Foil vs. Competitor vs. Leaderfin

[Aziara]

So, I've been looking all over the net at monofins. I'm currently looking at 3 kinds in particular, as the title suggests. I would like to know how they stack up in comparison. The foil is, of course, the cheapest, and I understand that the competitor is very powerful. Is the foil more maneuverable because it's narrower though? Maneuverability would be pretty important to me, being that most of my swimming will be in pools. But would I lose that maneuverability if I put the foil in a silicone fluke? Or would that depend upon how my silicone fluke is shaped? I'm also looking at this monofin, a leaderfin. It comes in 4 different hardnesses, and I have no idea how each would work. How would this rate against, say, the Competitor? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leaderfins-Sport-Monofin-for-Freediving-Fin-Swimming-DIFFERENT-SIZES-SOCKS-/161069576023?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25807eaf57 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leaderfins-Sport-Monofin-for-Freediving-Fin-Swimming-DIFFERENT-SIZES-SOCKS-/161069576023?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25807eaf57klkjoiuwoeruia;wosz)

[Mermaid Fenicia]

I have a leaderfin in soft, and it swims wonderful even in a pool ;) The size and hardness of it is almost the same as a competitor, but a lot cheaper ;) Mine came with neoprene toe-socks and soapspray.

[Aziara]

Upon further looking into the leaderfin, I found out that the measurements of it are precisely the same as a competitor. Still no idea on which stiffness would work best for a tail though.

[Mermaid Fenicia]

'Soft' is the best for a mermaid ;)

[Aziara]

Oh, didn't see your post there before. Wow, so the soft is the same as the competitor? Even with overseas shipping rates, the leaderfin is much cheaper than a competitor... a little over a hundred dollars cheaper.

[Mermaid Fenicia]

That's one of the reasons I bought a leaderfin ;) the other one was my foot-size (I have very small feet :p)

[Aziara]

What size did you get for your foot size? I currently have a pair of bi-fins in mens 5-7, but they're pretty tight, and there's no way I'd get them on with neoprene socks on. I usually wear a woman's size 9... I'm thinking the men's 7.5-8.5 would likely work?

[Mermaid Fenicia]

I have this one in M as my EU-size is 37/38 ;) And 'yellow' is actually almost white ;)

[Aziara]

Almost white is good--I could likely get away with using pastels on my fluke if I wanted. Well, time to pinch some pennies and save up for a leaderfin. Thanks for all your help :).

[Mermaid Fenicia]

I'm glad I could help ;) Here (http://mernetwork.com/index/album.php?albumid=270) are some pics of my leaderfin with my black & white tail ;) and here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf21Jx6YkUg&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL4E81DE0910E6D13B) & here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j7MFKH_KRI&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL4E81DE0910E6D13B) are some clips of the monofin with the tail in action ;)

[Mermaid Fenicia]

I really don't know. But my teacher (Mermaid Kitty) told me that soft is best for mermaids.

[Mermaid Fenicia]

;)

[Anahita]

So soft is closer to the competitor? Good thing I saw this... I was looking at hard or extra hard because I do a lot of ocean swimming, I thought harder might be to my advantage since I'm not free-diving, but actively swimming, but my competitor has done well so far in the environment... And why mess with something that works?

I've been begging for another competitor (I don't want to ruin my only one in my first silicone tail experiment) but my significant other has been really reluctant to get me another $300 fin... Can't imagine why ;) lol. But he did say if I wanted a leaderfin, he'd get it for me... But the leaderfins were giving me a bit of an anxiety attack because of all the choices they offered (how that makes me more anxious than ocean swimming I'll never know, but I'm odd, so...)

Fenicia, since you have a leaderfin, do you think going up from soft to medium has any benefit? I'm adding some stuff to my tail that more than likely will create a lot of drag, and I was wondering if a medium stiffness blade would compensate?

[Aziara]

Looking at swimming videos on YouTube, it looks like the soft leaderfin is a tad softer than a competitor. I could be wrong, but it seems to bend more in the water when swimming. If you have a competitor already Anahita, you might prefer a medium. Just compare some swimming videos and see what you think.

[Anahita]

Yeah. it's a bit difficult to tell from the videos because it seems like outside of Mermaid Fenicia, no one has thought to state their blade stiffness, though I am definitely thinking comparing her swim with a competitor swim I might prefer the medium too....

The stiffness looks very similar at a relaxed pace, but I'm also not a leisurely-paced swimmer... With or without a monofin I like to zip around (probably because I'm physically unable to be fast on-land because of all my heath problems) so maybe sacrificing a little more pretty flow of the soft in favor of the medium might benefit me more. After all, I guess if I want more "flow" I can always add more silicone to the length. (And truthfully, there have been times where I wished my competitor was a bit stiffer, not often, but hey, I guess this is the perfect opportunity to try something out!)

BTW, Fenicia, I love the design of your tail! The black body with the white flukes looks awesome! I'm a sucker for contrasts :)

[Mermaid Fenicia]

Thanks, Anahita ^_^

[Sammi Ray]

I have a leaderfin in soft. Not had chance to use it yet as the pools near me say its health and saftey :-( and being in the UK there is no where to swim thats nice. I'm glad reviews are good and with shipping it cost £109.00. Thats amazing! So chuffed with it. Does feel really stiff though. Got free socks with it.