Scuba Diving Fins

Fins are the one piece of kit that decides how a dive actually feels. This range runs from open-heel fins for drysuit and boot diving to full-foot fins for warm water and snorkelling, short blades for technical work, freediving blades, and spare spring and bungee straps.

Apeks, Aqualung, Beuchat, Fourth Element, Mares, TUSA and XDEEP are all stocked, and we keep demo pairs of our most popular fins so you can try before you buy.

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Open-heel or full-foot: start with your feet

Almost every fin decision starts at the foot pocket, not the blade. Get that wrong and the best blade in the shop will still rub, slip or cramp you halfway through a dive.

Open-heel fins

Open-heel fins take an adjustable strap across the back of the heel and are worn over a dive boot. That is the setup for UK water, for drysuit diving, and for any shore entry where you are picking your way over rock or shingle before you get wet. The Aqualung Storm and Storm Max sit here, along with the Mares Avanti Quattro +, the Mares AVANTI Quattro 4X and the Mares AVANTI Superchannel OH. TUSA is well represented too, with the SF5000 LIBERATOR X-TEN, the HyFlex Tri-Force, the SF0107 HyFlex SWITCH PRO, the SF0104 HyFlex SWITCH, the SF0102 IMPREX DUO, the SF15 X-PERT Z-3 ZOOM and the SF0114 SOLLA supplied with a bungee strap. The Fourth Element REC Fins cover the same recreational ground.

Full-foot fins

Full-foot fins slip straight onto a bare foot or a thin sock, with no boot and no strap to adjust. They are lighter, they pack smaller, and they are the sensible choice for warm water, liveaboards and snorkelling. The TUSA Solla Full Foot Fins and the TUSA RF20 Platina Full Foot Fins are the full-foot pairs in this collection.

Technical, drysuit and travel fins

Short blades for technical diving

Technical divers overwhelmingly choose a short, stiff blade. It gives you a clean frog kick, a usable back kick and a tight helicopter turn, and it keeps your wash off the silt when you are inside a wreck or working along a quarry bottom. The Apeks RK3 is the pattern most people know, with the RK3 HD as the heavier-duty version and the newer Apeks RK4 alongside it. The XDEEP EX-1, the Mares XR Power Plana LT and the Fourth Element Tech Fins are built for the same style of diving. Pair any of them with a spring strap and they go on over drysuit boots without a fight.

Fins that fit in a suitcase

If your diving involves an airport, fin length and weight start to matter. The TUSA SF0110 Travel Right Fins and the Beuchat X-Voyager are designed with baggage allowance in mind, and the TUSA SPORT UF0103 Compact Snorkeling Fins pack down further still for anyone whose main aim is a mask and snorkel holiday rather than a full kit trip.

Freediving and snorkelling

Breath-hold diving asks something different of a fin: a long blade that moves a lot of water for a small, slow leg movement, because every wasted kick costs you oxygen. Beuchat covers this with the Mundial One and the Mundial One-50 freediving fins. For snorkelling, where you want something easy underfoot rather than powerful, the TUSA SPORT UF21 Snorkeling Fins and the TUSA SPORT UF0103 Compact Snorkeling Fins are the straightforward choices.

Straps, buckles and spares

A fin usually outlives its strap. Rubber perishes, buckles crack, and a strap failure on a boat is an annoying way to lose a dive. We keep the TUSA TA81 Spring Strap Set, the TUSA TA0915 Universal Bungee Strap Set, the TUSA TA0914 Travel Right Bungee Strap Set and the Beuchat SS US Buckle nylon strap in the same collection as the fins themselves. Plenty of divers fit spring or bungee straps to fins that shipped with standard rubber, simply because they are far quicker to get on and off in thick gloves. Check the buckle fitting on your own fins before ordering.

Try before you buy

Fins are hard to judge from a photograph. We hold demo versions of our most popular fins so you can get them on your feet, in the water, with your own boots, before you commit to a pair. Talk to our sales team and we will sort it out.

Frequently asked questions

Which scuba fin brands does Oyster Diving stock?

Seven brands sit in this collection: Apeks, Aqualung, Beuchat, Fourth Element, Mares, TUSA and XDEEP. Apeks, XDEEP and the Mares XR line cover technical and drysuit diving. Aqualung, Mares, TUSA and Fourth Element cover recreational open-heel and full-foot fins. Beuchat covers freediving and travel.

Should I choose open-heel or full-foot fins?

Open-heel fins have an adjustable heel strap and are worn over a dive boot, which is what you want for cold water, drysuit diving and any entry where you are walking over rock or shingle. The Aqualung Storm and Storm Max, the Mares Avanti Quattro + and AVANTI Quattro 4X, and the TUSA HyFlex fins are all open-heel.

Full-foot fins slip on like a shoe with no boot at all. They are lighter, pack smaller and suit warm water and snorkelling. The TUSA Solla Full Foot Fins and the TUSA RF20 Platina Full Foot Fins are the full-foot options here.

What size fins do I need if I dive in boots?

Size the fin around the boot, not around your bare foot. Open-heel fins are sold in size ranges rather than single shoe sizes, and a thick boot can easily push you into the next size up.

The safest approach is to buy boots and fins together, or bring the boots you already dive with and try the pair on. If the heel strap is at the very end of its adjustment in either direction, the size is wrong. We also keep demo pairs of our most popular fins, so you can get a feel for the fit before you commit.

Which fins suit technical and drysuit diving?

Short, stiff-bladed fins are the standard choice for technical and drysuit divers. They suit frog kick, back kick and helicopter turns, and they keep the wash off the bottom inside a wreck or a silty quarry.

In this collection that means the Apeks RK3, Apeks RK3 HD and Apeks RK4, the XDEEP EX-1, the Mares XR Power Plana LT and the Fourth Element Tech Fins. Most technical divers pair them with a spring strap so the fins go on over drysuit boots without fiddling.

Can I replace fin straps instead of buying new fins?

Usually, yes. A perished rubber strap or a cracked buckle does not mean the fins are finished. We stock the TUSA TA81 Spring Strap Set, the TUSA TA0915 Universal Bungee Strap Set, the TUSA TA0914 Travel Right Bungee Strap Set and the Beuchat SS US Buckle nylon strap.

Spring and bungee straps also make kitting up in thick gloves far easier, which is why plenty of divers fit them to fins that came with standard rubber straps. Check the buckle fitting on your own fins before you order, and ask us if you are not sure.

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