Full Foot Vs Strap Heel Fin
- Thread starter Evie
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The Great Orca
Guest
Evie:
Ok, Open heels (STRAP) are for when you are using BOOTS. The other one is when you have no boots on. Maybe your feet hurt because your not using boots in them? Iono where you? For cold water open heels are a must because you will need boots.
David Wilson
Contributor
>i learn a useful tips that is to wear socks while using full foot fins.<
Some divers in the 1960s, when I began diving, owned two pairs of full-foot fins, one their normal shoe size and the other one size larger so they could wear boots or not as conditions dictated. Fins constitute a very personal piece of equipment. The idea that full-foot fins are just for bare feet and warmer climates while open-heel fins are for booted feet and colder climates may be a useful rule of thumb for novice divers but shouldn't be imposed on everybody.
Some divers in the 1960s, when I began diving, owned two pairs of full-foot fins, one their normal shoe size and the other one size larger so they could wear boots or not as conditions dictated. Fins constitute a very personal piece of equipment. The idea that full-foot fins are just for bare feet and warmer climates while open-heel fins are for booted feet and colder climates may be a useful rule of thumb for novice divers but shouldn't be imposed on everybody.
I found that full foot will only work well in warm tropical water. They are easy to put on and take off and are generally light. The advantages of open heel/strap heel are:
security - your fins will not fall off. As the fit is secure, you can get more powere from your fins too, IMHO. Your boots will also protect your ankles from abrations.
warmth - by wearing boots, your feet are warmer. Feet will get cold quickly even in water as warm as 22C.
My favourite fins, Scubapro Jetfins and Apollo Bio-fin Pro are open heel fins.
security - your fins will not fall off. As the fit is secure, you can get more powere from your fins too, IMHO. Your boots will also protect your ankles from abrations.
warmth - by wearing boots, your feet are warmer. Feet will get cold quickly even in water as warm as 22C.
My favourite fins, Scubapro Jetfins and Apollo Bio-fin Pro are open heel fins.
Full foot fins are only for warm water diving. If you're not going to be diving in water that is at least 78F, get the open heel fins.
An advantage of the full foot fin, it becomes an extension of your foot, if it's a properly fitting fin, so the kick is, to an extent, a bit more effective. For it to be a properly fitting fin, it should fit almost like a tight pair of shoes, as human skin softens up in the water. Also, it eliminates the need for an extra piece of gear (booties).
Among some of the disadvantages of the full foot fin are: it limits your diving to only warm water, it does not offer protection for your foot against harmful organisms (such as fire coral, sand, and for walking topside), it takes longer to don them, and they don't provide a way to hold them while returning to the boat, other than holding them in your hand (you can fit your hand through the strap of an open heel fin and carry them with your forearms), and they tend to be a bit flimpsier than their open heel counterparts. i.e. the Mares Avanti tre is the full foot version of the Mares X3 and the difference is quite noticeable, as are the full foot Aeris velocity fins.
Go with the open heel fins. You'll be glad you did.
An advantage of the full foot fin, it becomes an extension of your foot, if it's a properly fitting fin, so the kick is, to an extent, a bit more effective. For it to be a properly fitting fin, it should fit almost like a tight pair of shoes, as human skin softens up in the water. Also, it eliminates the need for an extra piece of gear (booties).
Among some of the disadvantages of the full foot fin are: it limits your diving to only warm water, it does not offer protection for your foot against harmful organisms (such as fire coral, sand, and for walking topside), it takes longer to don them, and they don't provide a way to hold them while returning to the boat, other than holding them in your hand (you can fit your hand through the strap of an open heel fin and carry them with your forearms), and they tend to be a bit flimpsier than their open heel counterparts. i.e. the Mares Avanti tre is the full foot version of the Mares X3 and the difference is quite noticeable, as are the full foot Aeris velocity fins.
Go with the open heel fins. You'll be glad you did.
DYLAN04
Registered
You need to decide what kind of diving your going to be doing, if diving from a boat and in warm water full foot fins would be fine alot cheaper too. If diving from shore, jetties and in cold water you might what to get open heel so you can ware booties on shore to the water are on the rocks of jetties to the water then put put your fins on.
:wave-smil :wave-smil :wave-smil
"JUST MY 2 CENTS"
:wave-smil :wave-smil :wave-smil
"JUST MY 2 CENTS"
The Great Orca
Guest
Evie:
Yes they are, but you hardly feel them (splits) because of the boots. Yea you might have to exert a little more power. Straps are well worth the money. VERY VERY COMFORTABLE!!!
I switched from full foot to open heel a few months ago - found the open heel much easier to get on and off, plus I had difficulty finding full foot fins that fit me (size 13 feet) so the ones I had were hard to get on because they were so tight. Open heel were also very adventagous because I can wear boots across the lava rocks on my way down to the water. As far as leg power - it took my legs about 2 weeks of regular snorkeling with them (SP jet fins) to get accustomed to them.
Tim
Tim
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