Went out on labor day in OC and wound up breaking my heel strap on my pair of Toobs blunt cuts. I really like those fins, and am thinking about getting another pair. But I have seen a lot of other brands out there, such as Viper fins with neoprene liners. The shape looks similar to my toobs pair. Supposedly the viper has a better inherent fin snap producing more power with less effort. I love the power my toobs had, but they can be murder on the foot after several hours out in the water. The crazy thing about my fins is they showed no visible signs of cracking or wear. I went to pull them on.. and snap went the heel strap. I have worn them swimming in pools.. I wonder if the chlorine caused the break down? Another question I have is what do when the water gets cold. I wear xl fins and I tried to put my fin on over my fbomb boots.. a no go ha. So is there a fin with an adjustable strap? Or do I wear low mil fin socks and have my feet turn into ice cubes? Thanks.. Cap.
they sell 5mil socks, long ones that go at least 5 or 6 inches past your ankle. use those and maybe a pair of polyolefin socks and you will be all set. still gonna need to go a bit large with the fins though. i dont want to plug another website too much but check www.ebodyboarding.com theyre great and jay is the man. always cool and nice to customers
h20 booties are thin, so they are pretty confortable in your fins. If your fins are tight with the booties, you may need to go up a size, or find another brand that fits better with the booties.
yea and definitely dont forget the fin savers this weekend-those things will save you money and frustration
Thanks for the info, and on that website. They definitely have a large inventory. Anyone out there using the Viper fins? The footbed has a neoprene liner on the fop which is supposed to prevent chaffing and blisters. My question is will sand stick to it and turn that liner into sand paper? And aye on the fin savers.. I learned that the hard way last summer. heh.
I picked up a pair of Laguna fins from ebodyboarding. They are super comfortable and they have adjustable straps so wearing booties are no prob.
yea if you dont wanna buy a new pair of foots or fin socks or whatever u go with try tech fins the foot pocket is super wide no other xl fins fit me with boots on but the techs did. Oh and get tech 1s because they float which the 2s dont
Thanks Ill go check out those tech fins. Last winter I jammed my feet into my blunt cuts with my fbomb booties on. Lets just say it felt like my feet were being crushed in a vise. Not to mention bringing on a nasty case of arch cramps. Then I ditched the fins and went back out.. but my paddle isnt strong enough (yet) to catch anything on the outside without them.
I've had some yellow dot vipers for about 6 years. They've lasted me forever. The neoprene lining has stayed strong and as long as you rinse 'em out after every session, they won't turn into sand paper. I found them to have good thrust and be reasonably comfortable for up til about 3 hours. They've gotten me to the outside on a few hairy days, that's for sure. HOWEVER, unless you have some narrow ass feet that are shaped liked boxes, DO NOT use them in the winter. I tried and got horrible foot cramps, I had to limp back to my car. The foot pocket is the least friendly or anatomically shaped of them all. Go for 'em if your friends call you "hockey stick feet".
I picked up a pair of the yellow dot Vipers. They are awesome, I can really track well on steep faces now.. and not skip down the face like a stone tossed on a pond. The neoprene is a great Idea for the foot bed, and the stiff blade provides plenty of power. The quality is first rate and hey they are actually made in the USof A!
vipers are legit but pretty rigid and not that durable...i got the churchill makapus which have always been good to me really comfortable and affordable
No doubt the makapus are a good fin.. ive gone through several pairs. When the shop I normally frequent was out of stock on maks.. I got a pair of toobs blunt cuts. At first I didnt care for them too much due to their stiffnes.. but once I got used to them, I was hooked. I find these yellow dot vipers to be even better, the neoprene in the foot bed and the oversized side rails which actually act as rudders. On small waves I dont see much difference, but on these large waves as of late it has made a huge difference for me.
