new kit

[snorkel7]

you guys probably get this on here all the time but.....

im due to go to the maldives holiday and my wife and i want to do some snorkeling.

we have never done the whole diving thing and are looking forward to it, we need some gear to get us started bearing in mind we are totaly new to it i have a few questions

1, what is good for beginers for around £45 (we dont want the best as we wont get a chance to go a lot probably only once or twice a year).

2, are there any differences for men and women or is it all unisex??

3, do we need fins or not??

also where could i purchase everything from as i dont have any LDS anywhere near me.

any help would be greatly appreciated..

thanks

[Steph]

1. I think you might struggle with spending only 45 pounds.
2. are you planning to just snorkel or dive? the only things not being unisex are Suits and stabjackets. Your ABC kit i.e. mask Snorkle and fins will probably be unisesx. As long as it fits you and is comfortably and does teh job who cares...
3. depends on your ambitions, once you get used to fins they make you move with less effort, more manuverable and faster. I certainly would not want to go snorkeling without them.

4. find a Local dive store. Find one that stocks 20 differnt masks ore more!
I'm stingy when it comes to spending on Kit but with Mask, (wet or dry Suit), fins, snorkle, (and stab jacket) fit is crucial and you really really want to try before you buy! You payed a lot of money to go to the maldives in order to go snorkeling there dont try saving at the wrong end if your kit does not fit you won't enjoy snorkeleing with it and you will have spend a lot of money and gone a long way to find out.

My mask was expensive around 45quid and that was over 10-15 years ago. But yes it lasted at least 10 years and unless isomeone drives a van over my dive bag as happened with my last mask i expect it to last at least another 10-15 years or regular use...

[PeteM]

1. I think you might struggle with spending only 45 pounds.
2. are you planning to just snorkel or dive? the only things not being unisex are Suits and stabjackets. Your ABC kit i.e. mask Snorkle and fins will probably be unisesx. As long as it fits you and is comfortably and does teh job who cares...
3. depends on your ambitions, once you get used to fins they make you move with less effort, more manuverable and faster. I certainly would not want to go snorkeling without them.

4. find a Local dive store. Find one that stocks 20 differnt masks ore more!
I'm stingy when it comes to spending on Kit but with Mask, (wet or dry Suit), fins, snorkle, (and stab jacket) fit is crucial and you really really want to try before you buy! You payed a lot of money to go to the maldives in order to go snorkeling there dont try saving at the wrong end if your kit does not fit you won't enjoy snorkeleing with it and you will have spend a lot of money and gone a long way to find out.

My mask was expensive around 45quid and that was over 10-15 years ago. But yes it lasted at least 10 years and unless isomeone drives a van over my dive bag as happened with my last mask i expect it to last at least another 10-15 years or regular use...

Agreed - Tell us where you are based and someone will point you in the direction of your LDS. For a mask it is vital that you try before you buy. Everyones face is a different shape so you need to get one that fits you, which means trying it on.

There are LDS's all over the place, but they are often hidden and difficult to find.

[IainC]

There will be place in the Maldives that will rent or sell you gear, but of course it will be well used and over a couple of weeks you might spend
enough to buy in advance.

fins are essential for snorkelling - you can move with less effort and/or more speed. Otherwise you might as well just swim.

You can get cheap packs (sometimes even in the supermarket), but I doubt anyone here would recommend them - you need kit that fits.

Snorkel - simple one should cost £5, self draining one a bit more, but easier to 'clear' when it gets full of water.

Mask - maybe £35, less from some places. Make sure it is a tempered glass or high-impact plastic lens, if you need it you can even get prescription ones. The imprtant thing is that it fits your face and doesn't leak (put it on your face and breathe in through your nose, it should suck to your face and stay there until you breathe out - the strap is just to keep it there and should nto be too tight -this gives you a nasty suash mark o nyour face and makes it leak). If you have on e that fits great, then you can try the various ones that have better angle of vision, smaller volume etc. Don't be sucked in by the hype though - it must fit the shape of your face.

Fins - either pocket (full-foot) fins which slip on your bare feet or half-foot (strap) fins that need to fit over a wet suit boot. the first type tend to be cheaper. Again. fit is important - too tight will give you cramp, too slack will just wobble and not help you fin and/or give you blisters. You will be astonished how much money you can pay for fins, but you can pick a good pair up for £25-30. Again - don't believe the hype, tell 'em you want cheap
and serviceable.

[IainC]

Numerous online dive shops to buy stuff from - but of course difficult to try before you buy :)

List here, many have online shops.

Nearly everywhere has a dive shop.

http://www.ukrecscuba.org.uk/links/links03.html#Dive_shops_dive_centers_and_dive_scho ols

[IainC]

Snorkel, Fins and Masks are unisex, it is just a matter of size and fit (some masks fit smaller faces etc.) Fins don't even have left and right, just sizes.

In the maldives, snorkelling, you might want a rash-vest, a thin top that helps protect you from the sun while you are in the water. Or you can use an old t-shirt.

It is worth mentioning that while you can have plenty of fun just splashing around on the surface snorkelling, there is technique involved in

a) finning properly,
b) clearing your snorkel or mask if they get full of water and
c) duck-diving under the water to get closer to the fishes.

A BSAC club (or a dive shop) could teach you these basics and save you floundering if you get a mouthful of water and get mroe out of your snorkelling.

Also if you are going to duck-dive and get under the water, you should do this one person at a time with the other person looking out for you from the surface.

Iain C

[Roz]

Hello there

I know that we've discussed this in the past. Do a search on "kit", "equipment" or "snorkelling kit" etc, and see what comes up. In the meantime, I hope the following is helpful to you.

Whatever you want to do in the water, basic equipment = Mask, Fins and Snorkel.

Whether you are diving or snorkelling, one way to get into the water is to walk down to the waters edge. You won't always 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 some of the areas you want to snorkel or dive 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, and I'd recommend that you go with a zipped pair, rather than a pull on pair.

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, probably the very best one I have dived recently is by Atomic. But you are looking at 'a Bentley mask' here, I think they retail about £90? I am real kit monster though. An average mask should cost you about £40. Try a number on and see what is comfortable for you. That's important. Not what you look like. We all look a little strange in our masks.

Why do diving masks cost more than those from supermarkets? Generally the silicone used is of a higher quality, so is far softer on your face. Supermarket masks can feel like putting a pavement slab on your face, because the silicone is so hard and unforgiving.

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. Expect to pay about £35 - £45 for a mask. If you look after it, a mask will last you years.

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. A good one to consider is the SeaCure. 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? Hydrotech 01455 274 841 are doing an economical snorkel at present. (I've just bought myself a new one).

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 that you are comfortable in the equipment. You cannot get any of these experiences online. 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.

I'd buy something like a small string bag to carry this all in. From memory I think Beaver do a snorkelling bag. I think that Ralf Tech does a pretty sexy one as well.

As IainC said, if you can, its worth joining a club, either a snorkelling or diving club. That way you will get the most from your equipment, so that when you are out snorkelling the Maldives, you are relaxed and enjoy what the underwater world has to offer.

Finally I'd pack some scrappy tshirts to snorkel in. As IainC said, it's worth snorkelling in pairs, and one v. good reason for it is "burn watch". It is v. easy to get burnt when you are snorkelling as the water cools your back and the back of your legs whilst you are frying. An old tshirt will give your back some protection, but please watch the backs of each others legs.

I hope that this is helpful. Good luck with it all.

[Woz]

If you can make it to a local club who can give you a little bit of training in how to snorkel properly (finning technique, snorkel clearing and surface dives) then you'll find that instead of bobbling along the surface you'll be diving down with the fishes. I went snorkelling years ago in Florida and everyone else on the boat just wandered around on the surface not seeing much. But a decent surface dive and you can get right down underneath the "ledge" of coral and that's where all the fish are. I have very vivid memories of going inside a brain coral that had a slice of it removed just like a slice of pie. It was brilliant.

Apart from that I'd go with the suggestions above. Getting a good mask fit is probably the most important, the draining snorkel is handy when you're snorkelling alot and you can spend pounds on fins but a pair of basic slipper fins from a reputable brand will be fine if you are not walking in off rocks but if you are walking anywhere, getting wet boots is essential. Big old Quattros are great if you have strong legs but they are long and if you're not used to big fins can be a bit daunting. There are lots of good medium sized ones around that arent as cumbersome for a beginner.

Anyway. Give us a hint as to where you live and we'll try and point you in the right direction. What you'll probably end up doing is buying a set now, then when you start diving re-buying the whole lot again anyway :)

[snorkel7]

thanks guys thats really helpful,

i will definatly up my price range i dont want the experience to be ruined after all like you say i paid all that money to go.

with regards to finding my LDS i live in Farnborough in Hampshire.


thanks again for all your help

[Roz]

Try;

Divecrew
Farnborough Rec Centre
Westmead
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 7LD

T: 01344 454245

http://www.divecrew.co.uk/

[DRW]

I'm a lifelong snorkeller. The problem with snorkelling is that the sport has an image problem. It is sometimes treated as little more than a threshold to scuba or free diving. So if you ask for recommendations on snorkelling kit, scuba divers will salivate over rock boots and open-heel fins with spring straps, while free divers will wax lyrical about the utter indispensability of bulky full-foot fins with stiff foot pockets and elongated carbon-fibre blades. The inference is that you'll want to graduate to something more "challenging" which will somehow be more "fulfilling".

Well, not all weekend ramblers crave to become rock climbers, although I'm sure that owners of outdoor equipment stores wish that they did. Snorkelling, like recreational walking, only requires a minimum of gear. Read Joel Simon's sobering account at

http://snorkelingforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6

to find out how little equipment some "snorkellers" actually need!

Be aware that many dive stores are equipped for scuba diving rather than snorkelling and may try to influence you in the former direction. Whatever you eventually purchase in the way of fins, mask and snorkel must suit you and the location where you are snorkelling, not the sales assistant, whose only interest may be in selling you high-end gear - the rock climbing stuff rather than the rambling essentials.

For what it's worth, I prefer to do my snorkelling using the same kind of gear that those Southern Californian pioneers used in the 1950s and early 1960s. A pair of rubber full-foot fins, a simple oval mask and a plain J-shaped snorkel. Every item fits comfortably and works effectively. The total cost would be well below the £45 price limit you have set yourself. This is the gear I use when I go snorkelling most mornings from a sandy beach on the Northumberland coast. Having said that, I cannot recommend the same ensemble to you because you and your priorities are different.