If you've been looking to buy a new set of SCUBA diving fins, and are confused by all the different types of flippers that are out there, you're not alone.

When I began diving a decade ago, the selection was very limited. Some of the new styles of fins were just coming on the market, and there were even some types that didn't exist back then.

I've put together this quick article to help you understand what the 3 main types of SCUBA fins are. I'll also give you the good and bad of each of the different types of fins, and who each type of fin tends to work best for.

If you need a quick overview of what each part of the SCUBA fin is and how it works, click here.

There are 2 main types of foot pockets for SCUBA fins: open-heel and closed-heel. A picture of each is below.

Open heel fins are, by far, the most common fins that people use when SCUBA diving. Here's how they work:

You insert your foot into the foot pocket and then pull the fin strap up around your heel to hold them in place. You can easily tighten or loosen how tightly they hold your feet in place by adjusting the clips at either end of the strap.

The foot pocket on these fins is much larger that your foot so that you can wear SCUBA diving booties, which are basically wetsuits for your feet. With comfortable booties and properly sized foot pockets of the fins, open heel fins are very comfortable.

Since you wear dive booties with these fins, they are the only choice if you are diving in cold water since the booties can help keep your feet warm. I couldn't imagine using closed-heel fins to dive in Southern California when I lived there, although I'm sure that there are some crazy divers who did.

Since feet don't usually overheat very easily, it's OK to wear the same dive booties in tropic water that you wear in colder water, so one set of fins and booties can travel with you wherever you go.

Finally, most of the fins that I've seen rented from SCUBA stores are open-heel fins, and they are very easy to find if you need to rent or buy a pair. Also, most open-heel fins use the same style of fin strap, so you can usually get spare parts from any dive shop.

Word of Advice: The fin strap is the weakest part of the open-heeled fins, and they will break on occassion when you put your fins on. Always keep a spare fin strap or two so that you can quickly replace it if it breaks. Or, my personal trick: Keep a few spare fin straps in your dive bag and come to the rescue of your buddy when his fin strap breaks. Straps are cheap, and you can find good deals by searching around using the SCUBA equipment price search engine at SCUBASave.com.

• Pros: Widely available. Comfortable. Easy to use. Good for both warm water and cold water diving. Adjustable straps.
• Cons: Require booties. Straps can break.

Closed heel fins are primarily used in warm water, especially among snorkelers. They are usually not used in SCUBA diving for a few reasons. First, you cannot wear booties with them, so cold water diving can be a bit, well, colder. Also, they need to fit your feet better than open-heel dive flippers, so they can be a little more difficult to find the right size.

If you do all your diving in warm water, closed-heel fins are a good option. Closed-heel fins are very comfortable if you have the right size, and I personally think that they feel more like an extension of my body than closed-heel fins.

The trick with these fins is that, since they are not adjustable, you need to get a pair that fits your feet well. You need to make sure that they are not too loose or too tight. If they are too loose, they will wiggle around on your feet, they might irritate your ankles, or they can even fall off your feet when you kick. If they are too tight, they can cause your feet and ankles to ache during the dive.

Here's my quick test for figuring out whether the fins are the right size of not:

Sit down and put the fins on each foot. Wobble your feet around to make sure that the fins feel tight enough. Then raise one fin up and grab the tip with your hand. Now flex your ankle like you are kicking the fin. If your heel stays in the fin without moving around too much, the fin is probably the right size. If you heel pops right now, then you need to find a fin with a smaller foot pocket.

As you dive more, you will be able to tell how well a fin fits when you first put it on, but I still use my simple test every time I try on a pair of fins.

Word of Advice: Even if you dive with closed-heel fins, always keep a pair of spare open-heel fin straps in your dive bag. There are 2 reasons for this. First, if you have a fin problem and need to rent a pair of open-heel fins, you should need a pair of fin straps in case one of them breaks on your rental pair. Second, it's very possible that your dive buddy or buddies will be using open-heel fins. If one of their straps breaks, you can come to their rescue and you might get a tasty beverage for saving their dive. (Trust me, it works.) :)

One of the newest style of fins now is the flippable fin.  These are really unique because they have blades that you can fold up when you are walking on the surface.  Once you jump into the water, the blades will flip down and lock in place when you start kicking.  When you exit the water, just press a lever on the fins and they will fold back up against your chins.

Right now, the only company that makes these fins is Omega Aquatics, under the name of FlipFins.  They are open-heel fins, but they are unique enough that they are worth talking about.

The benefits to these fins are that they allow you to move easier and safer while you are wearing your fins.  This is especially helpful if you are diving somewhere where you must climb a ladder to get out of the water.  If you are wearing regular fins, you will usually hook the fins to your bouyancy compensation jacket or carefully carry them while you climb the ladder.  These flippable fins will actually allow you to climb a ladder without removing them, if you are careful.

There are a few potential drawbacks, though.  First, the flippable fins are a little more complex than regular fins, so there is a little more potential of them breaking.  They also only come in paddle-style fins, so they aren't available for people who love split-fins.  Finally, since they are new, a lot of SCUBA shops don't carry them, so they may be a little more difficult to find than many other types of fins.

Word of Advice: These fins are definately worth looking at, but whether they are right for you is your decision.  Just remember that you probably shouldn't be walking around in your fins anyway, but if you dive in an area that makes taking your fins off while you are exiting the water difficult, these might be just what you are looking for.

Finding the right pair of fins is very important, and the choice between open-heeled and close-heeled fins is usually a simple one. If you're planning on doing anything but warm-water diving, or you want to have versatility, you should get a pair of open-heeled fins.

If you're only ever going to do warm-water diving, the closed-heel fins are an option, but realize that you might be giving up a little versatility.

Here is a huge list of SCUBA equipment manfacturers with links to their websites so that you can read more about their products.

When you're ready to buy, I suggest checking out the SCUBASave.com SCUBA Equipment price search engine. It searches a bunch of SCUBA stores so that you can find the best price on the gear that you need.