Fin to fit the colossal Whites Evo 3 boot size 14/15

alm · Post by **alm** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:01 am

I thought I'd try this board since Scubaboard has been less than helpful..

Anybody dive this size boot? If so, what model/size fin have you used successfully?

I'm still amazed that I need this size, but when you start with a size 13 foot and then add two pairs of wool socks and a
Bare drysuit neoprene sock, it seems to be what fits.

spatman · Post by **spatman** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:20 am

Have you tried the Turtle fins yet? Those foot pockets are huge. The older style Jet Fins (XXL, maybe?) where also pretty big too.

Dusty2 · Post by **Dusty2** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:00 am

The Hollis F1's also come in large sizes.

Jeff Pack · Post by **Jeff Pack** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:33 am

I wear a13 whites rock boot and the Hollis F 1 xxl

Gdog · Post by **Gdog** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 11:16 pm

alm, pm sent to you

Bric Martin · Post by **Bric Martin** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:00 am

I dive the Hollis F1's, I wear the same whites boots in a size 10 and my fins are XL. Those fins are awesome but they are really snug, you probably need a 3 or 4 X in the Hollis.

LowDrag · Post by **LowDrag** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:06 am

I have the EvoIII's in size 13 and use a pair of Hollis F1's in XXL. The boot fits nice and snug into the foot pocket of the fin. One of the guys that dives with the shop I go to just bought the EvoIII's and he wears the same boot as you. He went with the Hollis F1's like I did but in XXXL.

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:42 am

I have a pair of Jet Fins in XXL in great shape that I was going to post for sale. I guarantee that they would be big enough. The only worry might be that they are too big! PM me if you are interested and you can try them on.

- John

alm · Post by **alm** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:55 pm

Bric Martin wrote:I dive the Hollis F1's, I wear the same whites boots in a size 10 and my fins are XL. Those fins are awesome but they are really snug, you probably need a 3 or 4 X in the Hollis.

Interesting. However, the Hollis website says their largest size is XXL.
I've had a dealer tell me the Hollis XXL "should fit" my boot, but I don't think the
conclusion was reached very scientifically.

Jeff Pack · Post by **Jeff Pack** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:41 pm

the XXL Jets fit my 13 Rock Boots, a 14/15, I dunno.

alm · Post by **alm** » Sat Aug 03, 2013 7:53 am

First of all, thanks to everybody that posted an opinion or PM'd me.

For posterity (someone else might be stuck with this boot model & size) I want to share what
I know now:

The hardest problem to solve with this boot is its tall instep: it is taller than most anything else
given that that place is what prevents most fins on the market from working.

The fin I know fits, and that I now own, is the XXXL Scubapro Jet. The back of the foot pocket (where
the boot's instep will go) is 4 inches tall, and soft/pliable enought to expand even further.
It is said that these were made for
a combat boot, and I can believe it. An instructor friend said "If XXXL Jets don't fit, nothing will".
The "slurping" sound they make when the boot goes in makes it sound like the size is about perfect.
A dealer I know says that Scubapro Jet sizing is "weird" and I agree (see the mention
of XXL below).

What is known to NOT FIT: XXXL Turtles, XXL HOG Tech II, XL Scubapro Twin Jet MAX.
The XXXL Turtles are very wide, but the height of the foot pocket is the problem.
This belies the conventional wisdom that the biggest Turtles fit anything.

What MIGHT fit, based on conversation and educated guessing:

> XXL Jet. John Rawlings PM'd a pocket height measurement that indicates in retrospect
that these might well work. He still had a nice pair for sale last time we talked!

> OMS Slipstream XXL. The monoprene construction is stiffer than Jets, and my friend says they
are tighter (shorter) in the instep. They are also harder to find, though I found some on the net
that I could have ordered.
People like these because they're neutrally buoyant.

> Scubapro Seawing Nova/Gorilla. Unlikely, but depending
on how far the sizes go up in this one, it might fit because
of the cutout at the top-back of the foot pocket. The foot pocket is very hard though.

Because nobody I know of in the industry publishes a schematic of their sized foot
pockets, and modern small business carries next to no inventory, this was all guesswork until
I had fins in my hands. What
I've learned over the years is that for the most part, if something is not a problem for diving in the tropics,
the recreational scuba industry doesn't work very hard to solve it

---- Al

Northwest Dive Club