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| HOW TO START BODYSURFING SWIM FINS |
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| SWIM FINS, FIN SAVERS, AND BARE FEET: ALL THE EQUIPMENT YOU REALLY NEED |
| All serious bodysurfers have used surf-quality swim fins since their invention by Owen Churchill. They give you more power to swim, tread water, and catch waves. There are two key elements, with a lot of variations. 1. They must have a heel strap of some sort. This is the major feature of "surf-quality" swim fins. Full-foot "dive" fins wash off easily. Long blade dive fins are awkward to walk around the shallows in. check around online and in bodyboarding magazines for examples of the surf industry fins. 2. FIT! This can't be stressed enough! It goes beyond design, power, personal ability, and brand name loyalty! A poorly fitting pair of fins will cripple your bodysurfing experience. This isn't to say some models of fins are no good. Fit comes from finding a model and size which match your feet. The way to do this is to go to a surf or bodyboard shop which carries a wide variety of brands and sit down and try them all on. If they hurt your feet in the store, they'll kill you in the water. They aren't made to be walked around on like shoes, so don't let walking discomfort color your judgement. Look for simple pinching, cramping, or obvious red spots on your feet when you take them off. Any of that could be precursors to blisters or fin sores. Some fin features to consider are molded "right" and "left" foot pockets, drain holes in the bottom to wash sand and bits of rock out, and beveled edges on the heel straps to protect your ankles. There are a variety of lengths, weights, and stiffness ranges. Generally, the stiffer a fin, the more power - and the more stress on your feet, legs, and hips. Ancillary equipment for fins are fin savers, which keep the fins attached to your legs should one wash off, and products such as "fin socks" or glue-on padding, which protect your feet while inside the footpoackets of the fins (you might want to size the fins accordingly if you choose to use these products). If you are going to be wearing wetsuit booties you need to be wearing them when you try on fins. |
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