First tail? Help!

[gillgirl]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I only just made this account, because I'm desperate.k

I just got my tax refund and I decided I wanted to treat myself and finally get a tail! I have the Finis Foil fin and used it at every opportunity last summer. Admittedly I didn't have a lot of opportunity, but I've always naturally swam with a dolphin kick (mermaid since birth, yo) so it didn't give me any trouble--if anything, it felt more natural and "right" to swim with the monofin than without.

Anyway, I was torn between a FinFun tail and the Mertailor eco tail. The issue is that the negatives I've read about both tails are making me apprehensive, but I can't afford anything outside that price range right now. My financial situation isn't the best, to put it lightly, and I can't really put close to 150-200 for a custom tail if there's a chance it's going to start coming apart after one dip in the pool. There's no way I'd be able to replace it, so it would end up just being a waste of money if it had an issue. That's my biggest fear with those two tails, but they seem to be my only real options.

So. The question is, can anyone maybe soothe my fears? Maybe the reviews I read were old and I didn't realize? Or perhaps someone could link me to a tutorial for making a fabric tail? I'm not very crafty, but I'm sure I could get a few friends to help out.

Thanks in advance! And sorry if this is kind of a mess of a post. Heh. ^^;

[Mermaid Danielle]

Swim on over to the introduction thread and introduce yourself. We would love to know more about you!

In regards to the tail, l couldn't say anything about the two makers you've listed, since I haven't purchased from either but, if money really is tight, you may be able to make one yourself. Fabric and materials can cost you less than $100 if you look for sales. If you don't own, or know anyone who owns a sewing machine, you can hand sew the fabric together. I have hand sewn portions of my tails and they have held up pretty well.

Good luck!

[Mermaid Jaffa]

We can help if you need it, to make your tail. There are lots of us here, that make our own fabric tails. Some even paint theirs!

[Mermaid Alea]

To make my fabric tails I relied on this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtwnOQg_KH8
Make sure you get 4 way stretch spandex fabric.

[MerShellly]

I've never had a mertailor tail, but if it helps, I haven't had a single problem with my finfun tail. I don't get to swim in it as much as I'd like, but it was definitely worth the purchase for me.

[Mermaid_Avalon]

I'm new here as well so I know how you feel. From what I've read and discussed with these lovely people, it would be best for a beginner to build their first tail out of fabric.

Essentially you can use any type of lycra, but I would stay away from holographic fabric and moleskin might be too heavy. I would check out spandex world. Anything 4 way that says it's for swimming would probably work. :)

Glub glub

[Mermaid Aiyah]

I've never had either tail, but I've heard nothing but bad reviews for mertailor. I searched out side of his site for reviews and hear he treats lesser known Mers poorly and his tails tend to fall apart. I reach out the the mer troupe near me and they said the same, all their tails from him fell apart. I do hear good things about finfun, which is where they suggested I go.

Good luck in your endeavors!

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[Mer-Crazy]

Most of Mertailors poor reviews about tails falling apart or people being treated poorly are about silicone orders though. Fin fun only make fabric so it's not an accurate comparison. The only drawback I've really heard about the eco tails is that they're quite long.

That being said I'd always go for fin fun over mertailor. Much better reputation. And as long as you treat the tail well and take care of it it'll last.

Sent from my SM-T355Y using Tapatalk

[Winged Mermaid]

If you want to make your own tail there are tons of resources here for that. Making a fabric tail is easy, I am NOT good with sewing and I made one in less than a day.
Check out the tailmaking references thread (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2633), the making tails nav bar tab (http://mernetwork.com/index/content.php?135-Tutorials-and-How-to-Guides), and the materials and supplies page (http://mernetwork.com/index/content.php?139-Materials-and-Supplies) for more info :) There's also the offical monofins thread (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2909-MONOFINS-THE-OFFICIAL-THREAD) if you're not sure what you want to get for a monofin (and a whole section of the forum on monofins if you have questions).

If you have other questions look at the resources tab in the navigation bar (http://mernetwork.com/index/content.php?152-The-Merfolk-Resource-Page) and check the links there, tons of good info threads lined up for ya!

If it were me, I would go to Fin Fun over Mertailor any day. Then again, I've had bad past experiences with Mertailor products and customer service in the past, so maybe I'm bias. But it's true that Mertailor does not have good customer service in general, and Fin Fun's customer service I've heard is really stellar.

[Nerdmaid Faith]

Go with Finfun definitely in my opinion. There are other tailmakers too: look in that section of the forum. Tailmaking would be a fun endeavor if you really want a certain colour or want to keep your foil monofin in use!

Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk

[Merman Andrew]

I own a FinFun tail and while I haven't used it much yet, I am happy with the quality and durabilty so far. The only thing I did notice (and this is totally not FinFun's fault), is I have started to get some fabric piling around the tips of my fin where it has touched the bottom of the pool - but this will happen with any fabric tail, and fin fun do sell tail protectors for $5 for this very reason (I did buy them but I put them on the wrong part of my tail because I didn't know any better! Doh!)

The quality of the fabric is quite good, the workmanship is pretty good (though I have noticed the stitching around the elastic has started to come away a little in one place), and the customer service and shipping time is excellent. I quite like the fin they put in the tail too, as it is a nice shape and has reasonable propulsion for it's size, the only thing I noticed with it is that the monofin works best when in the tail. If you swim with just the monofin your feet feel a bit too free to move around and you don't get a proper push on the monofin as a result.

Just curious what have you heard in the reviews for it?

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Tami]

I've also been looking at the FunFun tail. My friends daughter has one that she's had for over a year and she's had no problems with it. I'm also trying to decide between making one of my own or purchasing that one if I do one of my own I want to be all sequins and its so time-consuming I just don't think I could possibly have it finished in time for summer. I'm thinking to buy one to have for the summer so I have time to make one the way that I want it without being rushed.

[Nerdmaid Faith]

I've also been looking at the FunFun tail. My friends daughter has one that she's had for over a year and she's had no problems with it. I'm also trying to decide between making one of my own or purchasing that one if I do one of my own I want to be all sequins and its so time-consuming I just don't think I could possibly have it finished in time for summer. I'm thinking to buy one to have for the summer so I have time to make one the way that I want it without being rushed.
I've seen people who have used their finfun tails as bases to add sequins. You could get one for your daughter to swim in during the summer and then refurbish it during the long months of winter!

[Merman Andrew]

Honestly I think you can't really get too much better value for money than buying a fabric tail like a FinFun tail. If you want to make your own you will need a monofin, then the cost of the fabric will probably not be much cheaper than getting the tail skin from FinFun. Plus it is not just any fabric it is mermaid scales with a fish like fluke pattern, you can't buy that anywhere else!

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Plus it is not just any fabric it is mermaid scales with a fish like fluke pattern, you can't buy that anywhere else!

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

Yea you can. I bought 6 meters each of pink rainbow scale and orange/gold stripes for the fins. I got them from Spandex world. If you look through it, you can even find the same kind of scale patterns for Mermaid Kat's tails, Fin Fun and several others I can't remember right now.

[Merman Andrew]

Here is a photo of my tail. The bottom part of the fabric from the ankles to the fluke tips is unique and custom made to look like a fish tail. You can't buy material from a fabric store that looks like this.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160223/183069770efba8c0f33a008c114eba7c.jpg

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

[mermaid_selene]

I had a mermaid tail from Mertailor and it was way to big and looked nothing like the picture I wouldn't recoumend it.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Here is a photo of my tail. The bottom part of the fabric from the ankles to the fluke tips is unique and custom made to look like a fish tail. You can't buy material from a fabric store that looks like this.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160223/183069770efba8c0f33a008c114eba7c.jpg

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

You can buy the scale part of the tail from a different vendor. Its custom printed in the USA. By Spoonflower. They do custom printing for some tail makers.
Here it is. Just change the colors and the intensity of the black outlines, and its a Fin Fun scale tail. Maybe not the fluke, but that's easily done by custom printing too. Or you can paint it up yourself. But it is doable, if you find right scale fabrics.
http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/3388415

[Spindrift]

Honestly if you are interested in having a custom tail ever I would just save up for it and skip it this time around. If you are set on either of the two, I've heard good things about finfun. :)