Snorkelling Kit

[Geordie_cy]

As a ham fisted novice could some people reccomend some stuff.

Mask

I'm quite short sighted (-10) so could people recommend a mask which can have prescriptions placed into it? Can you purchase the mask, use it for a while, then get the prescription lenses put in - i don't want to spend too much at the start? Can they be used for SCUBA diving if the urge overtakes me?

Snorkels

There seem to be a few types on the market - hyperdry, purge, silicone. What is a good one to look out for? What are the pros and cons?

Fins - any recommendations? Can anyone explain the split fin concept?

Thanks

Simon

[JamesW]

Hi Tesco's use to do a Oceanic kit for about £9.95
Thanks

[Adrian Kelland]

Hi Tesco's use to do a Oceanic kit for about £9.95
Thanks IIRC mask was once piece and rather small. Useful kit for some trydives, but the small fins and mask make them unsuitable for a large proportion of users IMO. The logo was very like Oceanic, but I don't think it was the real thing :)

£2 a set at the end of season :D

Adrian

[Woz]

As a ham fisted novice could some people reccomend some stuff.

Mask

I'm quite short sighted (-10) so could people recommend a mask which can have prescriptions placed into it? Can you purchase the mask, use it for a while, then get the prescription lenses put in - i don't want to spend too much at the start? Can they be used for SCUBA diving if the urge overtakes me?

Snorkels

There seem to be a few types on the market - hyperdry, purge, silicone. What is a good one to look out for? What are the pros and cons?

Fins - any recommendations? Can anyone explain the split fin concept?

Thanks

SimonBlimey. That't not short sighted- that's a blanket over your head.

To start off with, I used a mask with an old pair of glasses with the arms removed stuffed into it. Worked a treat. As for a prescription mask, then most of the main manufacturers do them- find a mask that fits first then look at lenses. You should be looking at about £40 retail for a decent mask- don't go for a cheapo Decathlon Play Mask- they are rubbish. I use a Mares X-Vision but can also recommend the Beaver Atomic or just go along to your LDS and try loads on. Don't be wowed by gimmicks- if you can stick it to your face with a hood on then buy it.

Snorkel- what's one of those? No- seriously- if you are doing alot of proper snorkelling then one with a purge at the bottom, a wave guard and a comfy reg-style mouthpiece is nice. Zillions on the market. Get a cheapish one then you won't cry when you inevitably lose it.

Fins- the longer the better for snorkelling- it's a different thing from scuba. Splits are ok for finning forward but rubbish to manoevre and stuff. Personally I'd go for some Mares Plana Avanti X3 or Quattros used with wetsuit boots. A good allround fin that can be used for scuba and is light enough to take on holiday. Decathlon knock them out for about £35 for some X3 or £55 for Quattros. Don't go for slipper type fins as when you walk over rocks to get to the sea, your feet really hurt. Also remember if you are buying long-term that drysuit boots are bigger than wetsuit.

[Bob Healey]

I go 100% with the info WOZ has just given you. I use a Cressi Big Eye with lenses ideal for both Snorkelling and Scuba. Which every you do you need a good mask or you lose the enjoyment.

I started with the old pair of glasses without arms as well but much more comfortable with proper lenses.

Even though we teach with the faithful old J tube snorkel most go onto the valved type, again much easier to clear and again adds to the enjoyment.

Fins, most of ours use the Mares, don't go over long though and end up with freediving fins, otherwise very tricky in shallow water around the rocks.

Remember it's an hobby, make sure your kit is as comfortable as possible, it is then much, much more enjoyable.

Happy Snorkelling

Bob

[Keith Lawrence]

Snorkels : There seem to be a few types on the market - hyperdry, purge, silicone. What is a good one to look out for? What are the pros and cons?It's a tube :D As Bob has said, in practice most people use one with a purge valve. I'll have to look up the make of the one I use, I paid about £18 for it IIRC and it was worth it! It's nice and contoured, it's 'handed' to actually be used on the left, it has a proper scuba Comfybite (?) mouthpiece on it and a couple of ruddy great purge valves at the bottom in a resevoir (sp?) to collect a bit of water before you have to clear it.

HTH

Keith L

[Geordie_cy]

Daft question - I have a mask which I bought in Turkey when sailing - a Scuba Pro Trinidad - is this suitable to have lenses fitted, and if so - is it suitable for Scuba diving if I decide to take that up?

[Woz]

I'm not sure the Trinidad can be fitted with lenses as it's a single piece mask and does not have seperate lenses. It looks ok for diving, though.

[Cornholio]

Mask
I'm quite short sighted (-10) so could people recommend a mask which can have prescriptions placed into it?

Snorkels
There seem to be a few types on the market - hyperdry, purge, silicone. What is a good one to look out for? What are the pros and cons?

Fins - any recommendations? Can anyone explain the split fin concept?

For what it's worth, here are my views:

Mask
Can you wear contacts? I saw my optician with a view to getting a prescription mask, but he didn't think it would be a very good idea. It is now possible to get disposable lenses in all sorts of prescriptions, I have a high level of astigmatism and they never used to have the throwaway ones for me, but they do now :)

I always use a low volume mask for snorkelling as they are easier to equalise. My personal fave is the Cressi Superocchio, but I also have a Mares Target which is nice too; the Cressi just fits me better.

Snorkel
I'd always chose a nice simple one, a j-shaped tube without any valves. Keep it simple sausage! Of course, if you get water in then you will need to displace it, but it soon becomes second nature.

Fins
I have the Mares Planar Avanti Quattro Power fins. Don't know if they still make them, but they're great for snorkelling. They're longer than your average SCUBA fins but not as OTT as 'real' freediving fins. They are the slipper kind, but these are generally considered a better bet for snorkelling. As before, simpler and also less drag-inducing. As mentioned elsewhere, you can end up with sore feet from the walk over the rocks, so I pop on an old pair of shoes for the walk to the dive site and then leave them on a high rock.

Split fins and snorkelling don't seem to mix very well - they require fast flutter kicks whereas long, slow kicks are more suited to snorkelling.

[Daniology]

My 2p.

Masks: I prefer 2 pieces of glass mostly cos I've seen the glass in some of the 1 piece ones break if you drop stuff on them. Then you end up puncturing stuff with the little pieces of glass. I'm not to keen on the self drain the valves get clogged with sand and then you have to clean them really carefully or they leak.

You can get glass lenses put in the 1 piece glass ones some D&A opticians will do it for you. I'm not overly fond of that either I knew someone who got kicked in the face an the glass cut his forehead. There is the option of having the glass glues to the outside I've seen that done to. Personally I wear contacts saves on fuss.

Snorkels: I'm with the other guy the simpler the better. Also the valve ones cost to much in my opinion.

Fins: I like slipper fins I do wear them with socks though as they tend to rub. I agree with everyone else split fins aren't very good for snorkelling. I'm not sure I'd agree with the longer the better though. It depends what you want. I like the full foot quartos (though the cost a fortune) they're long and they give you quite a bit of speed. For something that’s easily manoeuvrable though I'd get a shorter fatter blade something like the Cresi frogs or the technisub stratos.

[Roz]

Hello there

I agree with Woz on this one. To go snorkelling you normally have to walk down to the waters edge. It's probably going to be rare that you will be jumping in straight from a boat, so I would suggest that you get yourself a decent pair of diving boots. These are hard soled boots, so ideal for trogging around resort in, and invaluable when shore diving. You'll soon find that the areas you want to snorkel from are rocky shores, or covered in stones and pebbles or hot sand. Boots are the way to go. I think they cost about £15 ish.

If you're wearing boots, you'll want boat or shoe fins. ie, something with a foot pocket and a fin strap. There is a plethora of fins on the market. I've got four pairs and none of them are slipper fins. Scubapro, Force Fins, Dacor, Wenoka (I'm a girl, we like buying shoes and fins). If you've got muscular legs, then Mares Plana Avanti or Quattros are both superb fins. If you've not such well developed legs these fins can sometimes give you cramp. Scubapro, Mares, Oceanic, Dacor to name but a few manufacturers all do good fins. Expect to pay about £40. Try on a fin (whilst wearing your boot) and see what it feels like. Wiggle your leg around. Does the foot pocket squeeze/rub the top of your foot? Does your foot slop about in the pocket. The best thing you can do is seek professional advice and go and visit your local friendly dive shop. They will help fit your boots and your fins.

As for a mask, I would tend to go for a two window mask. I do know that Mikes Cambridge www.easod.co.uk have an excellent facility for getting lenses fitted into your mask. So you can buy a mask and see what it is like. If you want prescription lenses fitted then get in touch with them and they can arrange this. 01954 230 555 It is professionally done.

Try on a number of masks and see what is comfortable for you. It's worth getting a neoprene cover for the strap, called a slap strap. This stops the latex/rubber strap from riding up when you are snorkelling. Also you can sew your telephone number onto the neoprene so that in the unlikely event you drop your mask, someone just might find it and ring you to return it. Top tip for prescription masks. Expect to pay about £35 - £45 for a mask. Getting prescription lenses fitted is extra. If you look after it, a mask will last you years. Check that the mask you buy can have lenses fitted to it, not all of them can. Aqualung I know do a mask that can take prescription lenses, can't remember the name of it, sorry, but the staff will help you.

As for a snorkel, worth getting one where you can replace the mouthpiece should you bite it through. This can happen. Just replace the mouthpiece. Keith mentioned having a comfibite. Custom Divers sell them. www.customdivers.com 01737 773 000. If you give them a ring, they will tell you where you local dive shop is. This mouthpiece can be moulded to the shape of your mouth, so reduces jaw fatigue.

Go for a snorkel with a draining valve, otherwise you end up with a little bit of water swooshing around in the u bend. Other than that they are much of a muchness really. About £15 I think?

Where would I buy this lot? Well I'd go to a dive centre. Yes you can get it for a few £ off on the internet, but you will get good, honest advice at the dive centre. You can feel it. You can try it on. The staff will make sure it fits you ok. And if you do want to learn to dive, then this is the place you'll be going to, to buy airfills etc. Why not start drinking their tea early on.

Finally I'd buy something like a small string bag to carry this all in. From memory I think Beaver do a snorkelling bag.

I hope this helps and happy snorkelling!

[Daniology]

On the topic of fins full foot verses boots you have to decide on the type of snorkelling you are going to do.

If you're planning on going every week for a swim in a pool at you're local branch and going out on day boats on holidays I do like full fins. I find them easier to manoeuvre in after a reasonable amount of chlorine and sun shine they mould nicely to you're feet and I forget I'm wearing them. They also have the added advantage that if you leave them in you're kit bag for a week they don't smell like something rubber died in them. They're easy to store and I've used mine for diver pool training quite a bit.

If on the other hand you're planning on snorkelling in this country (chilly sometimes) or anywhere that requires pain to the feet to get to the water you may want to consider boots. These are also really handy if you take up other diving or water sports and want to keep your feet toasty warm (they're a god send surfing in Cornwall in October but then I'm a useless surfer and prefer warmth to control). The draw backs here are that the boots and the fins are going to be more expensive than the full foot ones, don't leave you're boats in you're kit bag they go to smell and always remember to pack you're boots because trying to wear boot fins without boots will shred you're feet.

I have about 4 sets of fins. 2 boot ones and 2 full foot.

There you go more info than you could possibly need.

[Roz]

Terribly sorry, I owe you an apology. Had a blonde moment regarding mouthpieces. Custom Divers do SeaCure Mouthpieces, which are the bespoke mouldable ones. I think that Aqualung do the comfi bite mouthpieces. Used both. The Comfi bite does exactly what it says on the tin, it is lovely in the mouth, but I chomped through it in about a week. The SeaCure one lasted me about a year of serious hard diving.

[Daniology]

Terribly sorry, I owe you an apology. Had a blonde moment regarding mouthpieces. Custom Divers do SeaCure Mouthpieces, which are the bespoke mouldable ones. I think that Aqualung do the comfi bite mouthpieces. Used both. The Comfi bite does exactly what it says on the tin, it is lovely in the mouth, but I chomped through it in about a week. The SeaCure one lasted me about a year of serious hard diving.

I really like the mouldable ones. I used to have a mouldable mouthpiece snorkel it was fantastic but haven't seen them in ages. I shall look at the custom divers website :)