Newbie question - fins for 14 yo daughter

deeman7777 · Mar 12, 2005

Hello - this board is full of great info. My 14 yo daughter is going on a scuba trip in 2 weeks, and is taking her classes now. She will need scuba fins as part of the trip.

As it stands now, she does not have booties.

Since a 14 yo changes their mind with the weather, I don't want to invest much in these fins. I am trying to find a used pair on ebay, and would love some suggestions.

From what I read so far, I like the Mares Plana Avanti. Will she need booties for any fin that has a strap at the heel?

Any other recommendations?

Thank you!!

Mike

Damselfish · Mar 12, 2005

She'll need some kind of bootie with fin straps or they'll be uncomfortable, probably wind up with blisters. Depending on fit she might be able to get away with some kind of neoprene sock instead of a bootie. But booties are good if she will need to walk anyplace rough to get in the water, such as some shore diving. If she's doing only warm water and walking isn't a concern, you might look into fullfoot fins.

selbbub · Mar 12, 2005

Hello,
I own a store and am also an Instructor. I bet you think that I'm going to suggest the top dollar fins. NOPE! I agree with you the parrent. You do need to make sure that the fins that you get fit her without shimmy, this will interupt her kick stroke. I do suggest that you get her a pair of booties, not just to protect her feet against the environment but to protect her hill from the movement of the strap of the fin while diving. I would suggest the H2Odyssey's Aero Fin. This fin cost $50. brand new and is made for the smaller foot and leg. It hhas the cupping abality of the hand and releaves any leg fatigue. Good luck stay in the water.
Selbbub

garyfotodiver · Mar 12, 2005

I bought a mask/fins/snorkel set on eBay for my daughter. Spent about $50 for everything. She was 12 at the time and she still uses them. Spent $25 for hard-sole booties from an LDS; she tried them on.

Good Luck with your trip.

teknitroxdiver · Mar 12, 2005

You can definitley get this stuff quite cheap. Just remember that in the case of a mask, it's the key to enjoying the dive. Unless it fits very good, the mask will be uncomfortable and leak water, which is a huge pain.

As for fins, if you get the open-heel kind, booties are an absolute must. Otherwise your foot flops around in the pocket and your toes will be jammed against the front of the foot pocket.

jamiep3 · Mar 12, 2005

Try these
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=73997&item=7140145874&rd=1

or these
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=73997&item=7141499279&rd=1

Have bought both for my daughters.

kidspot · Mar 12, 2005

I'll probably take some flak for this but.... both of my neighbors daughters (ages 10 & 11) wear jets with booties for snorkeling and love them - when they become divers in a few years (they are already trying to talk their parents into letting them...) they will already be used to them. Size M fits shoe size 4-7 and can usually be found inexpensively used on ebay for $10-$30, new they are $50-$99. Booties were picked up for about $20...

Just another idea being tossed into the mix, take it or leave it....

Aloha, Tim

P.S. pics and measurements available at http://www.kidspot.org/personal/scubaboard/fincomparison.html

H2Andy · Mar 12, 2005

deeman7777:
Will she need booties for any fin that has a strap at the heel?

just in case, the answer is yes. even if they fit, open-heeled fins will proably
be uncofortable without booties, not to mention not much fun!

there's basically two kinds of fins: full-foot and open-heeled.

full-foot fins you "step" into. the fin fits you like a shoe.

the open-heeled kind require a bootie, and you are correct, have straps on the back.

pretty much any fin will work, so long as they are designed for diving. some fins
are designed for snorkeling, and they are narrower and not as stiff. some are
designed for free-diving, and are LONG and very expensive.

wunat · Mar 13, 2005

Open-heel fins should provide you more flexibility. In case your daughte enjoys diving much, you should not have to change the fins due to size changes in the future-as full foots come in shoe sizes.

Hope this helps.

Newbie question - fins for 14 yo daughter

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