Mertailor's Partial Silicone and Silicone With Neoprene Tails?

[Mermaid Clara]

i'm saving up to get my first realistic tail and i decided to check out Mertailor's prices for the "Partial Silicone" and the "Silicone Neoprene" tails, they are way easier to save money for than a $3,000+ tail. i've been using fabric tails for about 5 years now. Are they worth the money for a beginner children's entertainer? Does anyone who has one have any regrets buying it? are they heavy or hard to get into? if i get one in white will i be able to repaint it easily? has anyone repainted them?
sorry for all the questions and if i have any grammar or spelling mistakes!

[Raayvhen]

Definitely check out the reviews for mertailor on here. If you can, look up info on Raina's mertailor tail so you can see her experience.

[MermaidBonnie]

Hi, I got the partial tail this past March for use in aquariums and open ocean diving during my pregnancy. I own a silicone tail as well as sequined ones, so I can give you an honest review of it in comparison to using the other kinds of tails. There are many pros to this kind of tail. First, bc my belly kept growing, I could let out the seams (and also take them in after I have my daughter). It's much easier to put on than a silicone tail. I just wore it a few weeks ago to dive with whale sharks in Mexico and it was perfect to put on and take off on a boat rocking in the waves! Also, silicone mono fins can snap if one doesn't jump off the boat just right, and it was a relief to know that however I chose to get off the boat (@ 7 months pregnant I didn't have a ton of options), that this flipper couldn't snap. It's solid silicone. Rachael from the Dive Bar Mermaids uses it in her shows and she was the one who recommended it to me. For the price, the quality, and the versatility, you just can't beat it! I haven't tried painting it so you will have to ask Eric himself about that. Here's my video review of it I made a few months ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y21_34EQnIc&list=UUgorc3JrIjr4pXk7rqUymXQ. As for the silicone neoprene tails, I bought a latex one from him like 5 years ago I think...anyways, it's still going strong as I just resold it. Those tails can be a great investment also. Just depends on what you are looking for. You can see pix of me swimming in the partial silicone tail a few weeks ago with whale sharks on my FB @ Mermaid Bonnie. I hope this helps. Good luck!

[Mermaid Clara]

Hi, I got the partial tail this past March for use in aquariums and open ocean diving during my pregnancy. I own a silicone tail as well as sequined ones, so I can give you an honest review of it in comparison to using the other kinds of tails. There are many pros to this kind of tail. First, bc my belly kept growing, I could let out the seams (and also take them in after I have my daughter). It's much easier to put on than a silicone tail. I just wore it a few weeks ago to dive with whale sharks in Mexico and it was perfect to put on and take off on a boat rocking in the waves! Also, silicone mono fins can snap if one doesn't jump off the boat just right, and it was a relief to know that however I chose to get off the boat (@ 7 months pregnant I didn't have a ton of options), that this flipper couldn't snap. It's solid silicone. Rachael from the Dive Bar Mermaids uses it in her shows and she was the one who recommended it to me. For the price, the quality, and the versatility, you just can't beat it! I haven't tried painting it so you will have to ask Eric himself about that. Here's my video review of it I made a few months ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y21_34EQnIc&list=UUgorc3JrIjr4pXk7rqUymXQ. As for the silicone neoprene tails, I bought a latex one from him like 5 years ago I think...anyways, it's still going strong as I just resold it. Those tails can be a great investment also. Just depends on what you are looking for. You can see pix of me swimming in the partial silicone tail a few weeks ago with whale sharks on my FB @ Mermaid Bonnie. I hope this helps. Good luck!
Oh my scales!!! Mermaid Bonnie just replied to my thread!! I'm completely fangirling right now!!! Thanks for the advice Bonnie! I've decided to save for a Partial Silicone tail, i'm probably going to get it custom painted I just don't know what yet...

[Yulia]

In his partial tail, it's not NEOPRENE, it's NEOPRINE.

Check out this thread.
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?7823-Wondering-about-Mertailor-partial-silicone-tails&highlight=partial

[MermaidBonnie]

You're most welcome KellyMermaid. No matter what tail you choose, I'm sure it will be beautiful on you! Yulia, I read on here that it's made of neoprin (I have a neoprin tail that has been very good to me), but this is not neoprin. It feels like neoprene to me and I bought two skins and both of them have the same neoprene texture.

[Maethor]

On the website it says it's neoprene.

[Winged Mermaid]

On the website it says it's neoprene.

He's used neoprin for years and called it neoprene. I'm one of many who ordered neoprene and got neoprin.
Also, quote from his website (https://themertailor.com/partial-silicone-mermaid-tail) for the partial tails:


Not only are they completely safe to wear, but are extremely durable with added Neoprene like backing for strength.

After it became more widely known he wasn't using actual neoprene, he's also described it as a "neoprene like filler" and other such things. Since most people don't know the difference- heck most of his clients are first time mermaids and don't even know what neoprene is- they end up with neoprin instead of neoprene.

I personally don't like neoprin, and most people who have made tails or bought tails made of it don't find it suitable. But there are a few that neoprin has done them just fine and they are pleased with it. I personally wouldn't recommend it, I've seen it cause headaches from people who have bought tails made with it, or made their own with it because it was cheaper. But that's my opinion!

[Maethor]

Yikes! That's a bit sketchy!!

[AniaR]

I think it depends on the quality of the neoprin too. I saw a tail made from expensive neoprin recently and was floored at how different it was from the old neoprin I had.

I think the big thing is eric's tails now are different than eric's tails then. It's good to ask people who CURRENTLY have them. My review is what it is, but it was made of alex plus which he pretty much stopped using after that. I think now the partial silicones (the ones that look like his older ones) are a silicone caulking made by smoothin on top of neoprin. The partial tails that come in two pieces are dragonskin silicone with neoprin underneath and a full silicone fluke.

Honestly. Everyone knows I have my criticisms of mertailor, but the fact is, most *beginner level tails* all have similar issues. They're beginner tails. They aren't meant for going pro and using constantly. I wouldn't buy a partial silicone and plan to use it as my main tail 24/7. But having it for fun/practice/ or rotating it with others I think is fine. I think it all really comes down to expectations.

All tail makers have their pros and cons at this stage. We can rag on Eric forever but we know there's no tailmaker who is ever able to 100% fufil the communities very high expectations. Someone's either too slow. or their painting isnt quite right, or they're not casting thick enough and the tails rip, or one tail maker isnt as good at measuring, or someone's got huge wait times.

At the end of the day all you can do is take a look at what you want to get out of a tail, and go with the one you think suits your needs best.

There was a time a few months ago where I was led to believe I was going to have a large sum of money to invest in my tails. And I was totally open to getting a few used mertailors for specific things. not with the expectation of how I use rapidash. But for other bookings/events where I didnt think my rapidash would work or I'd be afraid of damage or it being too heavy or being hard to sit in dry etc.

In my company I own 1 merbella, one mermaid creations, one sequined tail. Mimi has my old mertailor tail, Nessie made an alex plus tail, and mutiny has a finfolk she practices with. Nessie and Mimi have a hell of a lot easier time with their tails on land than I do. Mutiny can go swim in her finfun or the sequinned tail and practice for long periods of time and for me it takes so much effort to put my tail off and on, and clean it when I'm done that I don't have the drive all the time. Raven is hoping to have two other tails for me to go with my new tail that I can use for dry gigs or rotate with other tails so Im not always using my top of the line silicone.

Good luck with your choices hope we've been of some help

[Merenneito Nerissa]

Hi, I'm waiting for my first tail to arrive and I've ordered that partial silicone tail. I chose to have that custom color, and I'm bit sad that I didn't realize at the time I ordered that I could even design my own coloring just as I want, I just followed the coloring in that example pic ( high-light color, main color etc.). So if you're ordering yours and choose to use that custom color option, remember that :) Any how, I'm so anxious and excited to have my first tail that I'm almost freaking out, I'm scared that the tail won't fit or it will somehow be a huge disappointment at the same time when just can't wait to fall in love to it, get into it and in to the pool with it... Confusing times... :p

[Genevieve]

I am looking into the Mertailor silicone/neoprene and partial silicone tails. Reviews seem to be mixed due to neoprene/neoprin confusion and some cracking of the top layer. Anybody recently acquired one?

[Chrissy]

I have 2 friends who have these tails. One was purchased a year ago and looks terrible. The paint is coming off, the heel area is very think the general paint job is awful looking, very sloppy and looks like no effort was put in. Now the most recent one I have seen was purchased with in the month and the scales and paint look way better. It still dosnt compare to love attention that may go into a all silicone but it look way better. Both people said that the fit isn't good very big and baggy. But for the price were still very happy

[Genevieve]

That's helpful. For my (realistic) price range, I was considering either that or painted neoprene, so I think I'm leaning towards neoprene.

[Seatan]

I like neoprene tails because they are lightweight and easy to travel with. I would get neoprene and then start saving for full silicone if you want more realism, because Having now worked with silicone and neoprene , Raina was right above when she said they are good for hobby, but not so much for pro. Silicone hates sticking to stuff, even when you do everything like you are supposed to. It's like the parents that stay together just long enough for the kids to grow up then split.

[Merenneito Nerissa]

Btw when I checked from mertailor's web site there actually reads that in silicone/neoprene tail there's that "neoprene-like" material but in the partial silicone it only says that there is neoprene backing up for strength. So I think (and hope...) that in partial tail they use the real neoprene

[Yulia]

Btw when I checked from mertailor's web site there actually reads that in silicone/neoprene tail there's that "neoprene-like" material but in the partial silicone it only says that there is neoprene backing up for strength. So I think (and hope...) that in partial tail they use the real neoprene

No, it's the same for the partial silicone.

"Our Partial Silicone Tails are created from Dragon Skin Silicone, a platinum, skin safe silicone. Not only are they completely safe to wear, but are extremely durable with added Neoprene like backing for strength."

[Merenneito Nerissa]

Oh, damn.... :(((

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

I currently own a fairly new mertailor silicone "neoprene" tail. I ordered it dec. 31 2013. It arrived (late of course) at the end of march 2014. It was 550 us. In total with shipping and brokering and the exchange rate i ended up paying almost 1000$ for this very pretty but almost useless tail.

i will post a full review of it tomorrow but i can say now, dont waste your money. My tail is junk. The monofin was cut and where the ridges in the fin were are now sharp almost 90 degree corners and in 4 places its almost punctured through the fluke.

I have worn it once for a dry photoshoot for an hour and had to take it in due to the stretch of the neopRIN. I wore it again for almost 2 hours for an underwater photo shoot. The monofin strap started coming lose making it almost impossible to swim in, again due to crappy neoprin stretch. Today i went for a swim just to swim and i spent half my time on the pool edge trying to fix the monofin strap which has now completely dislodged. Due to the massive amounts of extra silicone stuck to everything inside the fluke, i will have to cut into the ankle area to even try to fix it. Im still picking huge chunks of dried silicone out of the foot pocket area and had to cut some out before i could even get my feet in.

there is lots of exposed neoprin through the scales and you can tell it wasn't close to being set enough to lift the scale template off of it, making a mess of sloppy smears instead of scales. Where the mesh grate or net or whatever he used touched the tail its bare neoprin.

please check out my review after i post it tomorrow for images and hopefully a small video of me digging chunks of dry plaster out from the silicone. Not impressed at all and do not recommend this tail to anyone!

[Merenneito Nerissa]

Well, I got to see photos of my new tail and I have never been so in love in my life... The tail is even more beautiful than I could ever have imagined. All of my concerns about the coloring just swept away. He even did the stripes on my fluke which I asked him if he could do, even when they weren't in my original color plan (cause I didn't know I could design it completely by myself), and now my tail looks like it has northern lights on it's fluke!!! Now there's only one thing to do of course... To have it here and swim in it.... :) Only then I can really tell how it works, but there's nothing negative I can say about the work he has done so far :)

[MermaidCecelia]

ive noticed too after awhile , that on the bottom side of my tail near the butt area, the layer of silicone over the neoprin is pretty thin, in areas where the purple paint has a more pink look due to the neoprin shining through

neoprin wise i havent had problems yet , sad that you had a bad expierance

[Genevieve]

Is neoprin a lot cheaper than neoprene? Since it seems to be common knowledge that neoprin doesn't hold up as well in a tail, I'm surprised anyone would use it unless it was a way to reduce costs significantly.

Glad your tail is everything you hoped and more, Nerissa! Can't wait to see. :)

[AniaR]

yeah it is, and more available too.

[ShyMer]

It's stretchier too, so fitting is more forgiving.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Have you all seen the new mertailor basics? They have the full scales and look quite good I think. I saw 3 in person, they're still lined with spacer, still have obvious seams, but look more durable and realistic. I'm a bit impressed, though I am not a fan of his by any means.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Yulia]

I've only seen it on his facebook page. The website isn't updated yet.

I found this though on the partial listing. It's one thing to blend the waists, but to edit out a whole component in a tail to make it look more attractive is a bit foul.
http://puu.sh/ezRN5/380fdca819.png

[Merenneito Nerissa]

Still haven't had "time" to do full review of my tail which is partial silicone one, but I like it a lot. It has few problems though which I know that other tails don't, and it's all about the fluke... I had a chance to try mertailor's full silicone tail and it felt like I was in heaven. It was light to swim, you really got force to your kicks and I didn't have to do anything to keep the fluke still, it felt like I really wasn't wearing a tail, it felt like it was part of me. With partial silicone the fluke is completely made of silicone so it's very very heavy, 10 kilos for real ( I've weighted it) but still to keep it on it only has one strap made from thick fabric which goes around your heels, and you have to work really hard with your feet so that it stays on and doesn't slip away and still look like real thing while swimming. With full silicone and silicone with neoprin there is a strap or a pocket made from rubber for both heels, separately. With this fluke you absolutely would need those things so that you don't have to worry all the time. Other wise the whole tail is very beautiful and swimmable, but the strap thing... For example my last gig in swimming hall, when they lifted me up to carry me to another pool the strap slipped of and I needed to go to chancing room to roll the skin down so I got the strap back. Very annoying... :/

[Mermaid Riia]

For example my last gig in swimming hall, when they lifted me up to carry me to another pool the strap slipped of and I needed to go to chancing room to roll the skin down so I got the strap back. Very annoying... :/

Ditto. I tried Nerissa's tail and all I can say is well done all you ladies who swim in these partial silicones with such grace! I mean wowza, I just sucked at it :D The fluke is super heavy and the heel strap just doesn't stay put. When I tried to swim in Nerissa's pretty blue tail I ended up slipping my feet almost off the pockets.

And btw, it is SUCH a strange feeling to see someone in your tail. Or see yourself in someone's tail. it's not a bad kinda strange at all. You guys should try switching tails if possible :)