Finis Rapid from Santa

[Ricochet]

Santa Claus aka my dear sister, gave me my first monofin today.
It's a Finis Rapid. What an attentive sister I've got! Lucky me.

But I'm not sure if I will be very happy with this fin.
Its relatively small 24"x21" and the foot pockes are open heel with straps! I think this will be very uncompfortable. Ouch!

Now I wonder if I should return the fin before I use it and scratch it and rather buy another one and pay some extra bucks.

Do you have any experience with this fin? Whats its performance compared with other brands? Is it worth keeping it?
On the other hand I don't want to disappoint my sister by returning the fin if the fin isn't as bad!


Some comments plx :hmm


Sascha

 

[SThompson]

If it is the soft black plastic I have 1 suggestion.

Return it now. You won't be happy.

Take the money and get the Long Distance from WaterWay fin if you are worried about the stiffness and price point. I owned the rapida and it was a complete joke for adults, but fun for kids to mess around with. So either send it back or regift to a young swimmer.

 

[Ricochet]

Hiho,

Thank you for your reply. It reflects my first impression.
I just returned from the pool where I tested the fin for a few laps and I am quite disappointed. Of course, I can't compare it with other monofins, but I think this is not what a monofin should feel like. The fin only provides propulsion (not much) on the 'down-movement' of the legs and flaps loosely(!) on the up-movement. The half-footpockets provide a bad fit and I even lost the fin on a more powerful kick! Not to mention that the straps are uncomfortable.

My Gara 3000 provide a MUCH more powerful stroke and I dive 50m more than 10 seconds faster with the bi-fins.


I think I will return the fin and look for a better one.



Regards,

Sascha

 

[Erik]

I agree, that model is a toy for kids only. There is NO comparison to a fiberglass-finned mono. One of our members bought one for his young daughter and she loves it, so if there are children in your life, maybe re-gift it
Peace,
Erik Y.

 

[commonerg]

I agree. A little more about the finis fins.

Finis is a great company, but their focus isn't the monofin. The finis competitor is a proper diving fin especially for dynamic use. However, from what I can tell it's no different from the waterway monos except for being $100 more . The only finis fin I would truly reccomdend buying is the finis shooter. The shooter has a nice stiff high-quality fiberglass blade which is about a third the size of a normal monofin blade. It is great for learning the technique. Its small size makes it very manageable especially for turning at the walls and swimming in crowded lanes. I use this fin whenever I'm doing cardio sets, especially sprints. It's definitely a compliment to a full sized fin and not a substitute. I use it along side my WaterWay model II. It's very nice to be able to take off the big WW fin when my feet are cramping up and slide on this little guy for a few laps. I got mine for about $80 at a swim shop a few years ago. For $80, if you see one around, spoil yourself especially if you are serious about the DWF, want to incorporate monofin swimming into a cardio swimming routine, or swim in crowded pools.


Good luck with the new fin whatever it ends up being... i'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

[commonerg]

By the way, the shooter's performance is nothing to laugh at either, i've pulled off some suprisingly long dynamics with it.