What is the Best Monofin for a Mermaid Tail?

Whether you’re looking to buy your first monofin for training or trying to figure out which monofin is best for your new mermaid tail, you’ve come to the right place! The monofin market is super saturated, and it seems almost every tail maker recommends using a different monofin in their tails. This guide will tell you which monofins are good for beginners, as well as recommend the best monofins for some of the top mermaid tails on the market. But first let’s start by going over what a monofin is.

What is a Monofin?

A monofin is a type of swimfin where both feet are placed in foot pockets bound to a single fin blade that is often wide and shaped like the fluke of a whale or porpoise for maximum propulsion. The swimmer must perform a “dolphin kick” while wearing a monofin to feel the full power of the fin. A monofin is typically worn while free-diving or finswimming to increase maneuverability and allow for faster swimming- but more recently monofins have grown in popularity due to another water sport: Mermaiding! 

Do you need a monofin for a mermaid tail?

ALL swimmable mermaid tails have monofins. Full silicone mermaid tails have monofins built right into them. When it comes to fabric mermaid tails however, these monofins are often sold separately, and there are so many monofins out there- it can get confusing. The monofin is just about the only thing giving you propulsion while your legs are bound by a mermaid tail skin so don’t try swimming in a mermaid tail without one! 

There are several monofins on the market, some are even designed specifically for mermaid tails. Typically, a monofin can be slipped in and out of the bottom fluke area of a fabric mermaid tail between use. This allows you to remove the monofin for cleaning or even swap the monofin between your other fabric tails. In the next sections, we’ll go over the best monofins for the top mermaid tail brands. Some fabric tails were designed specifically for one type of monofin, while other fabric tails can hold various monofin brands and styles.

The Best Monofin Brand for a Finfolk Productions Tail

Finfolk makes two types of fabric tails: Discovery tails and Signature tails. Discovery tails were designed specifically to hold the Adult Mermaid Linden Monofin. You simply open the side zipper near the fluke of the tail and slip in the monofin. The tail skin is made to stretch and fit snugly over the monofin, giving very little drag. 

Finfolk Productions Signature Tails have much larger flukes with two vinyl inserts that perfectly fill the area of the fluke. While the shape may look perfect, you’ll need to sandwich a monofin in between the two vinyl inserts so that the tail is swimmable. Finfolk  Productions recommends monofins with short, stiff blades such as the FINIS Shooter monofin or Adult Mermaid Linden by Bodyglove monofin. 

Best Monofins for Mertailor Tails

Mertailor makes an ever-growing line of silicone monofins in-house. These monofins, called “Fantasea Fins”, are made to fit perfectly inside their line of spandex “Fantasea Tails” as well as their line of thicker, more durable neoprene “Whimsy Tails.”  Mertailor also offers a 3rd tier of fabric mermaid tails, “Guppy Tails,” which were made to be used with the Mermaid Linden Monofin by Body Glove. Each of these tail types (Fantasea, Whimsy, and Guppy) come in both adult sizes and kids sizes! 

Fantasea Fin Monfin Review: Being made of soft silicone, Mertailor Fantasea Fins look extra flowy when swimming through the water, however they have less propulsion compared to their harder plastic or fiberglass competitors. Since they are built to fill the tail skin perfectly, there is very little drag from the tail skin. They look super realistic in water. There are several styles of silicone monofins, the largest one weighing about 23 lbs! 

Best Monofin for a Finfun Mermaid Tail

Finfun is another mermaid tail company that makes its own brand of monofins as well! They offer three different styles of monofins made from a hard plastic (polypropylene). The “Blue Trim Monofin” and the “Advanced Monofin” can both be used with all tail skins offered on the Finfun website. The ‘advanced monofin’ offers added comfort and is made from a stiffer material for more propulsion, compared to their basic “Blue Trim Monofin”. Their larger, upgraded “Oasis Elite Monofin” is specially crafted for Finfun’s Elite Mermaid Tail, and is not compatible with other Finfun Tails on the site.

Oasis Elite tails come in Adult sizes only, while their other tails come in both Kids sizes & Adult sizes. The Jr monofins fit tail skin youth sizes 6-10, and the Advanced Monofin Pro fits tail skins in youth size 12 and all adult sizes.

Best Monofin for Training to be a mermaid

Monofins are a great tool for training to be a mermaid! Many people say that the best monofin for beginners would be on the smaller side, with medium or low propulsion, so you have greater control over the monofin and can feel when you are correctly performing a dolphin kick. 

My recommendation would be to choose a monofin that can grow into your mermaid career with you. For instance if you are saving up for a Finfolk Productions Signature tail, I would recommend starting to train with a Finis Shooter monofin, since it will be compatible with your preferred tail type in the future. If you are planning to go with a Mertailor tail skin as a pro, then invest in a Mertailor monofin for training. This way all your practice will directly translate when you get into your full mermaid tail!