Alexey Molchanov Takes the CORE Silicone Bifins to 100m and 102m

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

It was a sunny day with clear skies on May 14, 2021, at the AIDA Freediving World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. At 12:10pm local time, Alexey Molchanov plunged into the Red Sea with the new CORE Silicone Bifins in blue, touched down at 100m (328ft), and returned to the surface after 3 minutes and 57 seconds with a white tag in his hand. Alexey has just proven that the new softer, silicone training bifins he designed specifically for developing technique retain plenty of power and efficiency, even for deep depth performances.

Before the competition

Alexey chose to wear these fins to competition in order to measure their efficiency at deeper depths, with a longer dive time, while experiencing more significant levels of hypoxia and hypercapnia. Before the competition, Alexey had used these fins to dive 20m+ (66ft+) in frigid lakes with a 7mm wetsuit, and was very pleased at their performance in ice water. Additionally, a few days before competition, he took the fins to 93m (305ft) with a dive time of 3 minutes and 30 seconds, and felt that he could still go deeper.

Competition performance

“Overall, the dive felt great. I felt tired at the end of the dive, of course, but I was not so tired in my legs, which was excellent. I’m sure I can go deeper with them with more training,” said Alexey about his competition dive. While the dive time of 3 minutes and 57 seconds was longer than normal for Alexey, he specifically controlled his speed in order to have a more relaxing dive. He was already very accustomed to using soft carbon fins (he favors the CB2 Carbon), so the softness and flexibility of the fins did not offer him any surprises. Even with a 1.5mm Performance - Hooded wetsuit, no lead weights, and with lung packing, he maintained an ideal speed of 1m/s (3ft/s) for the first 30m (98ft) of the dive before his freefall without excessive effort.

Dean’s Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas

On July 23, 2021, on the final day of Vertical Blue 2021, Alexey announced a world record attempt CWTB dive to 120m (394ft). During the previous days of competition, he and Arnaud Jerald of France traded CWTB world record dives back and forth, and Alexey anticipated Arnaud would make another attempt on the last day of competition. When he did not, Alexey stunned the viewers of the Vertical Blue livestream by diving with white CORE Silicone Bifins instead. Viewers were kept at the edge of their seats with their eyes glued on his progress until he turned at an unbelievable 102m (335ft) of depth and returned to the surface with perfect surface protocol. His successful dive made the new fins an exciting topic of conversation amongst the freediving world.

CORE Silicone Bifins overall performance

The CORE Silicone Bifins are designed specifically to develop effective finning technique. Kicking with bent knees in these bifins is not an option; they were created to fine-tune the straight-legged technique that more and more athletes are implementing in their approach to bifins. They also make the perfect travel companion, as they are easily packable and virtually indestructible. Alexey wanted to know how the CORE Silicone Bifins would do at deeper depths, since he already found them very beneficial for pool training.

“There was not a moment where I felt that there was not enough power in them, or that they were tiring my legs too much,” said Alexey. “It was a perfect balance of propulsion and energy spent. This was a real-life test and I’m happy with how I felt. They are really reliable and provide controllable speed with a low amount of effort. I realized they can be of great support from any depth, even really deep dives.”

The most versatile bifins on the market

While the CORE Silicone Bifins are not as long as traditional bifins and are softer than any carbon fins on the market, Alexey’s performances in the AIDA Freediving World Cup and 2021 Vertical Blue proved that these bifins have much to offer in terms of potential and efficiency, both for pool and depth. They are an exceptional training tool that help refine the more modern straight-legged finning technique and are a must-have item in a freediver’s travel bag, whether they are used for training, instructor work, or recreational diving.

The exclusive CORE Silicone Bifins pre-sale for Molchanovs Movement members has finished! They are officially be launched and you can check them out here!