Breir Monofins

[flying_spanner]

Hey all. Im looking at purchasing one of these Breier mono's as a local guy is their rep.

Anyone got any experience with these fins?

There doesn't seem to be much info on the web, so alternatively any links, info etc on the manufacturer etc also would be much appreciated.

I know they're French but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

cheers

 

[mgm]

blade is good, that type of foot pockets quite durable and comfortable, but far away from efficiency.
in my opinion nothing bad but also nothing great. Just a fin for swim and dive just for fun a little bit. If it would be your first monofin and price is below 150€ then it is ok.
Otherwise go for a Waterway Model 2

 

[flying_spanner]

This will be my first mono, and the price is cheap enough.

I'll use this fin to learn a bit of technique. Later on when I can afford to spend a bit more I may look at upgrading to a Leaderfins Hyper, Waterway Glide, or similar.

 

[flying_spanner]

I picked up the fin today. Looks like a well made product.

By using age old the put the fin on and flop around my lounge test (don't tell me you don't do the same with a new fin/s). The footpockets seem to be quite comfortable.

I'll take it for a swim tomorrow. Can't wait......

 

[mgm]

Have fun with the fin!
INTO the water.
Dry monofins sucks!! ;-D

 

[Raph]

Have fun ! (I did the exact same thing in my room when I got the fin)

I have an older Breier, same footpocket, and I am guessing the blade evolved, but according to your photo it "looks" close to mine.

As I swim like a stone, I started going to a local monofin swimming club along the apnea club training. What both of the coaches ( monofin and apnea ) have to say about the monofin :
- Footpocked is unefficient but very confortable.
- The blade is made for surface swimming ( not hard enough on the way back up after the kick, it is like you are passive and you "have" to push in the other direction too )

But maybe you got yourself an apnea specific model ?

Even thought, I am very pleased with mine, and I hope to use it for a long time

 

[flying_spanner]

After a couple of weeks using this Breir Mono I have a few thoughts.

The foot pockets are very comfortable. Although I found after swimming in it for an hour or so I was getting blisters on the tops of my toes. So I took a pair of scissors to a pair of 3mm neoprene sock I had lying around.

I now wear a pair of Neoprene "Toe Socks" problem solved and now the fin seems to fit me better and my kick feels more positive.

The blade on this fin is nice and soft. I know this won't be helpful for deep diving but as a beginer a soft blade is a good thing.

When I compare this fin to others I've swum in, This fin is no where as efficient as a Leaderfins Hyper. But a Hyper is nearly $700 Kiwi whereas I paid 300 for this fin with a Monofin Bag thrown in.

Compared to the good old Waterway Model 1 this fin is much more comfortable and seems to be similar in it's efficiency (from my bad technique, don't know much point of view).

Overall I'm quite happy with my purchase and I look forward to pushing out my PB's with it in the months to come.

Here's a link to a video of me doing a conservative 100m swim with this fin last week. Please excuse my poor technique, the average filming (it was Shrek's first time in the pool with a new camera) not to mention the fact that I should have swum much further.

 

[salibandy]

Nice tan line buddy.

Yeah I've used Breier underwater hockey fins, and their footpockets are far from efficient, though really comfortable.

Still, if you can swim 100 with this fin and technique, you'd do quite a bit more with a better fin and more training. Keep at it!

 

[flying_spanner]

Nice tan line buddy.

Yeah it does look awful. Can you tell that I've been working out in the sun as a chippie for the last few months???

Yeah I've used Breier underwater hockey fins, and their footpockets are far from efficient, though really comfortable.

I agree totally. Comfortable at the expense of efficiency. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. If I was getting awful cramp 30 sec after putting the fin on I think I'd chuck it in the corner and go back to what I find comfortable.

Still, if you can swim 100 with this fin and technique, you'd do quite a bit more with a better fin and more training. Keep at it!

I do lust after one of the mono's Ray Powell is working on. I may look seriously at upgrading next year.

Cheers for the words of support.