For most people that enjoy tail or monofin swimming it's about the effortless speed and ease of use. Extended tails are generally the opposite of that. It's definitely a matter of preference, perhaps someone really only wants to gently paddle around or lounge for amazing photos. If so, that's cool! But it can be hard to remember for the rest of us who want/need to have a practical, speedy tail. Also, a lot of the people who are interested in an extended tail are going by what is portrayed in the media. It's kind of a knee-jerk reaction to immediately point out how difficult (and way more expensive!) an extended tail is to make and use. And generally once people see that obstacle they opt for a "short" tail or regular monofin. It's definitely best to practice in a standard fin before going for extended, anyway.
I think the fact that no one has a swimmable extended tail for personal use speaks volumes. (If someone
did make one, please correct me & share it!)
Just my personal observation. I definitely fall into the maneuverability-and-speed before all else camp. I'm not saying that the form-before-function camp is wrong, just that it's hard to wrap my brain around why someone wouldn't want to be the more fast & graceful fish in the pond.
(Purely my opinion but I think standard length is way more graceful - I've never seen anyone in an extended tail do a backflip, for example. Biggest "trick" I can remember on H2O was a corkscrew move... I think extended tails are very clunky in reality. It would be amazing to see a truly functional one, though!!)
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Originally Posted by RNHime
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