What a silicone "neoprene" monofin looks like.

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

yeah. i shall have to show all the emails and i promise i will in my official review. i just am waiting for the bbb case to be resolved first so i have the full story and there is no insinuation on my part at all. i am not bashing him as a person. i am pointing out my own experience.

im not new to swimming in fins, and am more then capable if i had a proper tail.

in the first string of emails he said i had to pay and ship it and this one he offers it. he just kept telling me how pretty it looked and it doesnt matter if it dosent swim. it constantly pulled to the right and gave me bad cramps in just one leg because i was compensating. the drag gets worse every time i use it and i now have to take in the waist AGAIN.

my order on his website as of a couple hours ago says its neoprene. i do notice he chaged the decription of this type on his website to say basic silicone, and that was within 3 days of me saying it was fraud to say it neoprene when its not. this email and his website are contradictory to say the least

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

this is my order on his website


the front page still says neoprene tho

[Mermaid Nessie]

I made my own Alex Plus & neoprene tail and from what I have learned is that neoprene is typically and should be backed with nylon on each side. This can be an easy way to distinguish the difference between neoPRENE and neoPRIN. Neoprene is a rubbery/ spongey type texture. Neoprin is a way cheaper material which does not hold up. Here is a picture of my tail. Note: You can see the materials in layers. Alex Plus, nylon backing (thin grey layer underneath the Alex Plus), neoprene (black stuff) and nylon backing (it's black so it looks like the neoprene, but it's there)



As for the monofin, that looks horrid :'(. I wouldn't imagine you would be able to propel much in the water. Is it possible to replace it with a new mononfin?

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

This is mine. Its not solid in the middle. It kind of resembles velcro.


Im going to need a new mono I think. I dont see how to salvage it.

Side note : even the care sheet for my tail says silicone neoprene.

[Mermaid Nessie]

One of our mermaids has the same tail and it is made out of the same stuff. He's right, it's not neoprene, which, from what I've learned, should have been used. But he is advertising it as neoprene & silicone, therefore that is what you should have got. Neoprene holds up much better, retains it's elasticity and is backed on both sides with nylon, otherwise it is near impossible to get on/off. I'm so sorry this happened to you

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Thanks nessie.

I can understand some things, but I have previously sent him photos of the other damage to the tail. He just obviously wasnt the one who was responding, or didnt care to remember.

I can understand drilling holes to secure it, but not hole over 2 inches wide, and cutting off ridges to do so. Much smaller holes would have worked fine because the edge around it was full of silicone. He didnt even remove the excess plastic around the holes he cut. If he had sanded the ridges down on the edge so they werent sharp, I would never have had to take it apart. The fluke was starting to tear right at the end of the monofin, and would have left me with a very small fluke.

plus side. I got some black vinyl floor matting similar to hannas fringe and because the tail is neoprin, the edges have stayed folded so I may be able to sandwich a new fin and ge silicone the crap out of it. Its not much, but it could make it work till I finish my tail im making.

There is no reason for this other then it being badly built. He keeps changing the story in every email I get and there is no reason to be so condescending and telling me its my swimming ability. Especially since its his work on the monofin causing it.

My tail has been babies since day one. It gets a bath and soak after every use and I use fans and dry towels to dry it (which takes 3 to 4 days because the middle of the neoprin is open and allows water in) it lays flat on a super soft bed and there isnt a scratch on it anywhere. Only the wear marks from the monofin edges. Ive only swam in dive tanks with it so ive never scraped the fluke. One tank had a plastic liner covering the bottom and sides and the tank in my hometown its smooth tile.

Ive been swimming for 3 decades. I love the water. Its not new to swim in a monofin, just the skin. I didnt go full silicone right off the bat. I didnt want a fabric tail. Im going to make one I can swim in instead of just playing dress up in. So I can put my new monofin in it and have a tail until my silicone one is complete.

ive swam with another mer and hes seen my issues first hand. Our first swim I spent most of the time out of my tail trying to fix the strap. Too much silicone where they wound to the plastic so it wouldnt go back in. Has to contact finis for help.

[Mermaid Nessie]

I've heard a lot of horror stories from him and more specifically these tails. Very unprofessional and rude of him to be blaming his poor work on your abilities. There is basically no monofin left, it was completely murdered. I can understand cutting it down to fit into the tail, but that is ridiculous.

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Thats what I said to him. Every other word out of his mouth is a lie, and that hes proven with his latest emails.

Ive opened up a file with the BBB in florida. There are 5 other cases theyve settled involving him. 2 false advertising and 3 for product quality.

It wouldnt matter if I sent it back. It would still have holes and still be made of neoprin and still just as useless. So glad I saved all my gift money from christmas and my birthday for this..........

[PearlieMae]

I love how it remains unsigned, technically.

[AniaR]

*sneaks in with the meme because how often do you get to use it?*

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Im not sure what you mean pearlie.

I agree, that is an awesome meme and totally fits. I never intended this to be a bash the mertailor thread (as much as I would love to state my full unabridged opinion but that isnt called for)

I seen a few people ask about this type of tail so i decided to show whats inside it.

His new versions look alot longer so it seems hes no longer cutting the monofins up except the holes, so thats good for future purchasers.

[PearlieMae]

I meant how it was signed "the crew of mertailor Llc"

He won't even put his own name in it, presumably so he can later deny he sent it to you.

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Thats what I figured as well pearlie. Between the two sets of emails I have with him, its like they are written by two separate people. Although the amount of not-so-well-hidden snark leads me to think today was actually eric.

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

A bit ot, but pearlie, I absolutely love your daughters quote in your signature! It makes me giggle everytime I see it. A very welcome sight today!

[mermaidpaige]

Mermaid Paige www.facebook.com/mermaidpaigevirginiabeach has one of these basic silicone tails. She is 9 and has had this tail for over a year now. Everyone that has met her at Mer-Palooza 2013, NCMerfest 2014, and Mermaids by the Sea 2014 (where she was on Discovery Channel Oct 21) knows that she has no issues swimming in this tail and with the mono-fin. She has 2 tails and this is her favorite. We will be buying another one this year because I need the stretch of the material since she is still growing and the tail is light enough for her to swim with ease. She needs another because she is growing like at weed and the tail is starting to slide down her butt. The mono-fin was easy to reach in and loosen the straps. There are numerous videos of her swimming (Mermaid Monday at Lake Rawlings) and she is very natural at it. We love this tail and mono-fin. Let me know what you all think. She is 9 and if she can do it, anyone can do it.

[mermaidpaige]

My daughter has had a wonderful time with the "Mer-community" but reading these posts are quite disappointing. I can't believe how quickly everyone is to get "nasty." Really? It's a big ocean....If you don't like a product or it's not for you...great, make your own or buy someone else's product. I am grateful that Paige has found such a loving community of people to be involved with but I don't like this side of it at all. I hope that she never has to see or read it.

[Talia]

Mermaidpaige,

I am guessing you are really Mermaid Paige's mother. Several things:

This is hardly the first issue that has come up with Eric's work. I have never had contact with him, nor own any of his products, and it is thanks to reviews like the one at hand that I never will. There are plenty of people that have had problems with Eric's tails, and not only he has been less than kind in resolving any of them.

There is also the fact that the BBB has been implicated with him several times. That does not happen if you provide a good product and a good customer service, along with truthful information. That is why in this network people provide screenshots, because he is constantly changing the descriptions in his website to later deny they were ever there.

I am happy your daughter has a good tail and it is holding up for her. But that does not mean every person he sends a tail to gets a good product. "This side of it all" you are referring to is rightful indignation when people spend their hard earned money and don't get the product he advertises. People have got wrong colors, wrong sizes, wrong designs, and according to Eric, it is always someone else's fault; they did not measure themselves properly, they were not clear about what they were asking for, they did not specify details, or in this case, "your swimming capabilities are not what you think they are".

You say "My daughter has had a wonderful time with the "Mer-community" but reading these posts are quite disappointing. I can't believe how quickly everyone is to get "nasty." I am grateful that Paige has found such a loving community of people to be involved with but I don't like this side of it at all. I hope that she never has to see or read it."

If you take the time to peruse this forum, you will see that most people here get along fabulously. But as with any community, drama is bound to happen sooner or later. And of course, you should know that your daughter will experience it sooner or later, and to think otherwise is very naive on your part.

[Echidna]

We love this tail and mono-fin. Let me know what you all think. She is 9 and if she can do it, anyone can do it.

glad to hear.
Have you considered, though, that a monofin suited for the strength and bodymass of a nine-year-old might NOT be enough to propel a trained, fully grown woman?
The tail Mermaid Jamie got was botched.
A single look at the monofin will tell you that.

The emails she got from the business were nothing but insults, blaming the bad product on her "swimming capabilities", but I wouldn't have expected anything else from them at this point, it's what they do:
hide behind boyfriend, deny everything, cite pointless facts ("it is not called neoprin, it is called fabric spacer" yea so? it's still crap, whatever you call it), and of course, no refund policy.

And what's up with all those "athletes and scuba divers" who test and approve the products?
I have a hard time imagining someone going, "ok, so we swam in this fabulous monofin cut down to almost nothing and drilled like a swiss cheese. The propulsion is zero, great job, you can start mass production".

Not to mention, that SCUBA divers should not test a product meant for swimmers and freedivers.

I am glad for anyone who has a Mertailor product and is happy with it;
but that doesn't change the fact that many of his products are bad quality and cause their owners more hassle than anything else.

If you are one of the few who have no issues, be grateful and know that you've been lucky.

[Talia]

The front page is already changed:



And also, I noticed that Mermaid Paige is on the Mertailor website as publicity:



You can see that picture on her Facebook page as well.