Screw it, I'm gettin' a mono!

[syn-]

Hey guys, I'm looking to get into pursuing depth diving for competitions, so I've been hunting some replacement fins for my Picasso Black Teams. Originally I was looking at C4 Falcon 80s, but they don't make them anymore, so I had to begin looking elsewhere. That hunt led me to monofins and quite a few suggestions, without hesitation, to get a mono. I've decided to listen to those suggestions and am now looking to purchase a Waterway Nemo.

The question I've got, is what stiffness would you guys (hopefully with more monofin experience than myself) recommend? I'm fairly athletic, 5'11", and 160lbs. ...I also like long walks on the beach and sunsets!! :P

Got any suggestions?


Thanks much,

-syn

[Fondueset]

The usual recommendation is to start out soft. I got a Waterway Wings nemo soft fin last winter and the learning curve was steep and painful - but WAY WORTH IT!! i just recently switched to a hard or sprint stiffness version of the same fin and it is wonderful!

The hard-core types usually use the open heel type foot pocket - with a low angle blade - the waterway nemo and other fins with conventional footpockets usually have an angle in the blade - which makes it easier to straghten your legs, swim on the surface and, in general , adapt to a monofin. The normal fin-type foot pockets are also generally easier on your feet - I've stayed in up to 6 hours with mine. The open heel footpockets fit tighter - for better force transmission - but are usually not so good for long wearing. There are people here more qualified than me to talk about this - so hopefully they will chime in.

I know that for my use - recreational freediving 8-20 hours a week - the waterway wings nemo is great - very sturdy and comfortable. Also one of the most reasonably priced fins on the market.

My general recommendation would be to not spend too much on the first fin - get something durable and comfortable to develop some chops with - then, if you are going to compete, plan on getting something higher end down the road.

-I feel it is important to mention that monofins are the best things in the universe.

[syn-]

Thanks for the info Fonduest, much appreciated.

Mandy-Rae actually recommended the fin specifically for the comfort factor... I've also asked her about the fin stiffness and am awaiting a response now. Hopefully I can get her input and a few more sources on this one so I can go ahead and make the purchase soon. I can't wait!

Right now, the plan is to work on developing my skills for a while (finning included) and then attend the advanced class from PFD before starting to compete. That certainly leaves time to decide if a higher end fin is needed...


Thanks again!


-syn

[Fondueset]

She will likely tell you soft - that's what she told me. Initially it was extremely painful in my feet - because they were fighting eachother trying to act like I was wearing bifins. Secret one was relaxing my feet during breathe-ups. Next came working with the whole body undulation - Which i feel like I'm still working on - finding that point of absolutely minimal effort/max efficiency. REALLY FUN!! For me the stiff fin is perfect - I can really minimize movement and cover a lot of ground. But my body adjusts very quickly and it is also possible that a hard fin would have resulted in some things that just went away turning into repetitive stress injuries. I also dove at least twice a week from the time I got the soft fin last march - more in the summer, and pretty much only used the monofin for all diving.

I'd say soft or medium at most. A soft monofin is quite awesome and the Waterway is very sturdily built.

[Jon]

Listen to Mandy and Fonduset and go soft. I listened to Kirk and went stiff- which is why Fonduset now has my stiff mono.

I also think it depends a lot on your ankle flexability. If you can straighten out your foot without any problem, then the Waterway NEMO is a great way to go- very durable. However, if your like me, and your ankles are on the stiff side I would go with a bent blade monofin- I use a Specialfin's Freediver Carbon mono. The angle in the blade is much greater than on the NEMO fin and, I find, that this makes all the difference in the world.

Once you get your first, soft, fin to learn on you can spend as much as you want on a fancier fin later on, like one of those Russian monos, and have a much better idea of what your really looking for in a fin.

Just my $0.05 (due to the rapid deflation of the US dollar)

Jon

[syn-]

Originally Posted by Jon

Just my $0.05 (due to the rapid deflation of the US dollar)
Jon

HAHA! Nice.

Anyway, oddly enough my ankles are flexible (not really sure how one gets flexible ankles), so I think the Nemo will work out nicely for a first fin. Later on I can find my own old Japanese samurai monofin maker to make me a custom built blade out of the rarest materials known to man...


-syn

[monkeyhatfork]

I have picasso black teams and a waterway model 1 medium stiff, I would say if you can handle black teams you could handle a medium stiff, the mono is allot more efficient. With this said I started out with a soft for a few months before I made the switch. I chose this mono because I do dynamics 4-5days a week in the local pool in addition to open water dive and this is a good all around fin, but if just depth, the nemo could be better.But this is just my opinion, I say buy whatever Mandy tells you to, she's the one who's diving 88mIn the meantime It might be helpful to practice dolphin kicks with your black teams, you'll be amazed at the difference when you switch over

[Gail_Berke]

Originally Posted by Fondueset

-I feel it is important to mention that monofins are the best things in the universe.

I second that.

[Fondueset]

I have been talking with Maksim at Leaderfins. I was considering trying an open heel fin and he said he thinks it is very difficult to wear one for more than 30 minutes and that if I am comfortable with closed heel I should not change.
The longest I've stayed in with my Waterway Nemo is 6 hours - with a 10 minute break.

[Jon]

I 've gotten similar times in my Specialfin's monofin with closed heels. The longet I ever lasted in my Openheel Waterway monofin- 20 minutes!

Jon

[Fondueset]

I'm curious to try a fin with Omer footpockets and more blade angle. The Nemo footpockets are quite comfortable - but not so much as the Omers on my bifins. Interestingly the hard fin you sent over is easier for me to put on than the soft one. I wonder if there is a slight variance in footpocket size.
What's your thinking on Carbon blades?

[Jon]

There may be some variations in the rubber on those NEMO footpckets- I remember a HUGE difference in OMER footpockets a few years ago, and I think they have that sorted out these days.

The only carbon fiber monofin I've used is the one I own- Specialfins, extra hard, with Sporasub footpockets. I have noticed a HUGE difference between this one and my last one- Specialfins, hard, with blue fiberglass and OMER footpockets. I still am not sure if the difference is in the blade material or the fact that the Sporasub footpockets fit my feet so much better? The only down side to the Sporasub pockets is that I can only wear 3mm socks with it compared to the 5mm I wear with my OMER pockets- and that can make a huge difference in the cold water that you and I dive in all the time.

I did have one other carbon fiber monofin, but I only used it in the pool twice and it ripped my feet up so bad I sent it back to Specialfins- who gave me full credit from it towards the purchase of my freediver mono! That's what I call customer service! That fin was also an extra hard, but I'll never know how it worked because those type of openheel footpockets make hamburger out of my feet- even with 3mm wetsuit socks on!

I have heard others say that there's a huge difference in th blue fiberglass and the carbonfiber that Speicalfins uses in their monofins. These same people reported that the carbonfiber material was the only one to go with if you were going to buy one of these models.

If you make it over to Palooza next summer you can try it and do a side-by-side comparisson on the fins. I have done this with a bunch of different gear that people have brought up. It's nice to be able to try new gear for free, but it gets expensive when you try something and then have to go out and buy it for yourself- like Nick's ICE fins that I can no longer live without.

Jon

[Fondueset]

I noticed Specialfins has some kind of carbon/kevlar hybrid fin - looks really cool but it's about 460 euros!!! That's like a $700 after shipping. I predict not getting that one. Leaderfins seems to do about the same stuff otherwise - and thats where we got Claire's fin so I"ll likely stick with them. They have a model called the flier - and a version of their wings fin with a carbon blade. I've heard only good about customer service with both companies.

I like the omer pockets best - the Nemos in the waterway are somewhere between sporas and omers. Can't complain though if I can still feel my feet after 3 or 4 hours!

We've got Palooza on the sched for next year. Not sure what Claire will be doing - but I'll try to bring her and maybe my dive buddy jason if we can make it. Fun to take the car ferry across again.

[Jon]

I like OMER pockes for winter, s I can wear thicker socks, and Sporasub footpockets for summer, when I only wear 3mm socks, I did find the NEMO pockets to be extremely comfortable, but the lack of blade angle was frustrating to me.

I have fairly stiff ankles, especially compared to my wife, and I find the angled blade essential to my diving enjoyment. I can dive without the angle, but I am much happier with it. When your in the sink phase of the decent the angle can make a huge difference becuase you don't have to strain as hard to maintain proper fin postion while in a super realxed postion.

Jon

[syn-]

Palooza??? Whats this? ....needless to say I'm new to this forum and a lot of the finer portions of the community.


-lee