Jet fin style foot pocket supposed to wobble?

[CephBirk]

I just switched from some Aeris Velocity open-heel fins to my first jet fin style fin. I went with an XL pair of Deep 6 Eddy fins because of their buoyancy. After trying them in a pool I found that my feet wobble a bit left-to-right in the foot pocket. Is this normal with jet style fins?

It doesn't interfere at all with my frog kick (my preferred stroke no matter where I am) but it feels a little different. My previous fins were snug and felt like an extension of my feet. I notice also that on the downstroke when flutter kicking, all the force of the kick is localized on the top of my foot near the ankle. In my previous fin, the entire foot took the force and it was more comfortable.

Is my fin too big or is this normal and something to get used to? I wear size 11 street shoes and was wearing size 12 Henderson booties so I was clearly in the XL size range based on the manufacturer's suggestion. The spring heel strap really pushes my toes into the front of the pocket so I can't imagine going much smaller... On dry land my foot is quite snug (toes and spring straps keep it that way), but there's enough space on the sides of my foot that when in the water the force of the water causes my fin to wobble a bit.

Any perspective from others out there?

P.S. before the inevitable comment, Deep 6 is a new company and their products are not sold through my LDS which is why I couldn't notice this issue in the store...

 

[tbone1004]

not normal, but not uncommon. Your booties may just be a bit lower profile than what the pocket was designed for. May be worth checking out some other booties to see if they work better. @cerich may have some better insight though

 

[cerich]

I just switched from some Aeris Velocity open-heel fins to my first jet fin style fin. I went with an XL pair of Deep 6 Eddy fins because of their buoyancy. After trying them in a pool I found that my feet wobble a bit left-to-right in the foot pocket. Is this normal with jet style fins?

It doesn't interfere at all with my frog kick (my preferred stroke no matter where I am) but it feels a little different. My previous fins were snug and felt like an extension of my feet. I notice also that on the downstroke when flutter kicking, all the force of the kick is localized on the top of my foot near the ankle. In my previous fin, the entire foot took the force and it was more comfortable.

Is my fin too big or is this normal and something to get used to? I wear size 11 street shoes and was wearing size 12 Henderson booties so I was clearly in the XL size range based on the manufacturer's suggestion. The spring heel strap really pushes my toes into the front of the pocket so I can't imagine going much smaller... On dry land my foot is quite snug (toes and spring straps keep it that way), but there's enough space on the sides of my foot that when in the water the force of the water causes my fin to wobble a bit.

Any perspective from others out there?

P.S. before the inevitable comment, Deep 6 is a new company and their products are not sold through my LDS which is why I couldn't notice this issue in the store...

are they thin boots or?? I see you are in Florida.
Yes, i would say that generally a size 12 boot will be the XL, but a thin boot on a 11 ft, the Large will likely work as well

 

[CephBirk]

cerich, I think they're 3 mm but they are also over 13 years old so maybe they've lost some additional thickness over the years...

 

[buddhasummer]

I don't like "wobble" some don't mind it. A boot with thicker neoprene and or a thicker sole usually fixes the issue assuming the wobble is not too wobbly. My DT XTs were wobbly until I bought some thicker boots, problem solved.

 

[RayfromTX]

cerich, I think they're 3 mm but they are also over 13 years old so maybe they've lost some additional thickness over the years...

It would seem the heaviness and shape of the sole would be more important than the thickness of the neoprene. My wife's are more like slippers and mine are more like high top basketball shoes. Both are the same thickness of neoprene.

 

[cerich]

cerich, I think they're 3 mm but they are also over 13 years old so maybe they've lost some additional thickness over the years...

yeah they would have..LOL

Seriously, I can completely understand why you are having what you are having happen. You could try different boots, or with your old boots a Large fin.

Fin pocket size is not a exact science, people have too many unique feet and scuba boots are all over the place.

 

[cerich]

It would seem the heaviness and shape of the sole would be more important than the thickness of the neoprene. My wife's are more like slippers and mine are more like high top basketball shoes. Both are the same thickness of neoprene.

the 3mm is more likely to give him what he is reporting regarding how he feels his toes are jamming in the front of the pocket. a 5mm likely would not

 

[tbone1004]

may be worth going to REI and trying on the NRS boots there, slightly different shape with a wider toe box that I find seats really well with my Deep6 fins. Size 14's don't fit in the XL's though, so I don't know where the break point is

 

[stuartv]

my feet wobble a bit left-to-right in the foot pocket.

[snip]

The spring heel strap really pushes my toes into the front of the pocket

If those aren't the signs of a fin foot pocket that's too big (or foot-in-bootie too small), then what would the signs be?