Clueless Beginner on Open Heel Fins with Wetsuit Question

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AmsterDan

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Hi there,

As the title foreshadows, I'm a beginning recreational diver currently enrolled in the Open Water course. Because of that I tend to take a little more 'serious' interest in acquiring gear, starting with the basics such as a mask, snorkel and ... this is where I could use some of your help ... fins in combination with wetsuit/drysuits.

I live along the west coast of British Columbia, Canada and will do most of my diving there. (So I foresee haha). Auto-choice would be drysuit and open heel fins to accommodate boots. I do take cold water really well and sometimes swim in the ocean in just boarder shorts ... at times where couples walking along the beach point at me and tell each other, "Honey, that dude is missing some grey matter" as I semi-comfortably take my 'ice-bath'. Now I was thinking that I may actually be fairly comfortable in just a wetsuit with hoodie and gloves (which I have yet to try) but wondered what I would do for fins in that scenario. Feet will get cold and in this environment (rocky beaches/sharp objects) booties are a good idea I believe.

My questions: How strange is it to combine a wetsuit with open heel fins? Call me nuts and have a laugh at me. (I do laugh at myself as I can't picture it really.) But I do seriously wonder whether that has been done by anyone previously (probably), how the experience was and just seeing what my options are.

Looking forward to your ideas, personal experiences and feedback! Thanks in advance.
 
I use a farmer john 7 mil wetsuit, boots and of course open heeled fins. This is very common here and most places North I assume. Spring straps on the fins make life easy--no buckles to mess with. I'm like you with the stares when "ice" swimming, so I would think a 7 mil wetsuit will be fine for you. With water temps. at maybe 43F (+6 C) I can do 2 dives a day in that from the car, assuming the air temp. is 60 (16). I imagine a lot of the time our weather/water temp. is similar. Many of the serious divers here do dive dry however.
 
Generally speaking open heeled fins are worn with wetsuits (almost always in cooler waters) and drysuits. Some people prefer full foot fins in warmer waters, you'll often see people in full foot fins in the tropics. All my fins are open heeled. I did try some full foot fins a few years ago in Indonesia but they very quickly gave me blisters, I suspect they may have been the wrong size. Almost all my diving requires walking some distance to the water which is on the cool side so it's boots and open heeled for me.
 
Open heel fins do well for any diving climate from tropics to ice. I'd just suggest that when you try on and test fit fins, have the boots on that you plan on diving because there is a huge variation on fit depending on the thickness and sole type of the boot. a hard stiff sole could easily require a larger foot pocket than a softer pliable sole.
 
Have people worn full foot fins with a wetsuit in cold water? Probably. Does it usually make sense? Not really. I'm unclear why you would consider it in Canada. You have already pointed out the reasons yourself - people wear booties both for thermal and physical protection.

Of course you'll see full foot fins worn with wetsuits of various thicknesses in the tropics. But not as many as you might think - I see them more on local divemasters who do all their diving off boats or places they don't have to walk over anything nasty. Most people who dive in a variety of places/conditions and don't want a wardrobe of fins tend to have OH fins and booties because they work anywhere.

Note that you will probably be colder scuba diving than swimming. Among other issues, temps at depth are usually colder than surface temps.
 
Thanks for the great responses! From what I understand now is that the wetsuit / open heeled fins combination is actually fairly common. That is good news. The reason why I found the 'visualization' strange is because I imagine the 'SWAT style boots' with a wetsuit. Is that correct or is there a difference between wetsuit and drysuit boots as well?
 
Drysuit boots are made so they seal with the drysuit. So they are definite different boots.

My instructor came cold water diving with us last weekend and had pool sessions the next day (wearing wetsuit) and he was complaining he had to bring double of everything, including boots.
 
No worries on the question open heal fins are the way to go for your area and thermal conditions.
Diving wet is always a good start but for longer dives in your area you will undoubtedly end up in a dry suit.
I would progress as you are and get involved in your local scene the rest will grow over time.
My one word of caution would be find some local divers who are active in the area you wish to dive and observe their gear choices and if possible ask them why?

The cold can be a demanding and dangerous condition that if unheeded lead to serious hazards.
When looking at wet suits the WaterProof hood / gloves / boots are the warmest I have worn thus far.
Good luck and enjoy.

CamG
 
Go to local shop and look at the types of fins and boots they sell. Boots come in different thicknesses, with 3 mil and 5 mil most prevalent for use with a wetsuit. I have tall 5 mil bootsd for cold water, and below the ankle 3 mil boots for warm water. My wife prefers a tall boot all the time. No need to "visualize." Go look at some.
DivemasterDennis
 
Going for a swim in the our ocean in the summer, which i love to do to in my bathing suit, cant be compared to diving. You are going to want a proper wetsuit with gloves, hood and booties, or a drysuit. I wouldn't dive locally without a drysuit, the dive duration would be way too short for me in a wetsuit. You can wear wetsuit boots over the soft sock drysuits instead of a lace up drysuit boot as long as the wetsuit boot is big enough. Some drysuits have an attached boot which is rigid. Locally you will be in a 7mm boot for exposure protection. The ocean is 7c right now.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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