Competitor Monofins

I am a freediver who uses a monofin and I've been doing it 20 years. I was looking for a carbon blade but i couldn't find anything in the states, and I didn't want to place an order in Europe. My other monofin is Italian, mat-mas, who were the first to make them. It was finally time to upgrade. I would say these are better, the foot socket is very comfortable, not as stiff as my other pair. The foot socket doesn't give as much support as some other makes, meaning that if you have a weak foot you will pay the price, but I like it this way because it causes less cramping. I love the fiberglass blade, I expected it to be very stiff but it is actually perfect for me, and stronger than the carbon which will break if it hits something hard. I can swim across a 50 m pool underwater in 15 seconds. I feel like a fish.

I bought the XXL monofin, which has a different footpocket than the smaller sizes. So, this review only applies to the largest XXL fin. Unlike the smaller fins, the XXL fin has open-toe footpockets. That's both good and bad. It's good, because it allows for different sizes of feet: people with different sizes of large and extra large feet, or people with smaller feet who want to wear water socks, water slippers, or even water shoes at the same time. And it's comfortable, at least for me. The downside of open-toe footpockets, however, is that they have poor transfer of power. When you kick downward in the water, the blade of the fin pulls away slightly (but significantly) from your toes and the upper balls of your feet. That means the energy generated from the ball of your foot to the end of your toes does not transfer to the blade, and it cuts down on the forward thrust and power to propel you forward. If you're going to spend $350 to $400 for a monofin with a competition-sized blade, then this isn't really the blade you'll want to buy. You'll get more value and bang for your buck with training monofins from companies that specialize in them. And some of them have better training blades for less money than the current $387 pricetag for this XXL monofin. But that being said, if you have smaller feet and the closed-toe pockets on the smaller-sized monofins for this brand are the right size for you, maybe one of those blades would work great. I can only share what I know about the open-toe XXL monofin.

This monofin is the best I've ever tried, and I've been dabbling in monofins since the mid 1980s. I used this one a few weeks ago to win the short course Beach to Beach Power Swim on the north shore of St. John, Virgin Islands. I think there is carbon fiber on the bottom of the fin, and it seems to balance the up and down strokes in a way that I'd not experienced before. Warning: this fin cannot be used without training. Finis also makes a monofin trainer, which you should borrow or buy to see if the dolphin kick is for you. Once you've developed the technique and the strength, you can graduate to a Competition Fin. You'll also need a center snorkel and a low-volume face mask. If you've never done it before, I can describe it like this: Every stroke is like the explosive burst of speed you get when you push off the wall in a swimming pool. You can leap out of the water up to your thighs, mimicking a dolphin. I do notice some separation of the rubber from the blade on the bottom, but I'm confident that Finis will repair it. Looks like the manufacturer went a little light on the adhesive.

I am an active men's masters swimmer and a regular SCUBA diver so I use fins at least 3 times a week. I wear a men's 11.5 shoe size and the XL Monofin I purchased can not be bigger that a men's size 9. I could just barely crush my feet into it. It does not have an adjustable strap on each foot so you have to hope the strap length is the right one for you. Since the thing was so small on my feet, I had to really tug hard on the straps to get them on. I don't know if I did it while putting it on or while using it in swim practice, but one of the straps is already starting to tear. The straps should be a heavier duty adjustable straps like they put on free diving fins. All of the kicking pressure is centered, for me, right in the middle top of my foot which is not only uncomfortable but not a strong point in the whole kicking process. It's a neat concept but definitely needs some serious re-engineering to make it more ergonomic and stronger.

It is freaking awesome. I can go so friken fast in this thing that I can shoot myself out of the water like a dolphin, took alot of training to do it. One thing i want to mention tho is that you really shouldn't use these in a pool like even a polydium unless they say you can. A word to a beginner, this device is extremely hard to use, first point it has weight it can drown you, you cannot turn in a spiral motion in the conventional way, along with your feet being trapped in it, id suggest shaving the hair off ur feet, i made the mistake of not doing it and having hair ripped out. Hurt so good tho, it was amazing to swim in it.

I did not realised until I went and tested the fin at the pool.i felt weird,at first I did not know why my kicks are feeling off but when I got at home and examined the fin I realized that foot pocket is of center.I do not know how is possible that this product passed quality inspection.Realy disapointed Finis. If they were properly cetered they would be great fin. Now I have got a other fin.This one is much better.Well made.in centre.Stiff.changed to xxl and wear it with socks.Feet pocket is much better done( for some reason)than in xl model.Super happy with this one.Nice and fast.

Super j'adore ces vraiment encore mieux que ce que j'attendais sa nage tellement mieux avec sa emplus que j'ai toujours nager en dolphin ces des palmes parfait pour moi