My first monofin - which one to choose...

[radziah]

Erk, I am not aware of that. If one is imposed with import duty, when do we usually have to pay it? beforehand to the merchandiser or when we received it? I've bought before a pair of bi-fin via amazon, and foot pockets from Australia, and didn't experience to have pay more than agreed with the merchandiser (goods and shipping).

I assume that we don't have that coz last time some of us ordered wetsuit Elios via wefreedive, a basic open cell one, 1.5mm and later one of our friend ordered by herself a nice smoothskin with Logo and her price is the same as ours the basic one. Not sure though, will check to confirm.

Thanks for the heads up Ron.

 

[Kars]

Hi Radziah,

Off cause I meant the one with wings... - that's why I copied the full product name, to avoid ordering the lesser. http://www.specialfins.com/freediving_monofin_coloured.htm
Apparently the Euro is at the moment rather strong compared to the USD.

If your foot size is close to each other, then a neoprene sock can help to make up the size difference.
A foot pocket should have a close fit, for better control and efficiency.

To prevent the uneven foot pressure: turn your heals a bit outward; this helps to lock in the knees, and keeping both of your legs together and strait.

I think you will love your new monofin very much, and will start to see it as an extension of your body. I've become rather attached to mine, and will gladly handle her with care

KarS - yes the S does matter

 

[radziah]

Hi Radziah,

Off cause I meant the one with wings... - that's why I copied the full product name, to avoid ordering the lesser. http://www.specialfins.com/freediving_monofin_coloured.htm
Apparently the Euro is at the moment rather strong compared to the USD.

If your foot size is close to each other, then a neoprene sock can help to make up the size difference.
A foot pocket should have a close fit, for better control and efficiency.

To prevent the uneven foot pressure: turn your heals a bit outward; this helps to lock in the knees, and keeping both of your legs together and strait.

I think you will love your new monofin very much, and will start to see it as an extension of your body. I've become rather attached to mine, and will gladly handle her with care

KarS - yes the S does matter

Oops sorry about the missing S, Kars my bad.

Noted about the socks, I always dive with socks 3mm with my bifins because I get cold easily even in Malaysian waters. I have tried before my friend's Omer Mill, so I think size 38 should be ok for me.

Thanks for the tips about uneven foot pressure, I'll try do that. we'll see how I fare once I get the monofin hope soon! I think I will be attached too, I am always envious of people with mono. before, I could not afford it, so I've been saving for almost a year to get this...hehe. so I hope to make a good choice because I can't afford to get another one.

Okay, thank you so much for your answers Kars and Revan. I'll ask again should I have more questions

 

[radziah]

A Specialfins Colored is $340 (at $1.25/Euro exchange rate). Assume at least $60 for shipping and add 30% for duties it is going to be about $500 by the time you get it in your hands. See if Walt will take that for the Pilot prototype. It doesn't have anodizing and it is used, so I'd think he would go for it, or maybe even $50 less if you don't take the shoes.

btw Revan, yes, the shoes is oversize for me, I need to find my own. what was the model for the shoe or any Shimano mountain bike can do?

here is the video of me trying out the Pilot DOL-fin. nice feeling

 

[Kars]

Hehe, thanks for the pilot video! First pilot in action footage I've seen. It does look like a monofin movement, but without the foot too edge fibreglass. When you get you new fin you may want to study your turns, to avoid hitting it hard with the less strong edge. Landing on the flat underside is the normal way monofinners turn. Though many freedivers like to pivot these days.

 

[REVAN]

Erk, I am not aware of that. If one is imposed with import duty, when do we usually have to pay it? beforehand to the merchandiser or when we received it? I've bought before a pair of bi-fin via amazon, and foot pockets from Australia, and didn't experience to have pay more than agreed with the merchandiser (goods and shipping).

I assume that we don't have that coz last time some of us ordered wetsuit Elios via wefreedive, a basic open cell one, 1.5mm and later one of our friend ordered by herself a nice smoothskin with Logo and her price is the same as ours the basic one. Not sure though, will check to confirm.

Thanks for the heads up Ron.

If you order any products through WeFreedive, they are operating in Thailand and Malaysia and they handle the importing of the products they sell on behalf of their customers. Buy from them, and you don't need to worry about it. This is why I'm trying to work with WeFreedive to import and sell DOL-Fin products in SE Asia. It makes purchasing so much easier for the customer when someone who knows how, takes care of all that stuff for them.

If you are ordering from someone that is external to your country and the shipment needs to go through customs to reach you, the government is not going to allow you to receive your package before they get paid. It will be held hostage in customs until someone pays the import duties. Large retailers may have sophisticated websites that factor in the location of the IP address from where you are shopping and then automatically factor duties into the cost of your order and they hide the duties either in the product cost or the shipping cost to make it easier on the customer. In that case, they pay the duties, out of your product billing, on your behalf. I don't know of any monofin manufacturers that have enough product volume to warrant that level of sophistication. You should assume that you will need pay the import duties unless the supplier tells you otherwise.

Contact your customs office to find out the situation in Malaysia, as I only have experience with Thailand. An imported monofin will ship under harmonized code 9506.29, which covers water sports merchandise. This code will help when talking to customs.

 

[radziah]

If you order any products through WeFreedive, they are operating in Thailand and Malaysia and they handle the importing of the products they sell on behalf of their customers. Buy from them, and you don't need to worry about it. This is why I'm trying to work with WeFreedive to import and sell DOL-Fin products in SE Asia. It makes purchasing so much easier for the customer when someone who knows how, takes care of all that stuff for them.

If you are ordering from someone that is external to your country and the shipment needs to go through customs, the government is not going to allow you to receive your package before they get paid. It will be held hostage in customs until someone pays the import duties. Large retailers may have sophisticated websites that factor in the location of the IP address from where you are shopping and then automatically factor duties into the cost of your order and they hide the duties either in the product cost or the shipping cost to make it easier on the customer. In that case, they pay the duties, out of your product billing, on your behalf. I don't know of any monofin manufacturers that have enough product volume to warrant that level of sophistication. You should assume that you will need pay the import duties unless the supplier tells you otherwise.

Contact your customs office to find out the situation in Malaysia, as I only have experience with Thailand. An imported monofin will ship under harmonized code 9506.29, which covers water sports merchandise. This code will help when talking to customs.

Thanks for the heads up Ron, I will check them out, but so far, talking to one of my friends who brought in Leaderfins stuff, it is not fixed like Thailand, it still depends on your luck if it get stuck then probably some explanation and see how it goes. She said, if there is, it's 10%. I have a couple of friends who brought monofin from both leaderfins and specialfins not through wefreedive, will check with them about their experience. I'll also check with WeFreedive and compare. either way, yeah, i gonna take your advice by getting ready the 10% duty should it be imposed on my fin.

 

[REVAN]

btw Revan, yes, the shoes is oversize for me, I need to find my own. what was the model for the shoe or any Shimano mountain bike can do?...

I normally use a Shimano WR35 for sizes less than 40 and the RT32 for 40 and larger.