Aquatails

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I just received my first tail from Aquatail, I had a great Experience with the company and it arrived very fast. I ordered my tail on the Aug. 10th and received it Yesterday Aug. 16th so that is a week with rush service. I made a mistake in the order at first, I ordered a child's tail and didn't realise it till they called me. They were very polite on the phone and told me which styles are in the adult section, she told me to call back when I knew which one. I decided on the red flare Smooth Tail but realisde it was a $100 dollar difference and I wouldn't have any money till the following Tues. I was very sad knowing that I was looking forward to my tail being here for a event this Friday. I called them up and told them my problem and maybe I would have to settle for a no Monofin tail, she was very encouraging and was excited that I was going to attend my first event and I mentioned that my other tail has still not arrived and its been 5 months. She worked with me on the price and told me that she would send me an invoice for he difference and I can pay when I receive my paycheck. I am so happy and grateful she worked with me because now i have a brand new tail that is so beautiful. I will be swimming in it today and will let you know how it goes. The fit is good a little big in the tummy but it has a drawstring and I can tighten it up, the Monofin fits me perfectly which I was worried about because I have problems with shoe sizes. The fabric is very soft and comfortable almost want to go to sleep in it.


Here are some pics, I am sorry for the fuzziness my phones cam is a little broken. I have it posted on my FB if anyone could tell me how to upload here I will gladly do so.


http://www.facebook.com/koipondthemermaid?ref=tn_tnmn

Let me know if it doesn't work for you guys.

All in All I give them Two flippers up!! I will Defiantly be buying from them again!!

Sorry to be sooooo tardy writing this review... but here it is.
I give 5/5 stars for my tail. I got an "Angel" tail in blue shadow with a black fluke, which I later painted myself. The tail was made to my measurements and fit just right, it arrived very quickly and was well-packaged. It is a very well made tail, and it looks beautiful in the water! It came with a cut finis rapid monofin which has not given me any trouble at all and propels very well. I highly recommend Aquatails- The quality of the tails is right on track for the price you pay, IMO.
The ONLY con on my tail is that my fluke was flat black, but that's what I asked for. It just looked plain to me next to the light/dark blue body, which is why I painted it.
ALSO- the white neoprene tail skin I used to make my "Great wave" tail came from AQT. It fits like a glove and I LOVE IT!

I've made most of my own mermaid tails with products from spandexworld.com and finis monofins, and I've personally never really paid any more than about $100 overall for any of the materials for them, often times much less, though for the money that I was saving I did have to deal with my own lack of any real artistic skill and the fact that I sew with about the same dexterity and prowess of a manatee.

So finally after about two years, I decided that it was time to upgrade. After reading so many negative reviews about the mermagica tails I found the aquatails site and was immediately blown out of the water when I saw the prices on those babies, I mean WOW! I'd really never considered any fabric tail to be worth so much, unfortunately for me, I arrived at that conclusion only slightly before falling in deep passionate love with the most expensive fabric tail on the site...(almost $400 for the tail, plus the rush-fee because of my own impatience and the shipping)

Of course I HAD to have it, so I put in my order for the Angel Tail in the color turquoise spots with a few specifications about how I would like the extra fins to be colored and my measurements. But a couple of days later (maybe two business days at the most) I received an email saying that they were out of the color that I wanted, but that they would be happy to refund the rush-fee if I would be willing to wait a little longer until they got more of the fabric. So with my $50 rush fee back in my bank account I was more than content to wait a couple more days for the tail of my dreams. Though later in the week I receive another email saying that they wouldn't be able to get the color back in stock from the manufacturer at all. Naturally that was pretty disappointing, but they apologized profusely and I was able to pick another color (blue light and shadow) and they got the show on the road.

Overall the whole process took about two weeks, which in the grand scheme of things isn't a long time to wait for a tail at all, and I was constantly updated, and if I had any questions or concerns my emails where always replied to within one business day, and often times even quicker than that. Though I was pretty upset that I couldn't get the color that I originally wanted, I cannot speak more highly of the wonderful quick and friendly customer service that I received from the ladies at Aquatails, so if you're a first time online tail buyer like I was, I absolutely recommend at least checking out the site.

On dry land the tail was BEAUTIFUL, I don't even mind that it wasn't my first choice of color and I was so exited to get it in the water I got in my car and raced right down to our local reservoir and hopped in.
Now I consider myself to be above average with my ability not to drown, and am a very experienced tail swimmer, and I have to tell you, this tail kinda scared me at first. After having made my own tails for so long, I figured that it would be a given that the tail would come with some small vent holes at the bottom of the fluke to allow water to flow through more freely, it did not.
This made the whole tail very heavy because I was basically pulling a big sparkly parachute behind me, so it took so much effort to compensate for the drag (it literally would have dragged the whole tail off of me if not for the drawstring waist) that I was pretty much exhausted in half an hour.

Overall it really wasn't that big of a problem, and I was able to fix it in about 30 seconds or less so I still did give the tail a 5 star rating, because it was such a cool design and so beautiful, even for a spandex tail. But inexperienced mermaid be warned, at least with the angel tail, do cut some tiny vent holes in the bottom of the fluke before taking it into the water or the tail might try to drown you haha.

Everything about Aquatails was really awesome, especially the customer service and the fast shipping speed. Just to get it out of the way from the get-go, the reason I gave them four starts out of five is because I thought that the product was WAY overpriced. I bought the Angel Tail and it ended up totaling at $333 and some cents. When I received it and realized that their 80% spandex 20% nylon is just swimsuit material, I was a little disappointed with the fabric quality and have not used it very frequently because I worry about wearing it out as I don't know how long the life expectancy will be. I do use it though, but I'm just making sure it lasts throughout the time it takes me to save up for a Neoprene upgrade. Also, I bought a teal snakeskin color that has gold material pressed onto the suit material... If it weren't for the fact that I haven't been able to afford a gym membership until a couple of weeks ago, I'm sure that all of it would have flecked off by now. It wouldn't ruin the pattern though or anything - it just wouldn't have as much, "bling."

The monofin is, for my foot size, (a seven), a Wave Finis. In women's (USA) I wear a 7.5-8, and in men's I wear a 6.5. Since being a surfer and being familiar with surfing booties, I knew it would be important to make sure they were snug, so I ordered the smallest I can wear comfortably, and it's a perfect fit. Just so you know, if you've never worked with diving or surfing shoes/fins/booties before, they will appear to be way too small when you first get them and you may even wonder if you can fit your foot in there at all. Don't worry, that means you got the right size... If they aren't super tight, they'll slip off in the water. It took me some vaseline to get my feet in the first time, and then just some time just sitting on the couch with my feet relaxing in the footsie parts to warm up the rubber and get it fitted to my shoe. After a swim or two and the rubber had been pulled on, I didn't have difficulty getting get them in. However, the strap in back has to be TIGHT, or you'll slip out. If you have little feet like me, you may have to tighten it as much as possible and even then, still work to make sure they don't slip off. I solved this problem with a shoe lace. There are empty holes along the outer sides of each foot - I put a shoelace through this and just tied it down tight onto the tops of my feet and it really helps keep the feet in place - ideally, I'll have something less constricting, like a piece of rubber or something, instead of a shoestring, but for now, that's just what I've got around. So basically, this a great tail IMO, but you have to keep in mind that you're going to have to really care for the fabric and treat it really gently - especially in washing the chlorine out of it EVERY time. As for the fin, it's wonderful, but it'll take a few times and tries to get your feet fitted in just right. This is the case with all diving fins though. Don't get discouraged or think you purchased a piece of junk if you have to struggle with it at first to get it on. Even after you get good at it, it still will take effort on your part to get everything put on correctly, in place and tight enough.

And about the experience of getting it on... I always just throw the tail into the pool - fin inside the fabric and all - the whole thing. ('Cause then I'll have to stop procrastinating and get in - no choice about it now... I hate cold water and the first shock of entering the pool). You should bring a yoga mat or a thick towel with you, especially to a pool setting, and put it on the side where you'l be sitting down. You don't want to take a break and sit with the fabric against the cement on the pool edge, nor if you need to sit while putting it on. I usually then just sit on the side on my mat, and, with my feet and the tail in the water, I get my feet locked in (by having the fabric pushed down or rolled down so the footie holes are visible), and then after I get everything in place I jump in and land standing up - it's 3.5ft deep on the lap entry side. I then, float my feet up and VERY carefully pull the fabric up over my legs and up to my waist making sure that it's not balled up around the fin's paddle. Tie it tight! As soon as you go under, water will whoosh through the spaces between the fabric and your skin and slip right off if you don't have it cinched on well. Aquatails makes waists that are very high - if you don't like that, just suck in a breath, hold, tie the drawstring super tight, and then before you let out, scoot it down to your hip area (I just bunch it, but you could roll it down facing inward if you really wanted to hassle with that).

And then I take off... I think this a great first tail. This is my first tail and I absolutely love it. If the sound of the foot fitting and the adjustments and such are throwing you off, don't let them. As a surfer, I can speak to the fact that most aquatic clothing is very difficult to get on and off - especially wetsuits, so you should expect some amount of difficulty at first as part of the normal process with any kind of scuba clothing/shoe items. It's nice that the fin hasn't been cut to shape it more like a mermaid tail - as a large paddle (I have the wave), it's very powerful. I think if it had been cut to an aesthetically pleasing shape (as so many of these cheapie, crappy companies do - 3-fins, Fin Fun Mermaid, etc.), it wouldn't work nearly ask well. It has incredible resistance in the water and will give you a good work out as well as propelling you quickly. The fabric, although much more fragile than Neoprene, doesn't require as much time to care for, which I like as it's much less of a chore. The fabric itself is beautiful and glitters in the water. The pattern is brilliant and the fit is great - it allows for you to have a yo-yo weight and still be able to use it as it's so stretchy. It's definitely an eye-catcher, although unfortunately I haven't seen any photos or videos of myself yet so I myself can see what it looks like. However I'm constantly complimented and the person in the lap lane next to me always ends up commenting or, asking lots of questions, (which is actually annoying sometimes), or once actually, a gut freaked out as he turned his head with goggles on while swimming hard laps, lol.

Jerilyn, the owner, is a really great woman to work with... Her and I went back and forth for several months before I made my final decision and she was kind, informative and patient the whole time. As for the shipping... It's FAST! Jerilyn had said something about it taking ten days before the seamstress would have it ready to mail, but I guess something changed because I received my order three days after I placed it (expedited shipping - I paid $24 I see as I'm looking at the invoice, but I can't remember if I opted for expedited or if that was automatically the required shipping charge... Perhaps that was just the cost of the weight of the package although the tail isn't heavy at all. When wet, it's maybe 12-15lbs at the very most).

So overall, these tails are awesome for fabric tails and I'd highly recommend this company and their products. I can't wait to try out their Neoprene tails. No complaints to be made except that the cost is whoppingly overpriced - you can get tails made from the same fabric for 1/3 of the cost, but you won't get the uncut fin, the really great design, fabric patterns, customer service, or fast shipping, so it's worth it to spend more than you should be since you can count on receiving a quality product in a timely manner. A lot of the other companies, if you look at their eBay stores (Fin Fun Mermaid Tails in particular), you'll read accounts of no product ever arriving, sending something back for an exchange and never hearing back again, receiving the wrong product, refusing to respond to customer concerns, etc. This won't ever happen with Aquatails! You'll get what you paid for in a timely manner and you'll like it ;)

@Staff - Sending moderator copies of my proof of purchase as Photobucket links via PM

I forgot to attach my proof of purchase photos - I was going to PM them and then I saw that you wanted them sent with the review. I apologize for the inconvenience. Attached are two pictures of the website page confirmation (I had to take two .jpg pics to capture it all), and the third photo is of the confirmation email I received. Thanks and sorry about the confusion.

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8844968b.jpg
http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1eeb4105.jpg
http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...ps21654cf2.jpg