they're a tool...
...and like I said earlier, there are tools for different tasks.
I gave long fins a try while wearing my tanking gear and they just didn't provide the oomph that my 28 yr old Scubapro Jet fins did. And believe me, I gave them a few chances, seeing as how they did such a great job while going minimilist freediving. But by the time I strap on an 80 cu ft HP, regulator/console, BC jacket, and then haul out the camera housing with a couple of strobes, the conventional (?) fins just perform better. One easily understood reason is that when I'm shooting macro or have to do the tippy toe on the bottom or against a wall, the long fins just cracked, chipped and broke, whereas the rubber Jets just flexed and held up, though I will cop to having broken a few this way; but then you're not suppose to walk on the tips :naughty
Besides when I'm tanking, I like to have a more compact profile so I can do what needs doing without having another couple of feet of body to wind and curl while concentrating on that lobster that has no intentions of cooperating.
That said, naw, no experience with Brian, Bill. My time with BWH is limited to the shop in Santa Barbara that I guess is a branch of theirs- the old Underwater Sports on the wharf. I'm not real jazzed with them- they've got the obligatory shiny stuff and the photos, but the brain trust is a mite thin. The interest there is also connected to the old Divers Den in Goleta that is about the last place in town doing custom suits, and then there's a bunch of stories of cluster-humps! I had them alter my 7mm Picasso commercial for my newly trimmed waistline and add a low-pro knife pocket to the thigh. The alts were great but the knife pocket ended up on my ankle, upside down and big enough to hide a commercial legal red ab. Another friend of mine had a suit built by them and it was just a joke. Trouble is that their established and that's the usual M.O. I hear... Too bad as I'm hoping to move down there again, soon and want to be on good terms in case I need something, so I'll continue to go low profile w/ them

and either get my stuff over the Net or at Stan's in San Jose from Steve. Steve also appreciates the taste of a pink snapper...:t
sven