Basic Silicone VS Partical Silicone????

[MermaidCora]

Hi there mer-folk!!! I am up-grading to a new tail in attempt to start a small mer-business in my area. But I cannot afford the tail that I really want, so I am starting with either the basic or partical silicone tail from Mertailor. Question is, which one is better?? I have heard good AND bad things about both. The bad things concern me!! So what is your experience with the tails??

[Yulia]

Both tails are based on a spacer material/neoprin, which will stretch and stretch until it doesn't fit you anymore.

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Do not waste your money on a basic tail. Its not neoprene and it will not hold its shape. Ive used mine 4 times now and its falling apart and ive already had to take it in.

[26494926bdgqifkwb]

I ordered my partial silicone two weeks ago. It should be in around the beginning of December, so I'll let you know when I get it how I feel about it. ;)

[MermaidCora]

Thanks for the info guys! I can not wait to get my tail!

[Rebekah.fish]

Mine will be here tomorrow and I'm excited for it! I think I may start a thread for mertailor orders :) I'll let u know what I think tho!

[Rebekah.fish]

I Havnt gotten it on yet but so far I really like mine :)

[Merenneito Nerissa]

I have both, partial silicone and basic silicone, and I like the basic one much more. Partial is beautiful but it wasn't so functional as I would have wanted it to be, fluke was too heavy and I didn't like the fact that the tail skin and fluke were separated. Those problems disappeared with the basic silicone. I myself actually haven't noticed any stretching.

[Mermaid Mystery]

I agree. I've had both and although my basic was never swam in (I grew out of it in less than a month for health reasons) I liked it a bit more. the fluke was lift able, I wore it in the bath once and I could maneuver it enough. Partial's fluke is insane, it's so heavy. And I hate that they're separate, I hate it too much. My tail is beautiful but I wish I chose the basic silicone. Nerissa, I noticed your fluke isn't the classic scalloped shape. is Eric offering custom flukes (to a certain extent)?


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[Yulia]

Now that the Basic has raised scales too, it seems like a better buy. You get a "real" monofin too. (Albeit a little Massacred)

[Rebekah.fish]

It probably hasn't stretched like everyone says cuz I hear he switched to neoprene instead of neoprin. I thought I read that on here somewhere. Well and the paper very clearly says neoprene.. which I don't think he could lie on the paper. Nerissa, how old is your basic?

[MerMatt]

I will just say he could still lie about the neoprene neoprin lining thing unless lots has changed. I myself have seen what neoprin looks like thanks to Prairie Mermaid Jamies Mertailor tail. Also it doesnt look like neoprene at all. I hope you get neoprene in your tail.

[Mermaid Mystery]

I'm at least 70% sure that my tail is neoprene, but I've never seen neoprin in person so I'm not sure


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[MerMatt]

If you can, post a picture of the lining for everyone to see. Then I can see if its neoprin or neoprene. Just to clarify, if its look a little thicker and is black its most likely to be neoprene. Picture still welcomed.

[Mermaid Mystery]

that's what it looks like (it's not super thick though) but I'll try to snap a few pics when I get home


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[Rebekah.fish]

That makes me feel better about mine too. I'm pretty sure it's neoprene. U said neoprin doesn't look like neoprene?

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Well and the paper very clearly says neoprene.. which I don't think he could lie on the paper.

Mine said that too. Eric even said it was neoprene before I ordered and nope its definitely not. I went to the florida attorney generals office with my complaints so that whats wrong with my tail wouldnt happen to anyone else. I hope its real neoprene now. They are different looking and I hope there are no hole in the monofins now either.

Heres *neoprin* (he referred to it as a fabric like spacer) The middle is spungy and hollow. It fills with water and makes it stretch really badly. Mine I have to take in after every swim. I stopped using it and its now a 958$ paperweight. (Big pic but when I shrunk it you couldnt see the middle part)

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It takes a week to dry. Ive used it less then 12 times in the water. It doesnt last. And he knew that when he was using it. Hes sneaky and borderline shady in his advertising. Here in canada he would be shut down for that.

[Merenneito Nerissa]

My tail is like a week old :D And I can tell that at least my tail's linings are absolutely not neoprene, I scubadive too and the difference is pretty clear. Still, I think I like this neoprin a bit more than neoprene, it doesn't float like neoprene but it still keeps you a bit warm, minus thing though is that it dries pretty slowly. There's pros and cons, but after using this neoprin lining I'd maybe even use it if I'd some day make my own tail and if I'd need something to line the silicone with.
Also I was so worried after I saw the thread of the mono with those huge holes, but now I really can't even find those holes, not even trying to find them by hand. And it swims great, mono has good propulsion :)

[Rebekah.fish]

Yea I don't know how he's not shut down for that. I asked marla about hers when I was thinking about getting one and she says she still lives and uses hers all the time. I'm gonna ask her about it again. This is mine

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/03/b22064f15f1f1eb6a3b5b2a1c4b71c5d.jpg

Really hard to see. It is spongy like you said. I'll have to go check out my wet suit and compare

[Yulia]

His site still says "spacer material", and he doesn't like to work with neoprene. I don't think he changed.

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

My tail is like a week old :D And I can tell that at least my tail's linings are absolutely not neoprene, I scubadive too and the difference is pretty clear. Still, I think I like this neoprin a bit more than neoprene, it doesn't float like neoprene but it still keeps you a bit warm, minus thing though is that it dries pretty slowly. There's pros and cons, but after using this neoprin lining I'd maybe even use it if I'd some day make my own tail and if I'd need something to line the silicone with.
Also I was so worried after I saw the thread of the mono with those huge holes, but now I really can't even find those holes, not even trying to find them by hand. And it swims great, mono has good propulsion :)

mine had decent propulsion from the massive amou t of silicone caulk he used to keep it together. It took me a while before the holes were visible. And I only found them because the ridges he cut off cut my fluke open from the inside so I split the fluke to fix it and encountered the holes.


. You havent had your tail long enough to see what neoprin is like. It stretches farther then the silicone and doesnt go back into shape. That will come with use. It warms up the water trapped in it. It itself is not warm like neoprene.

Use power mesh for a liner.

Make sure to wash the Inside with baking soda and water so the fluke doesnt mold. It takes three times as long as the body to dry. And keep it away from warm water.

As long as his site says spacer then its def. Not neoprene. Which is sad. But not surprising.

[Merenneito Nerissa]

No, I mean I have had this new tail for a week, basic one I mean, I have had the partial from last November and it's still fine, I really like the material :)

I really hope that those holes won't appear at some point. It seems though that there's lots of silicone between them so I don't think they will, but never say never.

[MermaidCora]

Thanks for everyone's input, I am getting a basic silicone tail within 5-10 DAYS!!! Did Mertailor let you know when your tails were on their way?? I haven't had any contact from them thus far.

[Rebekah.fish]

I found out from UPS email lol Nah he didn't say anythig

[Rebekah.fish]

Just be excited to be getting a tail :) all this talk about it really put a damper on it for me. No one was all excited or wanted to see, they were all -_- oh...mertailor....
But I'm excited for you! It's still exciting to have one! It's my first silicone tail so I'm real excited. I'd love to see it when it gets to you!

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

No, I mean I have had this new tail for a week, basic one I mean, I have had the partial from last November and it's still fine, I really like the material :)

I really hope that those holes won't appear at some point. It seems though that there's lots of silicone between them so I don't think they will, but never say never.

Ahh, gotcha!

The new basics look like the monofin is intact. I think youll be ok there. If not its fixable with gorilla tape!



And rebekah, this was about asking for opinions, of which we replied honestly. Its not our fault eric has a huge track record of shoddy work. I seriously hope his newer tails are better for all your sakes, but dont get upset woth us when we dont scream in excitement over erics work. It makes you happy so thats all you should worry about :)

I was never notified of shipping. It just showed up one night.

[Mermaid Mystery]

ups told me about mine. my first tail I had no idea, my second one he posted a picture so I knew when it was done


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[Rebekah.fish]

Ahh, gotcha!

The new basics look like the monofin is intact. I think youll be ok there. If not its fixable with gorilla tape!



And rebekah, this was about asking for opinions, of which we replied honestly. Its not our fault eric has a huge track record of shoddy work. I seriously hope his newer tails are better for all your sakes, but dont get upset woth us when we dont scream in excitement over erics work. It makes you happy so thats all you should worry about :)

I was never notified of shipping. It just showed up one night.
Oh I know! I wasn't saying anythig about this thread, I just mean everyone in general. I didn't mean anything by it I just mean I hope she is still excited for her new tail was all

[Yulia]

I get happy when people get tails, It just breaks my heart when someone gets a tail that doesn't work or isn't at all what they have imagined.
Which have happened too often with Mertailor.
Research your options, but in the end, get what you will love.

[Merenneito Nerissa]

I completely agree with you, Yulia. I have had absolutely positive experiences, but I was very aware of all the other kinds of experiences too. I still decided to take the risk, which one actually takes every time one orders smthn custom-made without seeing it before, especially from the other side of the world. At the second time I purchased this new tai, basic with custom fluke, I was more trustful cause I already had one good tail from him.

With my both tails I got message when them where ready, but I was asking it directly via e-mail from Mertailor. Then I got the tracking number also, and followed when my tails travelled through the world :) Actually I'm really surprised that it's not a case with every tail, I have thought that it is O.O

[Yulia]

My biggest issue with both models is the seams. Even his full silicone have bad seams if you compare them to what other makers offer.
I think it should be something he'd spend some time on to do better.

In the pricerange though there isn't much competition, maybe just Tigg's Tails now entering the market.

[Rett]

Mernations basic full silicone tails are cheaper too and with a custom paint job are definitely worth investing in over a mertailor in my opinion. I just dont trust Erik after what he has done repeatedly in the past. I hope his tails are improving though and that all you mers have fun with your new tails! :D

[Rebekah.fish]

Mernations basic full silicone tails are cheaper too and with a custom paint job are definitely worth investing in over a mertailor in my opinion. I just dont trust Erik after what he has done repeatedly in the past. I hope his tails are improving though and that all you mers have fun with your new tails! :D
I had no idea mernation did that! I'll have to look into that! :)

[Merenneito Nerissa]

I thought that Mernation only makes those cheapers tails only with one color, have to go to check out now, I definately am interested when it comes time to purchase a full silicone one.

Other thing also that made me turn to Mertailor is that with f.ex. Merbella and Finfolk have sooooo long waiting times. Even though I'd absolutely love to have either one of their tails, they are straight from fairytale... :)

Yulia, I actually am planning to order some sil-poxy for covering up the seams, I'll post it to forum how it goes :) I have some left overs from my partial tail cause the skin was too long and I had to cut a bit away from the waist, so I can first test how it goes. I do agree though, they are quite visible and I think it wouldn't be a huge thing to investigate how to make them a bit more invisible.

[Mer-Crazy]

I thought that Mernation only makes those cheapers tails only with one color, have to go to check out now, I definately am interested when it comes time to purchase a full silicone one.
I believe that the basic mernation tails do only come in one colour, but you can pay to have one more colour added. So far I don't think anyone has a basic with more than 2.

[MermaidCora]

I can't wait for my tail!!! I'm watching my front door Very Closely!! :D Thanks guys!!

[MermaidCora]

They say the basic silicone tail takes 5-10 weeks.... is that true?? Maybe I am just getting overly excited :)

[Mermaid Mystery]

my tails both took about 3 months

[Mermaid Olivia!]

My partial silicone tail was shipped 4 weeks to the day I placed my order, which was really awesome! When I called before placing my order, I was told that things were slow so my tail would be completed toward the shorter end of the 5-10 week wait time. I know you must be excited, Avria! I was on pins and needles waiting to see mine and when I saw the picture of it on Facebook ready to ship, I literally screamed and did a happy dance!

[Merenneito Nerissa]

With my partial it took almost that 10 weeks, but with this basic it took 8 weeks only. Times depend on the rush and the amount of orders.

[MermaidCora]

IT WILL BE HERE ON THURSDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D

[Yulia]

I know there are a few of you that have ordered both basics and partials recently, now that you may have had the chance to use them a few times, what do you think of your tails?

[Mermaid Mystery]

I just went on a swim on Wednesday and I think I love this tail a bit too much! It's beautiful and the propulsion is a lot better than I originally thought. I could just sleep with it on! It's super comfortable. The only thing I don't like is the gap above my butt, but I'm probably going to purchase a gap wrap.