I've tried them a couple of times. Not long enough to give a detailed "review", but at least making similar dives back to back with my current fin (hyper), the performance was pretty close. I think I was a little faster with the chen bin, but it was not very comfortable to wear. It was also clearly stiffer than mine, which obviously affects performance.
At least the fins I tried feel a little different from the popular russian design. The main difference is that the heel is completely open, kind of "traditional" style. The russian fins have a "semi closed" heel.
How does this affect performance? I couldn't say, I didn't try them long enough, but I prefer the russian type in terms of comfort, which for me is important in open water diving (what good is a fin if you cannot wear it?)
But in all honesty, I have to say that the fin I tried was not nearly big enough for me, so that may affect my perception as well.
As a summary: I think they are a fine option and I've heard good things about the quality. Not a silver bullet, but it works. One thing I've been warned about is that they tend to make their footpockets really tight. I think the example was that a french guy had to order size 47 before it was comfortable for his size 42 foot, or something like that...So if you order, do agree that you can send it back if the size is wrong.
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Simo K
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