Are there any inexpensive monofins?

Ok, so I started another thread talking about my shyness wanting to become a merman. Several people suggested that I take it step by step, and start off with a monofin. I think this is a great idea, because I'm already a competitive swimmer, so I can also use it for improving my dolphin kick (LOL, Fly is my worst stroke in terms of technique, but I still think I'm all right at it). However, someone mentioned that monofins are actually quite expensive. I was wondering if anyone knew if there were any inexpensive monofins out there? My dad probably won't want to spend hundreds of dollars if I tell him it's just to improve my fly.

Fins can get pretty expensive if you get into the really powerful and fast ones like the Competitor and Trainers from Finis, but they make fins meant for beginners and children as well. Personally I've only ever dealt with Finis so I can only recommend from what I know.

My first fin was the Finis Wave. It lasted me for a good few years and as a beginner, I really felt myself powering through the water. Unfortunately after I got my Competitor and my kick got really strong, the Wave didn't do me any good and it actually bent one of the ridges going down it. Still swimmable though, and I highly recommend.
http://www.finisinc.com/Wave-Monofin

Nest up from that would be the Finis Rapid. I've never had a rapid but it is very similar to the Wave but is a bit bigger as it is meant for adults nd has a good amount of more push. I know many mers on here use the Rapid in tails, especially fabric tails because they are nice and lightweight. A bit more expensive than the Wave.
http://www.finisinc.com/Rapid-Monofin

After that, you start getting into the big bucks. I've heard great things from the Trainer fins and the Competitor (my baby) but OI would not recommend them for a first fin. Still fun to check out though. Here is the Finis site. http://www.finisinc.com

Edit: Finis also makes a couple of cute little mermaid-fin shaped monofins. Very cheap but likely won't help your kick much. The foot pockets might be a little small but it's worth checking out if you'd like. http://www.finisinc.com/kids/monofins

Theres other great fins like the Mahina that is specially designed to look like a mermaid fluke, but some can get pricey and I don't have experience with them. The Finis line has the cheapest yet better quality fins I've seen.

I was wondering the same thing was just about to ask the same question myself. Thanks Kalani for the suggestions. I was thinking about looking into a used one. I was thinking that there must be plenty of people out there that went a head and bought a top of the line fin only to use it once. If any one has some thoughts on that I would love to here them.

I got this one recently. It has a lot of push and swims beautifully. Its a no name brand from China. It is almost the same size as an adult merfin and fits up to men size 13 feet.

And its cheaper than a Finis Foil. Here in Australia, monofins are fairly expensive. The Foil costs $89.00. This one costs $64.21. Just to give you an idea of the price range. Prob different price from where you are, but just a general view of how it is.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Comfortab...I2JVZviR9F5xXw

My best tip: find some stores online and keep an eye on them for discounts. I waited for some months to get my Finis Foil for under $40.

I was hoping to get the Finis Rapid for my birthday yesterday, and ended up getting a gift card instead. It's not quiiite enough for a Rapid, which makes me contemplate saving up more for a Mahina. I need to see if I can find some more comparisons between the two.

Edit: How do the Rapid and Mahina perform in the ocean? I've heard the Rapid just doesn't, but a lot of Mahina promos are taken at the beach. I'm not looking for Competitor style power, necessarily, just enough that I can splash around in the waves.

I have a leaderfins sport monofin which swims really well. It's made out of carbon fibre and is a really nice cheaper alternative from the competitor. You can also choose the hardness you want and it comes with free neoprene half socks. I got mine for about $100AUD :)

Try getting your monofin from swimoutlet.com. Even with the Mernetwork discount on the official Finis website it's actually much cheaper to get one from SwimOutlet. That's where I got my Finis wave monofin.

Go for a wave or rapid. its a great beginner fin. and not very expensive.

You can also get one from Fin Fun. Then, when ready, get a tail skin to go with it. Overall that may be the cheapest way to buy the full setup: fin + tail.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Merman Storm

You can also get one from Fin Fun. Then, when ready, get a tail skin to go with it. Overall that may be the cheapest way to buy the full setup: fin + tail.

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I second this, as it is how I plan on starting out as well :)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Merman Storm

You can also get one from Fin Fun. Then, when ready, get a tail skin to go with it. Overall that may be the cheapest way to buy the full setup: fin + tail.

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Yeah it is the cheapest! But if Jamie is trying to pass it off as a swim training tool at first, i dont know if that will fly ;) (PUN INTENDED BA DUM TSS)

I used to swim competitively in high school, but stopped when I went to college. After I graduated I decided to sign up at the local YMCA and go lap swimming to get back in shape. My form had really fallen after 4 years of not swimming, especially my dolphin kick. When I found out about mermaiding I decided to get the Wave to help me get my technique back before buying a tail. It's definitely helped a lot. I have a Suntails monofin and 2 Mahina Merfins now that I use in my tails because they are more mermaid-y in shape, but I still use the Wave when I want to workout/practice technique.

In order of push strength, from least to greatest I would say it goes Suntails, Wave, Mahina. If you have big feet you will need the Rapid though because the Wave is kid/small feet sized.

LOL, you are hilarious! Swim season is over though, so I'm not using it at practices anymore. I just want to get one so I can improve my dolphin kick, and to hopefully get started with practicing for if I eventually get a tail

The Rapid is available on Amazon, here:

https://www.amazon.com/FINIS-1-35-00.../dp/B001GQ2BMC

For $69.11 USD with free shipping for Prime members

And available for $66.95 USD here:
http://www.sunnysports.com/p-fnsrm/finis-rapid-monofin-yellow?gclid=CI65_euL4dICFUpNfgodmEUDGg&kwid=produ ctads-adid^81355845363-device^m-plaid^58111654468-sku^FNSRM@ADL4SS-adType^PLA

And here:

http://www.leisurepro.com/p-fnsrm/finis-rapid-monofin-yellow?gclid=CPXl7vaL4dICFUtNfgodEO0BCw&kwid=produ ctads-adid^88202999953-device^m-plaid^91646370414-sku^FNSRM@ADL4LP-adType^PLA

IMHO it is the best value for the money and it's widely used in tails.


If you are brave, you can find all sorts of *really* cheap stuff on rbay, but I can't vouch for it. This one is under $15 and with shipping looks like under $20?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Kids-Bab...38.m2548.l4275






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Wanted to add that the foil is available on Amazon as well. Small is $38.20, Medium $44.53 and Large $46.07. Also with Prime shipping.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004O...6E0S3V1PAE99PN

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You can also get the Finis Foil from www.swimoutlet.com located in Ohio. It is reasonably priced, and is a great monofin to start out with.

I'm new too! I'm in the same spot as you, so I went ahead and made my own monofin out of a $5 set of regular fins from the thrift store!
Here's a link to a tutorial I put together on my new blog!:

https://jasminejuppies.wixsite.com/m...-Store-Monofin

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MelodicaMermaid

I'm new too! I'm in the same spot as you, so I went ahead and made my own monofin out of a $5 set of regular fins from the thrift store!
Here's a link to a tutorial I put together on my new blog!:

https://jasminejuppies.wixsite.com/m...-Store-Monofin

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This link doesn't seem to be working on my phone :(

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you can try copy/paste it to the url if the link isn't going :)

Still not working. Sadtimes :( I'll have to get on my computer later and look there.

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