Ide's New Silicone MVD Tail!

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Courtesy of the amazing AlohaMermaid, I have recently come into possession of a MVD silicone tail! Being relatively new to this world (not performing, or mermaid mythos, but mermaid swimming) and having only had experience with an extremely lightweight and low-maintenance magictail fabric mermaid tail, this is really mind blowing. And exciting? Have I said exciting? I can say it a few more times, but I'll spare you.




This could go in the review section I suppose, but I hope to ask a lot of questions that perhaps more experienced merfolk can answer, and ultimately, I doubt I will stay on-topic enough to make this thread stay mostly a review.


The weight markings on the box (which was by and large, the tail and packing peanuts) was a whopping 60lbs, a good deal heavier than expected. It easily weighs the same as one of the futons in my living-room, and that alone will be something to learn how to deal with. I was very relieved to find that, indeed, in the water it is weightless and infinitely more pleasant to wear as a result. I can carry it around by myself, sure, but wearing it, if I lie down on my back flat the fluke pulls my (fairly flexible) feet into an arched toepoint.


When I finally managed to slip inside the tail, it was with the assistance of both my partner & coconut oil, in a belly-down pushup position, backing into the tail. I've since used this same position to get into the tail in shallow sandy water without much difficulty. It fits like a very heavy glove *laugh*. It's delightful, a comforting squeeze (a bit intense on the bonier knees ankles & feet, but damn near perfect everywhere else).


It's beautiful, and feels remarkable to the touch. I wore it at a nearby lake today and even though it's a weekday, the heat brought the crowds, so I was mobbed by adoring children (something I'm used to, because I'm a faerie princess at work). I kept to the shallows, and had a very fun time.



My difficulty, and perhaps this is typical of MVD monofins (please let me know), is with my feet. My toes and up to about the front of my arch sits encased in a hard-shell monofin (envision a very slim cowbell shape), while everything beyond it (arch & heels) is in the flexible silicone. What this means is that when I kick the tail (which still has some umph & real water resistance to it, weight-wise) the pressure of my kick & propulsion is almost exclusively coming from my toes pressing into the hard-case part of the monofin, something that cut open my foot almost immediately. I am going to try swimming with it with some sort of booties on to see if that will aid in the pressure, but what it meant was I had to kick very slowly. Kicking hard & fast wasn't really an option, with enough gusto I'm certain I could break my toes.


I initially thought my toes just weren't far enough into the tail, but upon further examination, it seems this is an err in design, and not in sizing - the width is a bit snug in the feet, but that is not the issue, the issue is the structure of the monofin itself, my heels were in the correct place. Does anyone else have an MVD tail and a similar experience? I've read some tails have foot straps, but I can't imagine that helping with this particular issue.


Should I just try to focus how I use the ball of my foot more, and expect not to make quick movements? I can work with it as is as long as I'm not kicking hard, or wearing the tail for too long at a time (I was in the lake at least 30min today, nothing crazy but a nice first-time to get a feel for it).


My (lightweight) monofin for the fabric tail is more like a shoe, the material that goes over my toes is the same that wraps around my heels, and it is somewhat flexible. The silicone tail's monofin however, is partially rock-solid.

I love it for it's looks, can contend with it's weight, and feel that (aside from the tight-feets issue) it's a remarkably good fit, but any insightful advice about my toes would be vastly appreciated.