To scared to cut my monofin!

[Ashe]

It's official! I'm getting a Finis Competitor monofin for my next tail!!! So excited :yay: Now, I'm a mer who likes big flukes. The bigger the better! And we all know that the Competitor is BIG. But is it too big? Let me tell ya what I mean.
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I honestly do not want to cut my monofin whatsoever. I feel like I am going to regret doing so if I did! I've seen tails that have uncut competitors in them, but they always seem a bit too large whenever you use the standard fluke shape. Standard meaning the kind of fluke on the left side of the picture. Plus, the free-flowing parts of the fluke seem to get a bit of a crease- mostly in neoprene tails. So, I am thinking of using the fluke design on the right side of the picture below. The monofin may not have to be cut, Not that much material will have to be used, and I think it is a very cool and new kinda fluke. Plus, I think it looks killer! Check it out:
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So there that is.
But will it still be too big? Obviously the picture isn't exactly to proportion, I think that the actual monofin is a touch larger, but you get the idea.
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Big question: Do any of you mers have tails with uncut Finis Competitor monofins? Or do you have plain Competitors that aren't used for tails? If you do, can you please please please post a picture with some sort of comparison to an everyday object so I can kinda get the idea of how big it is? I can honestly never find a good picture that helps visualize how big it will be in a tail.
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Thank you guys so much for helping! Happy swimming :)
-Kalani

[PearlieMae]

I think it will look great, but it may be unwieldy if most of your swimming will be in pools. You don't want to bang in to others with it!

[Arella]

I think that looks great!

[Ashe]

I think it will look great, but it may be unwieldy if most of your swimming will be in pools. You don't want to bang in to others with it!
That's one of the things that I'm most afraid of, but I've been swimming with fins for years and have learned to maneuver through small areas- But that was with smaller monofins like the wave and rapid. I guess I'll just have to practice a bit in my own pool before I debut it to the public ;)

[Ashe]

Thanks Arella! I've never worked with this kind of fluke, and I'm kind of excited to try it out!

[Anahita]

I'm not planning on cutting my competitor either.... I just feel that cutting fiberglass is out of my skill level, and I don't want to have it proved that it's out of my skill level on a $300 monofin. For reference though, the competitor is HUGE.... over two feet long and wide... I think it's almost 30 inches actually. I don't have any problems with mine, but I'm either ocean swimming or I'm in my own lane at the Olympic lap pool (or before I moved, I would only swim with the monofin at night when the kids at my apartment weren't a hazard) It's not because I'm bad at controlling the monofin... It's just that the edges on it can seriously injure someone. However, once it's in the silicone I've never heard of a mermaid having a problem.

I think really what it comes down to is that cutting it actually doesn't really change the size of it, just the shape, which makes it look smaller. At least I think it does. Although if you didn't want to cut it but kept that typical "mermaid" shape, then I guess it would make it much bigger.... But the Parrotfish shape you drew shouldn't be too big, because it's kind of already the shape of the monofin, so you don't have to make a big extension on it.

[Ashe]

Thanks for the info, Anahita! Such a great help :) The tail won't be silicone, but neoprene. I'm sure it isn't going to make much a difference though.
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And parrotfish! Thanks, I was wondering what kind of fish it resembled.
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Ok, this one really has nothing to do with it, but it made me LOL so hard xD
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[Anahita]

Lol, that last picture!

And yeah, neoprene will also encase the edges nicely because it's thick. I think the only material that would concern me with a competitor is spandex/thin fabrics because they offer little cushion.

[Ashe]

Yeah, I'm thinking of starting off with an extremely simple, inexpensive spandex tail, just to see how the Competitor works and feels inside an actual tail. I probably won't go any further than my own back yard with it though.

[Sammi Ray]

I am having the same problem too. I recently got a new monofin which looks like a competitor but less expensive as i am on a very tight budget and i really am undecided on cutting it :/ does cutting it even if its done correctly effect the monofin and put stress on it? :/ I do like cut monofins though :(

[Kumori Kitsune]

Love you design I have a wave and with my newer tail figured out sortive away yo work it. Plus I just love big fins Idk why but they look kool.
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