The easiest way to attach a spring fin strap

Stainless steel spring fin straps are an unbreakable replacement for the usual rubber fin straps.
This is an old idea that has recently regained popularity.
Spring straps are easier to don and doff than conventional straps and need no adjustment at all once setup correctly.

Feed about 60cm of 3mm nylon cord through the spring. This cord is necessary so that the springs are not over stretched and permenantly deformed when donning and doffing your fins.

Here's how to bend over coils using two screw drivers

Cut the springs to length with a hacksaw. I initially tried clear plastic tube for the spring cover but found this too thick, so changed to thinner and more flexible heat shrink tube. I'm still looking for a better material.

Slip on the plastic cover before bending the final coils. It's impossible to fit the cover after.

Here's how it all fits back together. Slip the cord loops over the clip pins before popping the pins back into position. The cords need to be about 100mm longer than the final spring length to allow enough stretch to put your fins on.

Strap end assembled

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