I just upgraded my fins to Alchemy V3's and since there was no real review or comparison I decided to do one myself.
Model: Alchemy V3, stiffness level 1 (softest one), pathos fireblade foot pockets. Blade is 750mm long
Build quality: excellent looking materials, the carbon and resin is very high quality and uniform with no air bubbles or spaces between the carbon (my trygons fins have spaces where light can shine through). The silicon rails look perfect and never develop wrinkles no matter how much the fin is bent compared to the usual rubber rails. There is a hand-built feel to them as some of the rail and foot pocket glue has stained the blade but despite this everything is ligned up perfectly straight and uniform.
Unique blade profile: alchemy added the hard tip feature meaning that the last 5cm of the blade actually gets progressively stiffer. This helps and was intended to prevent the blade from twisting but there is another positive outcome of this. Most blades, even stiffer than the soft alchemys, lose a lot of power in the last 5cm as the tip is overly flexible. The hard tip actually prevents this and since that last 5cm doesn't bend I could actually feel it flicking the water, like an added paddle stroke when the blades flips between hyper and hypo extension.
Performance: so far I've only done one pool session with them and as they are so much softer than my previous fins (trygons rx) it will take some time to perfect the different technique needed to maximise their performance, but as of now I think they are awesome.
Just some numbers for 50m exhale DYN in 25m pool (my timing is very consistant so the times aren't averages.. they are exact for 4/5 dives timed)
-alchemy v3: 46seconds (no lactic acid)
-trygons RX: 45 seconds (lactic acid at 35m)
Overall I would say that the alchemy's feel very easy on the legs even going at quite a fast DYN w/bi fins speed. I can also say that with the soft model it's very easy to keep pointed toes and straight knees even at very slow speeds. Sprinting feels strange for now, almost like im not wearing fins, but speed wise they get me going pretty fast.
As I now usually dive on exhale for depth and wear a maximum of 1.6kg of weight i expect that the performance will carry over and I won't have a problem with lactic acid or lack of power doing +40m FRC dives. I'm also interested in trying a 25-30m rescue to see how much power I can get from them. For people who wear a little more weight or who are bigger than I am (67-68kg) I would maybe suggest the level 2 stiffness but I don't think stiffer than that would be nessesary.
Time will only tell when I finally get the chance do depth with them but as of now I'm really happy with the fins. They suit my style and approach very well and seem to be able to carry lots of speed while also being very easy on the legs, something almost essential to depth diving on FRC (for me), and also has great benefits to doing really deep dives with bi fins where lactic acid often presents a bigger problem than hypoxia or for long days of diving where surface swimming and repetitive dives can fatigue the muscles. In any case if you're looking to upgrade your plastic fins to carbons and are willing to spend the extra money they are absolutely worth it.
Model: Alchemy V3, stiffness level 1 (softest one), pathos fireblade foot pockets. Blade is 750mm long
Build quality: excellent looking materials, the carbon and resin is very high quality and uniform with no air bubbles or spaces between the carbon (my trygons fins have spaces where light can shine through). The silicon rails look perfect and never develop wrinkles no matter how much the fin is bent compared to the usual rubber rails. There is a hand-built feel to them as some of the rail and foot pocket glue has stained the blade but despite this everything is ligned up perfectly straight and uniform.
Unique blade profile: alchemy added the hard tip feature meaning that the last 5cm of the blade actually gets progressively stiffer. This helps and was intended to prevent the blade from twisting but there is another positive outcome of this. Most blades, even stiffer than the soft alchemys, lose a lot of power in the last 5cm as the tip is overly flexible. The hard tip actually prevents this and since that last 5cm doesn't bend I could actually feel it flicking the water, like an added paddle stroke when the blades flips between hyper and hypo extension.
Performance: so far I've only done one pool session with them and as they are so much softer than my previous fins (trygons rx) it will take some time to perfect the different technique needed to maximise their performance, but as of now I think they are awesome.
Just some numbers for 50m exhale DYN in 25m pool (my timing is very consistant so the times aren't averages.. they are exact for 4/5 dives timed)
-alchemy v3: 46seconds (no lactic acid)
-trygons RX: 45 seconds (lactic acid at 35m)
Overall I would say that the alchemy's feel very easy on the legs even going at quite a fast DYN w/bi fins speed. I can also say that with the soft model it's very easy to keep pointed toes and straight knees even at very slow speeds. Sprinting feels strange for now, almost like im not wearing fins, but speed wise they get me going pretty fast.
As I now usually dive on exhale for depth and wear a maximum of 1.6kg of weight i expect that the performance will carry over and I won't have a problem with lactic acid or lack of power doing +40m FRC dives. I'm also interested in trying a 25-30m rescue to see how much power I can get from them. For people who wear a little more weight or who are bigger than I am (67-68kg) I would maybe suggest the level 2 stiffness but I don't think stiffer than that would be nessesary.
Time will only tell when I finally get the chance do depth with them but as of now I'm really happy with the fins. They suit my style and approach very well and seem to be able to carry lots of speed while also being very easy on the legs, something almost essential to depth diving on FRC (for me), and also has great benefits to doing really deep dives with bi fins where lactic acid often presents a bigger problem than hypoxia or for long days of diving where surface swimming and repetitive dives can fatigue the muscles. In any case if you're looking to upgrade your plastic fins to carbons and are willing to spend the extra money they are absolutely worth it.
