Which Foot Pockets Fit Our Blades And What Size To Get

Once you have chosen your fin material and design, the next most important thing is the foot pocket that goes with it. This short video covers the pockets we recommend for our blades and how to pick a size. The notes below add a few checks to run before you fit anything.

What A Foot Pocket Does

Our fins come in two parts. The blade is the long fibre section that pushes the water. The foot pocket is the shoe your foot goes into, with an arm running down each side that holds the blade.

Every kick passes from your leg through the pocket into the blade. A pocket that fits well holds your heel down and keeps your foot still. Too tight and your feet cramp and go cold on a long session. Too loose and your foot moves around inside, which rubs and wastes some of each kick.

If your last fins were a single moulded piece, choosing the pocket separately will be new.

The Pockets We Recommend

In the video we recommend three brands of foot pocket:

• The Ocean Hunter Ambush pocket
• The Hammerhead pocket, a close relative of the Ambush
• The JBL foot pocket

All three fit up in a similar way, so the fitting steps are the same whichever one you choose. We filmed this video in 2021, so check our foot pocket collection for the pockets we carry now.

How They Fit

Each of our blades has a T-rail along the side, and it fits into a rebate in the pocket, a groove the rail slides into. It is super easy to fit.

1. Position the heel of the blade as far into the base of the pocket as you can get it.
2. Hold the blade close, bend the foot pocket arm down like a banana peel and roll it on along the edge of the fin.
3. Make sure the pocket is in line and square with the blade.
4. Then make the small holes that the fitting kit goes into.

In the video the blade is held upright with the tip over the shoulder while the pocket arm is rolled on, which leaves both hands free to work down the rail. Once it is on, the fin is held out flat and checked along its length before any holes go in.

Our guide on how to fit fin blades to foot pockets goes through the full job, drilling included.

Getting The Size Right

Most foot pockets on the market show their size on the heel, in either US or European sizing. Start from your standard shoe size, and check which system the pocket uses before you compare. A US size and a European size for the same foot are different numbers.

If you dive in a soft sock, such as a 3mm neoprene bootie, go a half size bigger than your standard shoe size. The sock takes up room inside the pocket, and a pocket sized for bare feet will pinch with one on.

Size for the sock you actually dive in. If you change socks through the year, keep that in mind when you pick.

Checking The Fit

If you are fitting the pockets yourself, try them on with your dive sock before you drill anything. Stand up in them and check a few things.

• Your heel sits down in the base of the pocket and stays there when you point your toes.
• Your toes are not jammed hard against the end.
• There is no pressure point across the top of your foot.
• The pocket feels snug without pinching.

If a size feels borderline, get in touch before you drill and we can talk it through.

Shop our foot pockets. If you have not settled on a blade yet, start with our guide to composite, carbon and Innegra carbon.