Open or Full Foot Fins?

I have been looking at new fins and have been tempted by the full foot fins. The only ones that I have used have been in swimming laps. I only dive from a boat in warm water, if this makes an difference. Particularly, the mares avanti supperchannel (both open and full foot have caught my attention); also the Oceanic Viper. A little concerned about the fit of the full foot models? Any suggestions/ideas. Thanks.

all depends...

a lot of the full foot fins are as "stiff" as they are made primarily for snorkeling .... so they will bend over when kicking hard with scuba gear that causes more drag.

maybe someone can suggest some that are stiffer.


Other issues are that full foot ones sometimes cause blisters more often, so people still might wear aquasocks with them or something.

The other issues won't affect you as much as you dive mostly warm water boat dives. but the primary other reason is that people wear open heel is for booties in colder water or that they have to walk over something that might hurty their feet. I personally think the booties give you a little more padding/control/comfort in using the open heel flippers that are thicker/heavier than most full foot ones. (but that's just my opinion).

I've dove with my full foot fins before, but just don't feel like I can kick as hard with them as I can with my regular dive fins..

I have used both full-foot and open-heel. If you are only ever going to dive off a boat in warm water, it is up to you. However, if you are ever going to shore dive in warm water, I would recommend the open-heel with booties as sand will creep into the full-foot fins while you are on shore and hurt you all throughout your dive (until you pull off the fin, dust off your foot, shake out the fin, and put it back on, likely more than once).

I would personally recommend that you try out a pair of fins like the Mares Avanti Quattro open-heel fins with some booties and see how you like them. However (AND THIS IS KEY), swap the Mares straps for spring straps. I have found spring-straps to be one of those golden items that, selling at less than $60, once you try them you can never figure out how you used to live without them.

I agree wholeheartedly that the question "should I wear open-heel or full-foot fins" should be answered by the non-committal phrase "it depends". Personally, I've always used full-foot fins when I snorkel from a sandy beach in the North East of England, which is never known for the warmth of its seawater. I wear full-foot fins because they're comfortable and suit my gentle swimming style. It all comes down to individual choice. Some people will argue that open-heels are the only option when wearing boots, but if you look at customs and practices across the world and back in time you will find plenty of examples to the contrary. Full-foot fins, at least in the past, have had much more of a following in Europe, where they were invented, than the USA, where the first thing Scubapro did with French manufacturer Beuchat's Jet Fin was to discontinue its full-foot version. In other words, there's a lot of historical and cultural baggage underlying open-heel/full-foot choice, not just the practicality issue on which open-heel enthusiasts tend to focus.

Here's an illustration from a 1960s manual of a young diver donning a pair of full-foot fins over a pair of sneakers:

And here's a recent illustration from Japan of a pair of diving boots worn under full-foot fins with fin grips for security:


By way of a postscript, Apollo Bio split-bladed fins come in a full-foot version designed to be worn with boots. Their foot pockets are roomy enough to accommodate such extra bulk. As for stiff-bladed full-foot fins, Hard Mew fins made by Gull of Japan have the same rigidity as stiff-bladed fins of the past such as the US Divers Otarie. I know because I own a pair.



Sadly, Gull fins aren't easy to source outside the Far East and New Zealand. We don't have as much choice when it comes to fin design here in the West as some diving equipment manufacturers claim.

I only dove open heel fins for years until I read a review on the Mares Avanti Superchannels so for abour $60 I thought I'd give them a try. Now they are the only fin I travel with to the caribbean unless I'm going to Bonaire. They are so much lighter in weight than my ScubaPro Twin Jets and do everything I need a fin to do in that type of diving. The Superchannels beat out a number of other higher priced fins in a test by ScubaLab if that kind of testing means anything to you.

The other thing I noticed after I started using full foot fins was how many DM's use them. The majority of DM's I have encountered in Cozumel, Roatan, and other similar places use full foot fins and not the open heel type and these folks dive practically every day.

I have not used booties in 15 years. I love the full-foot fins (Mares Avanti tre). Was lucky to get a pair that fit perfectly. I dive off of boats almost exclusively in warm water.

I did consider going back to open heel recently though when my buddy and I had to do a beach exit and wait on an islet for our boatman that had followed the wrong set of bubbles. Beach was rocky and stacked with sea urchins. It took me forever to get on the beach while trying to avoid injury to my bare feet.

Otherwise, I love the full foot fins for warm water. No wetsuit, no booties.

BDSC:

I only dove open heel fins for years until I read a review on the Mares Avanti Superchannels so for abour $60 I thought I'd give them a try. Now they are the only fin I travel with to the caribbean unless I'm going to Bonaire. They are so much lighter in weight than my ScubaPro Twin Jets and do everything I need a fin to do in that type of diving. The Superchannels beat out a number of other higher priced fins in a test by ScubaLab if that kind of testing means anything to you.

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are they stiffer than normal snorkel fins? I might have to give them a try.

I've got a pair of Cressi full foot fins and they are ok for caribbean diving in no current, but if the current is strong and I've got to kick hard, they just "burn out" and I go missing my booties and regular dive fins.

The other thing I noticed after I started using full foot fins was how many DM's use them. The majority of DM's I have encountered in Cozumel, Roatan, and other similar places use full foot fins and not the open heel type and these folks dive practically every day.

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I've noticed the same. note that since they do this every day that their feet are accustomed to this also.

I've never had any wear/blister issues on the full foot fins I've got now... but I have when I've used "no name brand" cheap snorkel fins. they will wear spots/blisters on your feet and you'll end up wearing a pair of angle socks, etc.

BDSC:

I only dove open heel fins for years until I read a review on the Mares Avanti Superchannels so for abour $60 I thought I'd give them a try. Now they are the only fin I travel with to the caribbean unless I'm going to Bonaire. They are so much lighter in weight than my ScubaPro Twin Jets and do everything I need a fin to do in that type of diving. The Superchannels beat out a number of other higher priced fins in a test by ScubaLab if that kind of testing means anything to you.

The other thing I noticed after I started using full foot fins was how many DM's use them. The majority of DM's I have encountered in Cozumel, Roatan, and other similar places use full foot fins and not the open heel type and these folks dive practically every day.

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I was gunna post the exact same thing you did in your last paragraph--almost all DMs down south wear the full ones--I know that's all my son used while DM'ing/instructing on Roatan, the Wind Star ships & Peter Hughes for over 7 years total....

mike_s:

are they stiffer than normal snorkel fins? I might have to give them a try.

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You know it's been so long since I've had a pair of snorkel fins in my hands I don't know for sure but I would think they are. I really like diving them much better than my Twin Jets.

mike_s:

I've got a pair of Cressi full foot fins and they are ok for caribbean diving in no current, but if the current is strong and I've got to kick hard, they just "burn out" and I go missing my booties and regular dive fins.

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I use my superchannels for the very same. The easy caribbean diving. But I did just buy a pair of the new SP Seawing Novas just because I felt the need to buy something new and will take them to Bonaire in a couple of weeks to try them out.[/QUOTE]

mike_s:

I've noticed the same. note that since they do this every day that their feet are accustomed to this also..

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No doubt those guys/gals have some really tough feet. By the end of the week I won't say I have blisters from wearing mine but they do get slightly chapped. My wife wears the lycra socks and has no problem at all with hers.

There seem to be some interesting misconceptions in this thread.

From my reading of fin studies and from my personal experience, full foot fins are superior to open heel fins with respect to transfer of power from foot to blade. With an open heel fin, the foot is moving around in the foot pocket (and inside the boot) much more than in a full foot fin foot pocket, and all that moving around in the pocket and boot is a significant loss of power transfer.

Most scuba fins are available in either full foot or open heel. Other than the foot pocket, the dive fins are the same blade attached to a different foot pocket so I can not see how a diver could say these full foot scuba fins are primarily made for snorkeling.

There is a difference between what some call stiff and others call flexible; my Gara2000 freedive fins are so "stiff" the tip of the blade can easily make the person behind me bleed if they get too close, but they are also so "flexible" that when standing in waist-ish deep water a medium strength surge often causes the tip of the blade to touch my shin. Very few scuba fins are stiff enough to draw blood and very few are flexible enough to touch your shin due to medium surge.

Hot sand is the only sand issue that ever makes me wear booties for beach diving. I used to try to re-educate every diver and snorkeler I ever saw backwards shuffling into the water from the beach with their fins on. Now I find this Sea Hunt-ism to be quite entertaining and only re-educate fin donning if they are paying me or if I am flirting

Modern full foot fins have very comfortable foot pockets; most divers will not need protection from blisters in properly fitting full foot fins. Those with very tender feet could use neoprene socks, but might need to fit the fin with the socks as a too tight foot pocket situation is not optimal either.

I use my bootie fins when I have to walk/climb over sharp volcanic rock to start/end the dive. If I can gently enter the water with bare feet deep enough to float, I will seriously consider taking my full foot fins.