Another "Newbie trying to pick a monofin" thread

[ageless]

I've done a fair bit a reading (I stayed up until well after sunrise last night), and I'm keen to enter the exciting world of monofin swimming.

I'm not entirely clear which aspect of the sport most appeals to me. Certainly open water is a draw, I may or may not wish to pursue free diving. I will start in a pool, and I hope to progress to swimming largely in open water (primarily in the Monterey Bay)

I gather that many recommend the Water Way Classic Model 1 (WW, WaterWay). It seems like a solid choice for a beginner, but then I also hear many people complaining that the footbed is very uncomfortable.

WW Classic Model 2 is slightly cheaper, and it seems plausible that the slightly narrower blade might require slightly better technique, and thus be a better choice for a beginner.

WW Nemo often comes up as a good beginners monofin, but I feel that the price + s&h is a bit much -- I'd rather wait until I was ready to progress to a high-performance design (hyperfin et al.) to spend that amount (if you live in the EU this may not be a factor, since the shipping will be considerably less).

Finis Shooter is occasionally recommended for beginners, as it may be useful for lane swimmers. It doesn't seem particularly attractive to me, although the price and availability is somewhat compelling. If it will force a beginner to developer a stronger technique, perhaps it is a wise choice?

SpecialFins Dolphin FRD is also often recommended, although the price (like the Nemo) seems a bit excessive for a training fin, and I gather the durability may be a bit so-so.

Jumping straight into a high-performance design is extremely enticing (who doesn't want to have the hottest super-fast design?), but I gather that this is unwise -- it sounds like this will interfere with the development of good technique. Likewise, all else being equal, softer is better than harder for training, although perhaps medium is an acceptable compromise.

I also hear that practicing dolphin swimming barefoot and with bifins may be a good foundation for monofin swimming.

So, assuming I don't want to spend a great amount of money on a monofin which I will want to replace if I am lucky enough to get hooked: it sounds like a WW Classic Model 1 or 2 would be best. Certainly they are not the only models recommended on this board. But they seem to be the most often recommended.

WW Class Model 2 is $20 USD cheaper, the narrower width may be less efficient, but may also be better to help a beginner develop a strong technique.

Cheaper models (such as the Finis Rapid) seem to be disparaged as being too much of a toy to be worth toying with.

Sizing information seems a bit hard to come by. I shattered my left heel, and after a few surgeries it is a bit fatter and shorter than the right. In general I wear a 10.5 US. Foot length is around 10.5 inches / 267 mm, width is around 4.125 inches / 105 mm. In the pool, I won't need socks for warmth, but in the ocean, they will be extremely helpful.

I realize this is in certain respects very well-worn ground. Never-the-less, I thought I'd check in: what do you recommend as an all-purpose monofin affordable monofin for a beginner?

Oh, and are there other people using monofins in Santa Cruz?

Thank you,

Mikey

PS: If you haven't figured this out yet, what I really want is to be talked into purchasing a DOL-Fin Orca or some other extremely expensive but theoretically ultra-high-performance monofin or monofin-esque design!!! Huzzah!

 

[Kars]

When you would ask a monofin teacher about the blade size, he / she would ask about your height and mass. From your 10.5 size I gather you're about or just short of 6', about the same as me.

I learned monofinning with a WW MD2 - middle distance, recommended by my monofin teacher Edwin Kanters, (Dutch record holder in the middle and long distances). Indeed in my book a very good training fin, that's also very good for deep diving. Maybe in the beginning weeks you'll need some time to develop the muscle to wield the blade, but the medium size reduction will make the fin require just a tat more power than the bigger MD 1 Long Distance (soft) fin. Why not to choose that MD1 LD? Well that one is more easily OVERPOWERED, which at depth (from 25m onward) will be very noticeable when you turn at the plate and start you accent. Also when you do a sprint in the pool off cause. The fins' overpowering will induce the tips to bent excessively and a big V-bent and you'll notice the reduced efficiency as the blad isn't able to transfer the huge power into forward movement.
The MD2 Middle Distance in my experience will hold up, and I did not succeed in overpowering this fin; thus it is very efficient for medium and higher speeds of swimming. Though the lowest speeds the blade doesn't bent much and thus isn't the most efficient at those very low speeds.

The Classic fins have no blade angle and consequently do not provide for the fashionable kick 'n glide, or kick kick 'n glide. But swimming fluidly, like Peter Pedersen from Denmark showed in his 200m Dynamic World Record, you certainly can swim very nice, fast, agile and graciously.

The modern WW Classic fins have some neoprene padding inside allowing for a better fit for a wider range of feet. I also recommend buying those 3mm neoprene toe tops (look like 1/2 socks) to increase comfort. Or use regular 3mm socks. Get into your fin using some soap.
Also buy a monofin front snorkel, extremely useful!

Size, for more comfort I have the tendency to buy the bigger of the two possible fitting sizes. The heel-strap can be taken apart and adjusted with some car-tire glue.

Finally, I don't have any affiliation with WW, nor with any other manufacturer.
I've also tested a range of fins such as Specialfins soft. And found that these were too soft and had a very small 'Speed and Power' range. Also the footpocket was too soft to transfer the power efficiently to the blade. Too soft isn't good for training! - too hard isn't either.

I think you're taking the wise choice in buying first a training fin.

Love, Courage and Water,

Kars

 

[ageless]

Thank you, Kars! I am leaning toward a WW Classic, and based on your advise, it sounds like the WW Classic 2 may be a better choice for a beginner.

I am 5'10" / 177 cm 145 lbs / 66 kg.

After my initial post, it occurred to me that this thread could also be a brainstorm for a sticky on advise for beginners.

Of course I would love everyone's advise on what *I* should buy. But, perhaps the regulars here can also weigh in on what monofins they would recommend to beginners, and why.

Obviously there are many variables that could be taken into account, such as intended usage, body type, budget, etc. Let's pretend there are a few major categories that we could try to lump people into.

• What few categories would you define?
• For a given category, which monofin would you recommend?
• What do you see as the strengths and weakness of that monofin (both in general and with respect to a beginner)?
• Fitting advise for that monofin (warm/cold water, with/without socks)?
• How do you recommend that beginners get started? Obviously training is awesome if it is available in your area or you can afford to travel.
• Do you think beginners need to work on dolphin swimming without fins, and with bifins, before trying monofins, or in conjunction?
• ...?

I know there are a lot of valuable nuggets of information spread throughout many threads on this board, and of course that will always be the case. But it sure would be nice to gather up some of the wisdom pertaining specifically to beginners, and to the few monofins which are most often recommended to beginners.

Oh, and this is perhaps less crucial, but do people have strong feelings on front snorkels? I was leaning toward the Finis Swimmer's Snorkel, largely because it seems to be the most popular with respect to mainstream consumers -- for example, there are a good volume of reviews of it on swimoutlet.com and amazon.com. But perhaps some of the other center-mounted snorkels (such as the WW snorkels) are better suited to monofin usage?

Thank you,

Mikey

PS: I wish F.I.I. carried the WW Nemo, because it is so often recommended for beginners, but with shipping (Performance Freediving) it ends up being pretty expensive for a beginner's fin.

 

[monkeyhatfork]

I would recomend nemo for monterey bay, cause much more easy for thick socks and booties