S-Wing Foot Pocket Molding

[musubi]

I wanted to just create a thread for people to find in the future in case someone is wondering about whether the Cetma S-Wing foot pockets can be re-shaped and molded. The answer is Yes. I also found a helpful video online, which wasn't so obvious to find:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEeTIMw5jq0

What I did was wear two socks. Put the foot pocket on, then heat it with a heat gun. I tried to arch my foot more to stretch it in the right areas. I did not heat for as long as he did in the video. Then I used cold water to cool it off quickly. Quicker than the wet towels.

I had read that only Pathos foot pockets could be molded with heat and so I was concerned since the Pathos and Cetma's are made of different materials.

The only thing I need to watch for now is I have a designated left and right side. I'll mark it as such (see how long that lasts).

I've ran into others that mentioned the top of the S-Wing pocket being a bit tight or creating a hot spot. When I tried mine on, everything fit great except for the top, near the ankle. This molding fixed that.

[Mikel_24]

The problem with the first approach (foot inside the footpocket) is that you can only heat the material from the inside. The rubber or EPDM does not conduct heat very well, which means that you will probably scortch the outside with the heat gun before the inside gets warm.

What I suggest doing (and I did it myself in a pair of LABRAX, the low cost version of the PATHOS) is to put my socks on, then heat the inside/outside of the foot pocket with the heatgun while wearing gloves (any work gloves will work) and once the rubber was soft and pliable, put the heat gun aside and quickly put my feet inside. Then cool it off.

And yes, now I have them marked LEFT and RIGHT because otherwise I cannot WEAR them.

Some guys, instead of using a heat gun, recommend using a big pot of boiling whater (will never get above 100ºC) for 5 minutes. This addresses the problem of heat soaking the whole foot pocket (as it will heat evenly) but translates into another problem if you are trying to mold the pockes once the fins are attached... Some cianoacrilate glues don't like the heat and anything above 80ºC will either loose, weaken or destroy the bond. So be carefull how deep you submerge your fins.

If we are talking only footpockets, then anything goes.

I still preffer the heat gun approach.

Mikel

[musubi]

Originally Posted by Mikel_24

The problem with the first approach (foot inside the footpocket) is that you can only heat the material from the inside. The rubber or EPDM does not conduct heat very well, which means that you will probably scortch the outside with the heat gun before the inside gets warm.

What I suggest doing (and I did it myself in a pair of LABRAX, the low cost version of the PATHOS) is to put my socks on, then heat the inside/outside of the foot pocket with the heatgun while wearing gloves (any work gloves will work) and once the rubber was soft and pliable, put the heat gun aside and quickly put my feet inside. Then cool it off.

And yes, now I have them marked LEFT and RIGHT because otherwise I cannot heat them.

Some guys, instead of using a heat gun, recommend using a big pot of boiling whater (will never get above 100ºC) for 5 minutes. This addresses the problem of heat soaking the whole foot pocket (as it will heat evenly) but translates into another problem if you are trying to mold the pockes once the fins are attached... Some cianoacrilate glues don't like the heat and anything above 80ºC will either loose, weaken or destroy the bond. So be carefull how deep you submerge your fins.

If we are talking only footpockets, then anything goes.

I still preffer the heat gun approach.

Mikel

Thanks Mikel. I did some additional stretching last night using your suggestion. Overall it was faster and more efficient. This most recent stretching was to widen the pocket. Since the S-Wings have thick sides so it was useful to heat the inside first. Using a water hose to cool it off made it really fast on the cool down. Took just seconds.

I got to test the new fins in the pool yesterday and noticed some improvements I could make. I'm hoping this additional stretching I did helps. Otherwise back to more stretching. I don't want to over stretch things since I imagine it's impossible to go backwards.

[Mikel_24]

Originally Posted by musubi

Thanks Mikel. I did some additional stretching last night using your suggestion. Overall it was faster and more efficient. This most recent stretching was to widen the pocket. Since the S-Wings have thick sides so it was useful to heat the inside first. Using a water hose to cool it off made it really fast on the cool down. Took just seconds.

I got to test the new fins in the pool yesterday and noticed some improvements I could make. I'm hoping this additional stretching I did helps. Otherwise back to more stretching. I don't want to over stretch things since I imagine it's impossible to go backwards.

I am soooo glad it worked well for you.

And yes, try not to overdoit, otherwise it would be difficult to shrink it back.

The solution (if you find them too loose for whatever reason) is to wear those double star shaped rubber bands that are sold for making sure your foot does not come out of the foot pockets. In spanish they are called "sujeta-aletas", but I have no idea how guys here reffer to them.



I wear them all year round because I use the same fins in winter than in summer with a 5mm sock. Which means that when you go deep in summer (20m for me is deep), the sock compresses and the foot wiggles a bit inside. I don't want to lose a fin down there!

Mikel

[musubi]

Originally Posted by Mikel_24

I am soooo glad it worked well for you.

And yes, try not to overdoit, otherwise it would be difficult to shrink it back.

The solution (if you find them too loose for whatever reason) is to wear those double star shaped rubber bands that are sold for making sure your foot does not come out of the foot pockets. In spanish they are called "sujeta-aletas", but I have no idea how guys here reffer to them.



I wear them all year round because I use the same fins in winter than in summer with a 5mm sock. Which means that when you go deep in summer (20m for me is deep), the sock compresses and the foot wiggles a bit inside. I don't want to lose a fin down there!

Mikel

Thanks Mikel. I use those star bands for the foot as well. I think here we call them "fin keepers". These S-Wings fit better than the Fireblades, but fit even better with the fin keepers on, so I'll continue to use them.

I did some additional stretching the other night and tested in the pool yesterday. Much better and no ache this time.