Best fins for vintage diving with 1/4" boots?

[clevelanddiver]

I am on a quest to find a pair of black rubber fins that are able to COMFORTABLY accomodate a 1/4" or thicker boot on a wide foot (9.5 4E). So far my quest has been frustratingly expensive with poor results:

Rocket fins - marginally able to accomodate my foot with 2mil booties.
Jet fin XL - fit fine, but put a painful strain on my foot when frog kicking.
Turtles - work with my big hiking boot style booties, but are too big for any boots that are even remotely vintage looking.
Jet fin XXL - too big for even my hiking boot style booties.
Old school ebay specials - usually about the same size as the rockets, and usually dry rotted or torn.

I have seen an XS Scuba boot one size down from the Turtles that looks promising, but that was what I thought of the Jet fins XLs and I ended up buying two more sets of boots trying to get those to work to no avail.

Any suggestions on boot fin combos or tips for modifying any of the above fins would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

[Turtleguy9]

Aloha Cleveland
I use these every day, even if they are somewhat vintage.
White Stag, Super Stag, full power fins. Works fine with booties, but not those super size new style ones.
I find them on e-bay from time to time, and usually spend more for the shipping than the item itself
Turtleguy9

[clevelanddiver]

Thanks Turtleguy. I'll keep my eye out for a pair on ebay.

[dhaas]

Mikey,

The problem these days is wet suit boot manufacturers feel the need to turn a wet suit bootie into a hiking shoe, incorporating thicker side soles, etc. which is not all bad for support waling in and out of the water. They may be just responding to market desires. "Older" rubber fins including Rockets, Jet Fins, etc. were narrower top to bottom and even side to side.

My commercial diver buddy, Ron Yanega has a pair of those old White Stag SuperStag fins and he used them for years over his dry suit boots. I don't think he is using them theses days and is in your neck of the woods outside of Cleveland (he's in Painesville.) Email me for his contact information.

Second best would be getting an exact match size Turtle Fins for wahtever style boot you are using. But I'm pretty sure they made those suckers only in XXL and up! They DO have quite a bit more room, were a softer foot pocket, too and kicked pretty nice.....For a big rubber fin....

Personally I think all those heavy rubber fins (Rockets, Jet Fins, etc.) are like strapping a 2 X 6 to your foot. For Vintage diving I'm mostly using wet suit SOCKS, like 5mm, and older full foot fins in giant sizes, 10-12 and up. This way I feel like I'm actually swimming rather than plodding along underwater....

Just my totally biased opinion

dhaas

[Nemrod]

I don't really have a fin to suggest, none of my fins, new or old would work with these new boots. Like David says, they have become hiking boots and they are simply not adapted well to use with fins. Perhaps look for a lighter boot should be your goal.
I use my Skindivers bare foot, my UDTs with a fin sock, my Super Jet XLs with either a medioum thick boot or with the fin sock and a Nike AquaShoe which is perfect. I also have wide feet and wear a size 11 so I know what you mean--it's the boots.
While I complain much about Jet's, really, my SuperJet XLs are not all that heavy, they are powerfull, efficient and feel good in the water. It's the getting them onto your feet with some sort of shoe/boot that is the problem. Plus, even new Jetfins qualify as vintage as far as I amconcerned since they have been around forever.
It is odd but whenever I am suspicious of what the day may bring, the fin I reach into my bag and pull out is the JetFin, as much as I run them down they really are a good fin.
James

[oldmossback]

Mike,

If all else fails, ditch the rubber boots and get a good worn pair of tennis shoes, two pair if you dive really cold water......one pair that fits well, for cool or warm water, such as Nike's or New Balance, these should fit inside a xl fin such as the jets,rockets.......or newer fins such as Power Plana's etc..........

the second pair, if you need a cold water boot, in a size big enough to accomadate a pair of fin socks.....then the fin over the shoes.....

always has worked for me............

[img][img]http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/ ... June04.jpg[/img][/img]

[simonbeans]

I am in complete agreement with boots of today being more for jogging than diving. I did a quick search for dive boots and came up with these three sources. Each looks like they are more atuned to what we need. A sole of some sort is nice, but not the ones with the arch support, etc.

http://www.akona.com/

http://www.h2odyssey.com/Dive%20Boots.htm

http://www.istsports.com/product/produc ... ckPa=BOOTS

[Bryan]

I wear Ducks and Churchills with 2 or 3 mm wetsuit socks.

You can get a heck of a deal on 3mm wetsuit socks and reproduction Churchill fins in black from NRS in Idaho. Super nice people to do business with!

http://www.nrsweb.com/

Karl just got me a pair of 2mm socks from Akona and I'm anxious to use them as well!

[Nemrod]

Well, that is a mighty fine set of giddy up you have there Mossback, is that a Tekna I spy out there?

Who is NRS? in Idaho?

James

[Bryan]

Nemrod, I figured you knew all about NRS in Idaho....Seems like your kinda place

http://www.nrsweb.com/ NRS Website link

I got my 3mil socks from them and my black Churchills......

I do not see the all black fins listed anymore on the site.....I got mine from them a year or so ago. You may have to call them.... I did a google search and could not come up with 100% Black XL reproduction Churchill fins for sale anywhere?

[Turtleguy9]

Aloha Cleveland
Here are a set of fins, White Stags.
http://cgi.ebay.com/MEN-WOMEN-FINS-SKIN ... dZViewItem

Plus a set of Voits
Turtleguy9

[John Lundy]

I usually use my original Duck Feet with a 3mm wetsuit sock. I have two pair of all black Churchills that I bought from NRS. They are a great outfit. The only thing I don't like about the Churchill fins is that as the foot size decreases, the overall size of the fin decreases too. I have some XL that are nicely sized, but my mediums I bought for bare feet are about half the size! I also have some Navy issue coral shoes that work well with Duck Feet. They have canvas uppers and lace like a shoe, but you must wear thick athletic socks under them or they will be very uncomfortable and you will get some blisters. You can get them on eBay now and then. In Okinawa I used to wear a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor low tops under my Duck Feet and they worked fine.

John

[1969ivan1]

What size foot do you have! i can barely get my XL voit Ducks on over my bare feet, much less if I was wearing a pair of Chuck's. I guess that is the curse of the size 12 Fred Flinstone foot.

[John Lundy]

I usually wear an 8 1/2 or 9 wide. We all have our issues. My chest has dropped about a foot and I seem to have the inseam of a pygmy, making buying clothes and wetsuits a challenge!

John

[Bryan]

OR…..Look carefully at auctions or other areas that you scavenge for equipment at. If you can find an OLD set of Ducks that say SUPER X-LARGE UDT on them. They are the ones that have very little curve on the foot side of the pocket and both the top and bottom of the foot pocket looks like it is cut almost straight across. I have them in black and gum rubber. Not impossible to find ….You can wear coral shoes with them and or 5 mil boots with the carpet sole or very thin tennis shoe soles. I wear an 11 ½ and my feet are as flat as the state of Kansas.

Dave Krafft made me some really nice spring straps for my OMS drysuit fins that I have to wear with the hiking boots that go with it. Made a huge difference in the comfort….I still feel like I’m trying to kick with logs tied on my feet though…