And this is exacly the reason
i chose for a foil monofin this time.
And this is exacly the reason
i chose for a foil monofin this time.
Raina: I figured they would be. I might opt for a costum-made suitcase to obviously go with oversized luggage every time, depending on whether luggage or shipping ahead is ultimately safer for the tail.
Ariel Starfish: I assume because it's smaller? My problem with that would be that is that I'd prefer a stiffer, more manageable fluke, since I swim mostly in the ocean and the currents can get tricky if you haven't got a strong fin.
pretty much any other monofin will allow you to fold the fluke to fit standard luggage
I might be wrong, but I read that Raven's tails — since the flukes are so large (and gorgeous) — get very floppy, difficult to lift out of the water and slower to swim with because of drag. If this isn't true, then I'd definitely prefer a smaller monofin, that'd save a lot of trouble!
all depends on the fluke. A she creature is easier to use with a competitor monofin. put a foil in it and it's floppy and too heavy on land.
if your fluke extends past the monofin it'll have floppiness and be heavier. it all depends on the fluke you choose and the monofin.
Raina: I'll be getting a foil in the Angler flyke, scince they don't use a wave or rapid (wich I asked for first)
I remember Ayla (I think that was her name) had a classic merbella fluke with a foil instead of the competitor and she expressed being unable to lift it up over her head without assistance. I know the angler is the smallest of the flukes Raven offers so it may be a little easier.
Personally I intend to do a lot of ocean swimming and since this is my first full silicone tail I decided that a competitor monofin would be much safer and more practical for me.
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I've been looking at the fluke types and I do like the angler, so if anyone reading this has one with a foil monofin, please do let me know how it works for you. I'd much rather have difficulties with the occasional traveling instead of with constant performance.
I think Ariel will be your best bet. And hers should be finished soon so she'll be your best bet.
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I have 3 foils. they're all different depending on the fluke of our tails. In my personal tail I can still flip it up over my head, it's just not standing straight up like my old one. In the she creature with the giant fluke I need help to physically move it and it has way more drag in water. But both pack up nicely into a luggage. Our mermaid creations tail had a foil too and we could flip it up, it was just heavy
Video of the foil in my orange tail with smaller fluke moving in the water:
Video of the she creature with the giant fluke, and the foil moving in the water:
Video showing the orange foil on land
this is a video of Iona trying to model in the she creature and you can see the fluke is almost impossible to move
I'm getting the angler with a foil, I travel a lot and I've always had troubles with the competitor mono fin and traveling just because of its sheer size, so with this tail I decided to go with the smaller choices (plus the angler fluke is just bomb) and I'm quite excited to see how the foil handles!
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Does anyone know how the foils stand up to ocean swimming in comparison to the competitor? I intend to eventually be doing more ocean swimming than pool, so I got the competitor because I didn't want to worry about currents.
Not great. It isn't meant for ocean swimming. It is OK for paddling around in shallow water but I would never ever take it out deep. Anytime we do ocean swimming I either use my mini splash with the wave monofin, it has less drag and better kick. Or a competitor tail. Competitors are amazing for the ocean. I got caught in the riptide once and my competitor got me out.
I swim in the ocean a lot, and I swim in a salt water aquarium. Thanks to fluke bouyancy issues with foils and the usually small ratio of monofin to large ratio of silicone fluke, it can cause issues even there. Salt water makes anything floaty, float more. Which creates more drag.
There's just no comparison between the strong kick of a competitor in the ocean
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You gotta remember too a lot of these mers with amazing photos in the ocean have an entire team of people with them too, making sure they're safe
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I feel like the foil would have a similar kick strength to mass produced fabric tails (please correct me if I'm wrong just trying to find a medium people can compare to) and I know the thing I hate most about my fabric tail is how little kick i get out of the monofin. I'd never take it into open ocean because it just doesn't have enough power for me. Now with the competitor, I tried on merman Jamie's last meet up and holy cow! I was getting half of my body out of the water with that thing. It's probably what I'm most excited about, just having so much power and potential at my feet, literally haha.
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Thanks so much, Raina and Mer-crazy! I was wondering if I had made the wrong decision for a minute, but I definitely think (in my case at least) that the extra propulsion is worth the travel inconveniences. Ocean/reef swimming is what I want to do most of in my tail, and low propulsion in fins drives me crazy anyway. xD
I think learning on a competitor for a silicone tail, if you plan on ocean swimming, is a great way to start.
Thank you for all the info! Based on this ... I think I'll have to go with the Competitor as well, inconvenient or no. For the bit of traveling that I do want to do with it, I'll be put out in open ocean and have to keep up with animals already faster than me. It'll be a hassle, for sure, but it seems like it will be worth it!
Not a Raven-specific question but oh well: what are the best & worst places to have extra fins? I'm generally careful but not always perfectly in control of my body, so I'm afraid to damage them or even tear them off. I'm set on having at least one pair, but do want to reduce the chances of me hurting the poor fins!
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