haaaaaaalp I can't get my Mahina on!!!!

[swordwhale]

OK, I have ginormous feet. Size 10ish women's, lumpy at the base of the big toe joint with arthritis. I got the largest size Mahina, tried it first in a local lake with neoprene socks and was fine.

Then used it a few times in the pool and it began being difficult. I tried several other kinds of socks and they all stuck, pulled on my toes, and...argh!

So yesterday...

went to a beach on the Chesapeake Bay with friends. The wind was coming ashore off the bay with a few miles of fetch, nice big rolly waves but not quite like an ocean beach (and it's about 1/3 as salty as the ocean). Took the Mahina for a spin...A. zero trouble getting it on (was it the baby powder, that should have washed off???). B. Fabulous fit. C. Fabulous power; I could easily swim around in the waves, get up to "surfing speed" (like I do in the kayak) and surf in.

OK, seriously, I think this fin just likes natural water...

(or was it the baby powder, still SHOULD HAVE WASHED OFF)

Is there any lubrication safe for the natural rubber this is made of, my neoprene socks (which work best) and the environment. i thought of whatever silicone tail users get into their tails with, the 303 I use on the plastic kayaks, or the silicone stuff my dive buddy used to put on all his gear...

Any experience???Disclaimer here: I got an advanced open water scuba certification and have been swimming with fins and a dolphin kick for years. I had used the Mahina in calmer water before and knew how it worked. I also knew the beach I was on very well (a sandy, gently sloping bay beach, but with rocky breakwaters).

[swordwhale]

https://www.swordwhale.com/merfolk-on-the-chesapeake.html

well those are the Fin Fun pics.... still, you can see the cool places we were...

[PhaylennMurúch]

I'm impressed that you got the mahina on! I have size 9.5/10 women feet and the biggest size doesn't fit me at all

[Merman Storm]

coconut oil, or J-lube both work well and are not an environmental hazard.

[Naiadele]

Do you think it’s about the temperature of your feet? When you swam at the lake and beach you might have had cold feet allowing the Mahina to fit fine, then maybe in the pool your feet were warmer and swelled up a bit? Would not wearing neoprene socks at the pool be an option or do you need them for your arthritis?


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[Trade Winds]

I wear size 11in womens. I would wear socks with my Mahina that bunch up in the fin. I had to wiggle my feet and force them in, and pull back on the strap. The Mahina is lovely but the pain it causes made me sell after a few years.

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[swordwhale]

wow! great answers! Thanks!

I thought too that at one point my feet might have been more swollen.

All the socks tended to stick in the foot pockets.

@ Trade Winds Yeah, the regular socks bunch and stick. The neoprene is thin (maybe 2mm) but is stiffer ... a lubricant would definitely make it not bunch up.

They absolutely need to make a bigger size.

Or adjustable heel straps.

The Luna is great but rubs the base toe joint... I use the neoprene socks in that too, but the heel straps are adjustable. The Mahina has quite flexible foot pockets and doesn't destroy my big toe joint when it fits with the socks.

Oddly, the pool water is very cold, the lake and bay water was quite warm. The first time I used the Mahina in the lake, I waded in and put the fin on.

At the bay, I had been swimming for awhile in the Luna.

And yes, the socks pad the lumpy bits and keep the oddly lumpy heel strap from bugging me.

I would cheerfully redesign the whole heels strap thing if I didn't fear ruining a $100 fin.

Runs to get some coconut oil.... (and it smells nice too)...

I was also concerned about environmental hazards of slippery stuff...

Thanks again!