Many people rush out to get a pair of swim fins but is there a way to actually take care of them?
Yes! There is in fact a right way and a wrong way to take care of your fins.
To start, we recommend you get a good pair of swim fins to start with. If you’re looking for the best, read more here.
If you already have a solid pair of swim fins, then we welcome you to our Ultimate Guide on Swim Fin Proper Care:
Wash with Fresh Water
Whether you are using your fins in the ocean with salt water, a lake with fresh water or a pool with chlorine, all these types of water have long term damaging affects on fin rubber. What will happen is the rubber will corrode over time, getting cracked, brittle and ultimately falling apart. The points of use like the heel strap and around the toes and where the foot pocket meets the blade, all these points will start tearing apart. When you wash ,after every use, with fresh water you are guaranteed to have your fins last much longer.
Store In a Cool Dry Place
Secondly, after you have properly washed off every part of both fins, you will need to store them in a cool and dry place for long periods of storage. Many people do not use there fins everyday. If you are like the majority of people who buy a pair of fins you will use them occasionally, maybe your a weekend warrior and you go to the beach a weekend here and there. Or maybe you use them rarely, like every summer you take a vacation to the beach. Either way, it is very important to get this part right if you are storing your fins a lot for long periods of time. Perfect spots are garages, closets and any room in the house as long as it is cool, dry and out of direct sunlight. Don’t leave outside in direct sunlight, in a car (it will cook!) or anywhere else you won’t leave a baby!
Instructional Video
Correct Placement
Don’t put the lay the fins on top of each other. It it is warm, over time, it can have the fins stick together. It you rip the fins apart fast, you can damage them.
Also, make sure nothing is resting on the fins and they are not smashed against something. This can morph their shape. The fin tip can get messed up and bent, the heel strap can do the same and permanently funky and crooked. Lay them freely on the ground to avoid any thing like that. The same with hanging them on hooks. Doing this can also mess up the heels so just lay them flatly on the ground with nothing destructing them.
Conclusion
If you do all of these your fins will definitely last you much longer than otherwise. It’s really nice to have a broken in pair of fins that you are use to. Over time the rubber will get softer as you work it in with use so it is very nice to hold onto a pair as long as you can and get those benefits instead of having to buy new fins all the time!
