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Monofin Selection Advice Needed

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Yea - the sticker was a joke (kindof)..

I actually emailed PFI earlier today as I can get a round trip planeticket to Ft Lauderdale for $90 and they offer a intro to monofin class for $45 where you can try out the ones they have. I would think theyd have both specialfins and nemos since martin seems to endorse both..However with the cost of the plane ride, taxi, hotel, class, rental - I could have almost bought one monofin..

Decisions suck.
 
Fondueset said:
I got mine through PFI - you can ring them up and they'll help - as I'm sure Martin will.
Click to expand...


I am sure he will, my buddy Jeremy was at Martin's some time ago and he said the storage was full of monofins, already packed and ready to go. I am not sure however if buying from him in Ft.Lauderdale would save on shipping cost. He paid for cargo from Ukraine after all...

Anyway Will, You are down to two fins, not bad! Now throw a coin, pull a stick, doesn't matter. Either one will bring smile to Your confused face
Good luck and let me know when You buy
 

Yes but $45 for this class is a steal. If Martin won't come to us to Wisconsin this summer I am going there
 
Yea - except it ends up being a $200 class by the time it's over with

I e-mailed Martin to see what he says..Then as soon as I sell my UW Camera rig - Ill be ordering my new mono - just dont know which one yet!
 
I've owned a few Specialfins and a few Waterways. I would go with the waterway for pure durability reasons. Comfort would be about the same, but the NEMO has more blade angle than the SF Dolphin fin. The SF colored freediving fin has much more blade angle than the NEMO, but mine fell apart in a very short amount of time and I was out of luck getting the company to back it up.

If you get the NEMO fin I would urge against going too stiff- the mistake I made. It seems as if the "Medium" stiffness is about the best all around blade to go with- I've used all three stiffnesses in the past and find that one to be about the best for my size (5'10") and weight (180 pounds).

My current fin is a Triton Hyperfin that I had made to fit over my 5mm socks- for ice diving. I've only used it a few time in the pool so far- since I sprained my ankle and can't dive with any fins for the time being. SO far I've found it to be a pretty good compromise between the full footpocket monofins that I've owned and the openheel monofins that I've owned. It has improved performance at a sacrifice to comfort, but is still comfortable enough for me to be aboe to wear it twice as long as any of my openheel fins- and I've only had a chance to use it three times so far. As time goes on, and I get to wear it on a regular basis, this will only improve.

Just my $0.02

Jon
 
Reactions: WillUnderwater
Thanks..
The more I've read - the more it seems WaterWay is the way to go..

I think the Nemo might be the right fin for me..

How are the pockets on the Nemo? I'm a bit worried about sizing..I USUALLY wear about a US12 shoe. I wear a size 10 scubapro bootie..

The two sizes that would apply to me:
-Europe: 45-45, US Men's: 10.5-11.5, US Women's: 12-13)
-Europe: 46-48, US Men's: 12.5-14, US Women's: 14-15.5)

I will either go barefoot or wear a 3mil sock..I just don't want to make the mistake of going with the wrong size.
 
I was just running quotes on the PF site..

They want $89 just for shipping one monofin?!? Is this right? The other quotes I have gotten from other companies have been in the 30-60 range. Is there a better place to order WW fins from if this is the case?
 
Will,
Show up to Martin's intro to monofinning, and try on a few different fins. He keeps an inventory with him. Make sure you tell him your foot size. Nothing beats taking one for a test run before you buy it. It seems that even fins from the same manufacturer vary in stiffness. I have two waterways, model1 and glide. Both with middle stiffness but the glide is a softer feeling blade.
 
True - but the price is very good - Talk to Mandy at PFI - she will help you with sizing. Shipping has to cover cost from, I believe - the Ukrain + shipping to you. Somewhere I read they only pass their shipping cost on to you. The cost on the Nemo has actually come down since I ordered mine.

I wear an 11 us - my nemo is a 44-45 - and a bit on the loose side with thinner socks. If you are going with 3 mil socks I'd tend to go small as the Nemos run large - but talk with either Mandy at PFI or Martin - they will set you up.

Jon is the friend of mine who's used Specialfins - I was hoping he'd chime in.

Tony - I think the hyper style fins feel softer because of the way the footpocket stores energy - I've noticed the same thing.
 
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BTW Johnny,

how's this new Hyper that broke on the first day? Did You fix it?
 
Glued it back together that night and used it in the pool the next two days in a row with no more problems. Then, I sprained my ankle and haven't had it on in over two weeks!:crutch

I'm hoping to get back in the pool this week for a little bit of no-fins, but I have no idea when I'll be strong enough to use the monofin again.

Pretty hard to beat a NEMO for a first monofin. If it had a bit more blade angle it would be even better, but maybe not as strong.

Jon
 
I think I might just try and make Martin's Intro to Monofin and Monofin training the 22nd of this month..Just trying to work out the expenses..

$89 for the roundtrip flight
$70 for the intro and training class

Now if I can just either: A. find a cheap hotel that offers free airport shuttles near the aquatic center or B. stay in a hostel and pay the taxi costs? (17 miles from airport)..
 
Well, I emailed Waterway regarding sizing and the response I got back was of uncertainty. They forwarded my email to PF asking if they knew which would be the right size. Kind of scary!
 
I was a bit uncertain about the sizes when I got the fin as well. In the end I used the footpocket size in mm to help make a decision, rather than only shoe size. Doesn't look like they have that for the nemo though, maybe because of the different type of footpocket used. Maybe ask them? Any extra info can only help I guess. If there's anyone else in the area who also needs a fin, you could see if you are able to order together to try and cut down the shipping costs.
 
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That's what I did - I sent an e-mail to Waterway with my measured foot size and my shoe size. They said they do not know and forwarded the email on to PF to see if they knew
 
*nods* yep I gave foot measurements and got an uncertain response (I guess there's a few factors to take into account that make it hard to size them without actually trying them on).
What I meant was if you can get the length of the different sizes (ie a size 44-45 might be 300mm from toe to heal for example), although it's going to be far from perfect when making a decision on which size, at least you know you're not going to get a size that's too short.
 
Yea, i tried to get some dimensions but didn't get an answer to that. I think my best bet is just try and make it to see Martin next week and try a couple on and see what works best for me..
 
Will - deal with PFI or Martin on this. Waterway really relies on their distributors to deal with customers and they do a great job. This eliminates language barrier problems.

I dealt with PFI and Mandy was very helpful.
 
Fondueset said:
Will - deal with PFI or Martin on this. Waterway really relies on their distributors to deal with customers and they do a great job. This eliminates language barrier problems.

I dealt with PFI and Mandy was very helpful.
Click to expand...

Yea, I noticed that in the e-mail - it barely made sense

I have an e-mail in to martin and mandy - just waiting on a response now!

If I can manage to sell my UW Camera rig - Ill be flying down to ft lauderdale to take Intro to Monofin with Martin and try on various brands next Weds!!
 
Just a quick idea for ya Will regarding size. Give Mandy at PFI a call. I called and left a message for her a few weeks back and she got back to me within 90 minutes.
 
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