How to Buy Scuba Diving Fins for Beginners

While it may seem that you don’t need to put a lot of thought into your choice of scuba fins, that isn’t the case. Since this is where virtually all of you motive power comes from while scuba diving, buying the right pair of scuba fins will add to your enjoyment and reduce the energy expended while diving.

There are two general types of scuba fins, full foot and open heel. Full foot fins are designed to fit over a bare foot, so they are mainly used in warm water conditions when a diver wouldn’t be wearing booties as part of an exposure suit (wetsuit). They need to be closely matched to foot size so that they aren’t too loose or too tight and so they don’t chafe or rub or cause any other type of discomfort. Open heel fins are designed to be worn over booties and have an adjustable strap that fits over the heel, so they are more forgiving as to the range of foot sizes they will fit.

As a beginning scuba diver, you will probably only want to buy one pair of fins, so open heel fins will probably be the best choice. First, they don’t have such a tight tolerance of fit. Second, they will work in a broader range of environments. Third, a pair of scuba booties is a good investment for the protection that they provide both in and out of the water. For all these reasons, open heel fins should be your choice for your first set of fins.

Another consideration will be size and stiffness. Bigger fins will give more thrust, but they take a lot more leg power to use. It is amazing how quickly that can tire a diver, so a moderately sized fin is a better choice. Also, some fins are stiffer, also providing more thrust, but these can also be hard on the legs. The split fin design helps to alleviate some of that strain by allowing more flexibility.

There are a wide variety of styles and manufacturers to choose from, but beyond these basic considerations, it doesn’t make sense to make it any harder than this. The TUSA fins shown at right are good quality fins at prices that won’t break the bank. As beginning divers, both my wife and I use the Xpert Zoom line and they have been an excellent choice. Now that we have more experience and have achieved Advanced Diver Certification, they still continue to function well.