Sports shoes with fins

[nkw5]

I know it's been discussed before but the previous threads don't answer my question, or at least I couldn't find the answer in my search. Has anyone dove using sport shoes with open foot fins? I mean regular running shoes, not Converse high tops or similar canvas shoe. And yes, I know I could stop wondering and just buy appropriate scuba footwear for my fins, but I'm really curious. Or I could test the combo but I unfortunately I don't have a pool or the ocean handy. So has anyone out there done it?

 

[elgoog]

I had a bunch of issues using regular sport shoes with my Hollis F1s.
1. The shoe was too high at the top of the foot due to the padding to fit comfortably in the fin pocket. Always felt like it was sticking out too much.
2. Didn't get as much support at the toe while doing the flutter kick, it was actually quite painful for me.
3. Surface intervals were miserable, the shoes would get so waterlogged that keeping them on was not at all comfortable.
4. Rinsing them out at the end of the day was a pain as the sand got into all kinds of crannies in the fabric and refused to flush out.

All of the above bothered me enough to look at something else - I use Converse lo-tops now because that's what I already had.

Best,
elgoog

 

[Doc]

Force Fins has a model that has numerous sizing options. I have a pair that I can wear my size 11.5 issue jungle boots with.

I use them nowadays with lightweight cross trainer Reeboks (etc). Great for wading into a rough shore entry with much less danger. Get out deep enough, put the fins on right over whatever shoe you have.

(caveat: Crocs are positive buoyancy)

clicko el linko: http://www.forcefin.com/product/T/FFPROm.html

 

[nkw5]

Thank you for replying. Elgoog, that is just what I wanted to hear, real reasons why I need to nix the idea from someone else's personal experience. (Well, I really wanted to hear that it was a good idea to double up sports shoes as a scuba boot....)

Doc, I actually dive with Force Fins but they are not adjustable enough for me to go from rock boot to wetsuit boots. I guess my next idea is to go with comfort insteps if they would make the fins small enough.

 

[elgoog]

I should add that the shoes I tried were what I consider to be "normal" sports shoes and had a fair bit of soft padding. The padding was what caused almost all the issues I had mentioned above. Depending on what type of shoes you're thinking of using, this may not be as much of a factor as it was for me.
It also sounds like you're trying to use the same shoes for SCUBA and also for sport/day-to-day wear. I would discourage this as the combination of salt and sand will really take a toll on the fabric and make using them outside diving not so fun or practical. Definitely don't experiment with nice shoes - I found it impossible to get all the sand out.
If you do end up using sport shoes or Converse or whatever for diving, I would recommend replacing the regular shoe laces with Lock Laces or other similar elastic no-tie type laces - no matter how tight you knot them, they will come undone in the first few minutes underwater and are a real pain to deal with during and after a dive.

Best,
elgoog

 

[Montana Tom]

I have shared on other posts already, but I will say it here as well. The best shoe I have found is the Five Finger Vibram sole. Small enough that you don't need oversize fins and tough enough to walk on the iron shore of Bonaire. Also they allow more dexterity with your toes so you can walkm on the uneven surface much easier. My wife and I used these for 5 weeks in Bonaire and they still look great. REI is where we got ours. I do suggest the Velcro strap for ease. Happy Diving.
Tom

 

[boulderjohn]

I regularly use oversized Chuck Taylors (Converse All Stars) for diving with a dry suit, leaving enough room for the socks and the dry suit material. They work fine.

A few years ago I got on a dive boat in Cozumel and realized half way to the dive site that I had forgotten my booties. I was wearing a pair of Keen sandals, which are waterproof. I used them, and they worked fine. In fact, I actually liked them better than booties because they were more floaty and helped my trim.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Ha ! In April I too forgot my booties at Cozumel but lucked out because my Salomon river walkers barely fit.

 

[freewillie]

A few years ago I did a dive boat to Catalina Island with my nephew and as we got off the boat paid them $10 to refill our tanks. My wife was out of town with the kids and it was just me and my nephew with free time. The plan was to go home after Catalina, get a quick bite to eat, and then head to the beach for an night dive. As fate would have it my nephew forgot his booties on the boat and there wasn't time to drive back to get them. The only option was to go to Sports Chalet and buy a new pair booties but I suddenly spied a pair of his old tennis shoes in the garage. Since necessity is the mother of invention we decided he could use the tennis shoes instead since they fit the foot pocket of the fins perfectly. They worked fine except his feet got cold towards the end of the dive and he got some really funny looks walking down to the beach in his wetsuit with tennis shoe combo.

 

[boulderjohn]

They worked fine except his feet got cold towards the end of the dive and he got some really funny looks walking down to the beach in his wetsuit with tennis shoe combo.

I bet not as funny as the look I got from the store employee when I bought my Chuck Taylor sneakers. I didn't try them on because I knew they were a size too large to accommodate the dry suit stuff, but I did put them inside my ScubaPro Jet fins to make sure they would fit in that narrow foot pocket.