Dol-fin monofin: First Swim and any tips?

[kazekoh]

Well, I swam for the first time today in my Dol-fin monofin~ I had a blast swimming around and doing a few tricks in the deep end.
I did a lot better then I thought I would on my back, side and treading water, so I was pleased.


Here are some pictures from my little adventure; ( They are on my facebook as well so it is quite possible you have seen them already!)


Sleeeepy Mer




I do have to work on holding my breath longer, and work on getting my ears to equalize with deeper water though. However for the first time I have had any sort of fins, I was very happy with myself.

I do admire you guys who have actual tails even more now though!


I do have one question though ; How do you move when you are on your stomach??
I feel like I'm slapping the water with my fin more then I am actually moving. I also float majorly in the shallower water; it's hard for me to get to the bottom of a pool. Any tips to be offered to a newbie?

[Mermaid Star]

The reason you are slapping the water is you are too close to the surface. If you aren't far enough under water to not hit the surface you will, in a sense, lose traction. Shallow water swimming is a bit difficult because of this. You don't get any propulsion when you hit the air (like trying to swim outside the water) but once you are fully in the water you will glide through the water with ease. Just try to get deeper when you swim so you don't hit the surface on the up stroke with your fin. I would give your self about a foot - a foot and a half of water above your body/head for a start. That should do the trick

[kazekoh]

Ah okay that makes sense! I will give that a try next time. Thank you very much Star <3

[HBMermaid_Angela]

To help equalize your ears: When you start feeling the pressure in your ears, hold your nose shut and LIGHTLY try to blow air out your nose. This will help "pop" your ears and equalize you. Remember to blow LIGHTLY, you don't want to hurt your ear drums! OH, and if you have or recently had a sinus cold, the pressure will seem worse. I went scuba diving one time and broke a blood vessel in my nose because I couldn't equalize properly ( I thought I was done with my sinus cold...but...nope...i guess I wasn't). The fin looks awesome by the way!! Hope you are enjoying it!

[Mermaid Star]

Not a problem Kazekoh!

[kazekoh]

@HBMermaid_Angela

Hey! I just wanted to thank you for the tip on equalizing! I tried it in the pool today and it felt a lot better pressure wise then it normally does.
And yikes! I'll keep that in mind if I have any sinus problems.
And thank you ^^ I am so far. It is just taking some time to get used too

[Anita Mermaid]

Oh Hey I have one of those! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhKHqoJ6tY

Maybe watching this video of me swimming in a dol-fin would help you out.

[Rangerbrook]

I float really bad too. I found these and they really help me to push more water with my hands to stay under.
http://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Swim-Gloves-available-sizes/dp/B005DP7RFI/ref=pd_sim_sg_25

Being clear they don't look so unmermaid like than the blue or yellow neoprene ones. Medium fits my hands really snug, large was falling off and small was turning my finer tips blue. My daughter who is 13 has to ware a medium. The smalls on her hands was too tight too.

[Azurin Luna]

My Dol-fin monofin should arrive this week
I can't wait to try it out

[SireniaSolaris]

Oh Hey I have one of those! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhKHqoJ6tY

Maybe watching this video of me swimming in a dol-fin would help you out.

You say you have one - what is the performance like for these fins vs. other monofins? I want to try a variety of fins in various mermaid tails. I'm very happy with my leaderfin, and of course the competitor finis is good, but very pricy. The price on these is not bad, so I'd like a performance review from someone who has used theirs a while.

[Azurin Luna]

I've been swimming twice with my dolphin monofin now, and I really enjoy it. It propels you nicely through the water without having to kick hard. The second time I went to the pool they had lane swimming, so we were all swimming after eachother, but I was easily holding up with the people doing breaststrokes. At the end of that period I saw that one lane was empty so I went there and did some tricks in the water, which was surprisingly easy.
Though I'm only used to normal fins, I was impressed by this mono fin and I'm glad that I bought it.