Leaderfins fibreglass hockey fins

Kerian, NZ's friendly Leaderfins dealer, had a gift for me when we met for training at lunch today. The Estonian boys and girls sent him some demo fins, so he nabbed me the large (42-44) hockey fins to play with for a few weeks. They're medium stiffness, fully covered with vulcanised rubber and have the open heel pockets like monofins. For those that have never had the pleasure, open heel footpockets transfer power like there's no tomorrow, but treat your feet like uninteresting and redundant appendages. Suffice to say, they take some getting used to.

The fins themselves are quite a bit shorter than my quattros, but an inch or two wider. They are also very fast. I'm not exactly speedy, but they took me from 13s lengths in a 25 down to 11s. Some of that is the kicking style being better suited to me than the quattros, but for a first run-down in them, its not trivial. Comfort issues aside, I like them a heck of a lot, especially turning in them. There are a couple of things I would change, like getting myself a pair of neoprene half-socks for them and strengthening the heel strap for durability, but overall they seem to be great fins.

Now that my opinion is out of the way, what do other people think? What are the good and bad points you've picked up on? And for anyone who hasn't tried them and wants to, they are a demo pair. I have custody over them here in Wellington until they disappear up to Auckland, so if you want to have a play with them or know someone who does, call me on 021 111 0676 and we can meet up for a training session. Kerian wants to know if its worth his while to get some in, so the more people who try them, the better.