and whether the extra length is noticeable... it was to me before I switched.

Borrowing/trying on a range of fins within the already small range of fins that meet this criteria is already difficult enough, without having high, widish female feet so I was hoping you could answer a few questions.

1. what size feet you have?
2. What fins you dive?
3. why/when you dive them?
4. do different fin straps make any difference to the fit?
5. if you're not using a specific kick for the dive environment (i,e, confined, silt, current) what is your preferred fin kick?
6. what you wear in them?
7. Did you buy the boots then the fins, or the fins then the boots... or both at the same time?

So, having completed 80 odd dives in a pair of loaned ScupaPro Jetfins (Large), I am confident that I love diving in those fins.
Unfortunately, the Large feels slightly too big with my current biggish wetsuit boots (would probably be ok with drysuit boots)
My feet are too high for the Medium, even when trying on a range of slim fitting boots.

My feet are:
UK size 5.5.
Europe size 38.5
USw size 8

OMS Slipstreams don't appear to be on sale anywhere in the UK.

Turtle fins are never going to happen because they're huge XXXXXXXXLarge

Northern Diver have lookey likey Jet but I can't comment on them for weight or stiffness

Force fins are damn expensive and I've never dived with them before (they look like they would require a very different finning style), are they all lightweight?

Hollis F1s come in a Regular, which I will attempt to order locally. They also produce a very sexy version with high vis yellow on the tips... in XXL only...
They are a little longer than the ScubaPros but they sound excellent.

How long did it take you all to find the 'perfect' fin?

Nic

 

[tstormdiver]

I am interested in those of you ladies that dive stiffish, shortish, heavyish fins.

Or, if you dive something else, how you find the level of control, and whether the extra length is noticeable... it was to me before I switched.

Borrowing/trying on a range of fins within the already small range of fins that meet this criteria is already difficult enough, without having high, widish female feet so I was hoping you could answer a few questions.

1. what size feet you have? Women's size 9 (US) Wear XL fins in rock boots & LG with thick soled wetsuit boots
2. What fins you dive? Jet Fins
3. why/when you dive them? Technical & Cave Diving (double cylinders)
4. do different fin straps make any difference to the fit? Have only used spring straps, makes a good fit regardless of insulation worn inside rock boots
5. if you're not using a specific kick for the dive environment (i,e, confined, silt, current) what is your preferred fin kick? Frog kick
6. what you wear in them? DUI Rock Boots with neoprene socks for insulation (1 pair for warm water & 2 pairs for cold water)
7. Did you buy the boots then the fins, or the fins then the boots... or both at the same time? At the same time

So, having completed 80 odd dives in a pair of loaned ScupaPro Jetfins (Large), I am confident that I love diving in those fins.
Unfortunately, the Large feels slightly too big with my current biggish wetsuit boots (would probably be ok with drysuit boots)- Try thick soled wetsuit boots. Works for me
My feet are too high for the Medium, even when trying on a range of slim fitting boots.

My feet are:
UK size 5.5.
Europe size 38.5
USw size 8

OMS Slipstreams don't appear to be on sale anywhere in the UK.

Turtle fins are never going to happen because they're huge XXXXXXXXLarge

Northern Diver have lookey likey Jet but I can't comment on them for weight or stiffness

Force fins are damn expensive and I've never dived with them before (they look like they would require a very different finning style), are they all lightweight?

Hollis F1s come in a Regular, which I will attempt to order locally. They also produce a very sexy version with high vis yellow on the tips... in XXL only...
They are a little longer than the ScubaPros but they sound excellent. My cave/ Technical instructor (male) loves them!- solid black. Said they have good control
How long did it take you all to find the 'perfect' fin? First time I tried on the jet fins with rock boots
Nic

Hope that helps.

 

[MrsBBC]

It does,
and thanks for moderating my double post, clearly I hit ... 'post again' instead of 'edit'.

 

[TSandM]

what size feet you have? US 7, Eur 37
What fins you dive? I have three sets. I use L Jets most of the time, and sometimes a pair of the Dive Rite EXP paddle fins. I have a set of Deep See Pulse fins for pool work with students.
why/when you dive them? See above. I did very much like the Dive Rites for my cave diving trip in FL; in fact, borrowing a set from the shop is why I bought them.
do different fin straps make any difference to the fit? Yes. When I changed my Fusion to Turbosoles, I had to go to smaller spring straps. With them, the fit is secure with both the L Jets and the Dive Rites, which have a bigger foot pocket than the Jets.
if you're not using a specific kick for the dive environment (i,e, confined, silt, current) what is your preferred fin kick? I probably frog kick 90% of the time, and back kick about 5%.
what you wear in them? Turbosoles on my own suit; I am currently diving a borrowed suit with Bare rock boots, that won't fit in the Jets, so I'm using the DR fins right now.
Did you buy the boots then the fins, or the fins then the boots... or both at the same time? Fins were bought when I owned my first dry suit (two suits ago). Spring straps have been bought since.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

1.what size feet you have? I have US size 9 feet (rather wide).
2.What fins you dive? Jetfins (size L). Perfect, perfect fins in every way. My fiance uses Hollis F1s which are as sexy as hell, but even the F1 Regular sized fins don't fit me properly - I'd have to invest in a bigger, chunkier booties and I don't want to do wear big, chunky booties. Moreover, he's on his third or fourth pair in three years, as they keep splitting. Hollis has been really great about replacing them every time, though - luckily, we know their rep. here in HI personally - but it's shaken my confidence in them a bit.
3.why/when you dive them? I dive them all the time, whether I'm tooling around a reef or using doubles and a deco bottle. I like them because they are short and stumpy enough not to take up too much room on the boat (other fins look so long in comparison!); their design hasn't changed much over the last few decades because it's perfect already; and because they're great for alternative kicks. If you need to get somewhere in a hurry, though, or are faced with current, you can be certain you'll fly through the water if need be.
4.do different fin straps make any difference to the fit? They come with a weird rubbery strap, which I replaced with spring straps immediately, so I can't really answer this question. Best thing I did, though. Spring straps are great.
5.if you're not using a specific kick for the dive environment (i,e, confined, silt, current) what is your preferred fin kick? Frog kick. I use it pretty much exclusively. I helicopter and back-kick on every dive, too, though.
6.what you wear in them? Henderson Insta-Dry 3mm and 7mm booties. The booties are pretty shot, though, so I'll need new 'uns soon.
7.Did you buy the boots then the fins, or the fins then the boots... or both at the same time? Bought the booties first. Silly, really. I was just fed up with my old fins (Volos), and bought Jets on a whim because I thought they looked bad-ass. As it happened, I got them as my fiance started introducing me to tech dives, so it worked out perfectly. Lucky for me I never tried to exclusively flutter-kick with them, or I would have been seriously aggrieved. I was lucky, too, that the booties fit the fins. Like you, I tried buying medium Jets first...turned out that large was the correct size.
8. How long did it take you all to find the 'perfect' fin? Less than two years. I used Cressi fins at first, which were completely fine, but they were aggregiously yellow. Silly, but true. I then bought a pair of Volos...not sure why...and then ended up with my Jets. Last fin I'll ever buy, I think.

 

[MrsBBC]

So, Jetfins (Large) seem to comfortably take a US womens 7-9 depending on foot shape and boot type, that's quite a range.
And so far they are the preferred fin for most dive environments. Like me everyone predominently utilises the frog kick.

Looks like I will stick with the L Jetfin and find myself the perfect pair of boots.
Thank you very much everyone

Nic

 

[down4fun]

1. what size feet you have?
2. What fins you dive?
3. why/when you dive them?
4. do different fin straps make any difference to the fit?
5. if you're not using a specific kick for the dive environment (i,e, confined, silt, current) what is your preferred fin kick?
6. what you wear in them?
7. Did you buy the boots then the fins, or the fins then the boots... or both at the same time?

Nic

I have size 7 feet
I wear large jetfins
i dive them in all environments, but my main area are wrecks and caves. Because they are short just like me and nice and stiff for a great fin kick. There are times when i have my rebreather and 3 bailout tanks on and the jets are stiff enough to give me good propulsion despite all that mass moving through the water.
The fin strap definitely makes a difference. for wetsuit booties i have one size spring straps and for my chuck taylor drysuit sneakers i have larger spring straps. so i have two pairs of large jets with two different size spring straps.
I love them