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Omer Foot Pockets And Ankle Bones

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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samdive

Mermaid, Musician and Marketer
Nov 12, 2002
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I was recently given a Special Fin Mono (Big thanks to Jyri!) but am finding the foot pockets rub my ankle bone in just the wrong place. I have pretty small feet, size 5, which might be why

Anyone got any suggestions? could I trim down the sides of the foot pockets to fit around my ankle?
 
Sam,

I have the same problem with OMER footpockets rubbing my ankle (which is very painful) and I also have a small foot (size 38-40 pockets). Although for me, it only seems to happen on my right ankle (regardless of which foot pocket I wear on that side). I've thought of somehow melting/burning the rubber to down below where it rubs but haven't tried anything yet. I'll keep an eye on your post in hope that somebody will offer us up a good solution.

Scott
 
Don't cut your OMER footpockets

I have tried and the rubber "trashed" after that.

Excuse my bad english.
 
footpocket quick fix

Hi guys,

One thing you can do with any of our rubber footpockets if you need to cut them or fix them is stich them. Melting or burning the rubber as Sturgeon mentioned won't work, it will only weaken the rubber since it will vulcanize the wrong way.

I took this one from a return that came in a while ago and stitched it up with mono and tried it out and it holds well. Most divers carry mono or have access to it, this is just a 60lb test fishing line. Try to keep the insertion holes for the stitches at least a 1/4" away from the cut. It holds well alone but you could even ad Aquaseal glue to make it stronger. If nothing else for a quick fix or a modification its a good solution. Since 3mm socks or more should always be worn with our footpockets the stitching shouldn't bother you either.

Mark
 
Hey gang,

What about glueing a small piece of neoprene along the rub point of the fin? I did this with my last four pairs of bodyboarding fins and it works like a charm. No more chaffing and it actually snugged the fin up to maximize the power stroke. I recently went to lycra fins socks and noticed that towards the end of the dive, the knuckle of my left big toe was aching. Last night I cut four pieces of 3 mm wetsuit material and glued it inside both pockets along the side walls where my toe knuckles rub. I'll try them out this weekend and let you know how it works.

Brad
 
yes,

Brad, that works well as I've also seen it, good solution. Like you said a 3mm piece of neoprene will aleviate discomfort and snug the fit.

Mark
 
I already wear 2 mm booties/socks with all my pockets so I'm not sure the neoprene solution will work for me but I'll give it a try though, thanks for the advice.

If anybody else has any other sugestions please post.

Thanks.

Scott
 
Scott, I stuck neoprene into the foot pockets of my bi fins as they are huge and I only have a size 37 foot. I also wear 3mm socks. Without the neoprene my feet slipped out of the foot pocket even with retainers on, now they fit well and are really comfortable...

Donna
 
Has anyone actually taken the OMER foot pockets off a Specialfin and put something more comfortable on there?
 
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Sam,

I've built my own monofins with omer pockets and shaped them so they were more comfortable. If you use a rotary tool and take your time so that the rubber doesn't heat up and melt as you shape it you should be able to remove/modify the bit that's troubling you without much trouble. If you are concerned that the footpocket might then fail you could reinforce the outside with a hard compound rubber strip and loctite 406 glue.

Alternatively you could take the rotary tool and modify your ankle to fit the footpocket...but that's probably taking your sport a little too seriously:) :duh

I now use waterways fins and they hurt everywhere instead...I have modified these a little as well and it had made a huge difference to how long I can wear the fin.

Hope that helps

Andy
 
thanks Andy - now I just need to find me a man to translate that email...

bit of a girl around the workshop!

anyone want to carve up my foot pockets for me? (NOT my ankles!)
 
Short term Sam you could try the neoprene trick above - it may soften the bit that rubs your ankle bone.... I stuck the neoprene on with black witch as I have copius amounts of the stuff :D

Donna
 
I just wanted to let everybody know I gave the neoprene strip thing a try and it works like a charm. In fact, it worked so well I am now able to wear my SpecialFins blades with OMER pockets without any socks or booties on at all. I use my medium stiffness BW Specials to train Tuesday through Friday in the pool for 1 hour sessions. I am also able to dive/spearfish all day in my Hybrids now without booties or discomfort!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the tip Brad and Mark! Because of you guys, I now have one less piece of equipment to worry about rinsing off, losing, or forgetting.

Scott
 
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