Dry or semi-dry snorkel? need help

[BrendanL92589]

I am brand new to diving and have quite a few equipment questions.
1.) Mask with or with out purge?
2.) I know I want a snorkel with a purge but do I want a dry or semi-dry snorkel?
3.) Is it alright to buy equipment online? (its just sooooo much cheeper)
4.) I live in Michigan so will i want a fin with a boot to keep me warm or will i be fine without a boot fin?

Any and all advice is greatly apreciated. -Thanks so much

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

My preferences.

1. Mask without purge
2. When not on training dives I typically leave the snorkel in the dive bag.
3. And here you get into the great online debate. Here are my fealings on that.

I would only purchase items online that do not need fitting that you are sure you would like. I would not purchase a mask, fins, BCD, or wetsuit online. I would buy regs, dive knifes, and other such items that don't require fit. I would also make sure to purchase from an authorized dealer, if you buy from an unauthorized dealer you will lose your warranty. Just make sure you have a dive shop that can service your gear and always give your LDS the chance to get close to online prices. I really do believe the service you get from a LDS makes up for some of the price difference. If you want to purchase online I and many here will reccomend ScubaToys. They are an authorized dealer, have great service, keep things in stock, and is pretty much everything you wish your LDS could be. I'm lucky, Scubatoys is about 10-15 minutes away from me so it is my LDS.

4. I don't believe you are allowed to go through OW certification in a full foot fin.

I am judging by these questions that you have not gone through your OW certification. I think you need to find the appropriate subforum so you can ask people who live in your area about instructors. Getting a good instructor is the most important thing you need to concentrate on at this point. Once you find that instructor buy your mask, fins, booties, and snorkel from whatever shop you are going to train through, even if it costs a little more than online. Proper fit means everything here.

 

[Crazy Fingers]

I am brand new to diving and have quite a few equipment questions.
1.) Mask with or with out purge?
2.) I know I want a snorkel with a purge but do I want a dry or semi-dry snorkel?
3.) Is it alright to buy equipment online? (its just sooooo much cheeper)
4.) I live in Michigan so will i want a fin with a boot to keep me warm or will i be fine without a boot fin?

Any and all advice is greatly apreciated. -Thanks so much

1) Most people don't seem to like them, but I think it's useful. Especially if you've got a moustache and get little annoying leaks all the time.

2) I haven't found a need to even have a snorkel yet. I just find it obnoxious and in the way.

3) As others said, just make sure it's an authorized dealer so you get your warranties.

4) I'd say go with an open heeled fin and booties. The booties are great for walking on shells and stuff. But you can get by with a full foot fin. A friend of mine got certified wearing dollar store-ish snorkeling fins. They work.

 

[scubatoys]

Skip the purge mask if diving. Normally makes it harder to get to your nose for equalizing. As far as the dry snorkel thing... We've got a brigade snorkel that comes with both a dry and semi-dry cap - so you can swap it if you don't like it. And that snorkel, (we call it a duo-dry) is only 19.95 and comes in a bunch of colors.

Now I don't use a snorkel much when diving, but they are required for classes, and I use it when snorkeling, so if you need one, that might be an option.

 

[kidspot]

While snorkeling I do not like the dry style snorkels. I do like a splash guard and purge though. The dry snorkels I find will close on me when a wave splashes them and then I can't get any air at all. For diving I like a folding snorkel so I can keep it in my pocket. It just gets in the way while diving though for me as I dive with a longhose.

For fins, I prefer open heal fins and a good pair of boots - even in warm climates it makes walking down to the water in full gear a LOT easier.

Masks - What Larry said

Aloha, Tim

 

[Kaiviti]

Hey Mate,

1. I prefer without purge. I find it begans to leak. And clearing a mask isn't hard once you get some practice.

2. Depends on what you want your snorkel for. If your someone who will only dive, then its best to by a simple snorkel. Or even a fold away one. However if you are like me, and do a lot of snorkelling (uni student so can't afford to go diving all the time), buy a more expensive snorkel. It makes a difference, trust me.

The totally dry ones have their problems. The best i have come across so far is the Oceanic Ultradry/Aeris Barracuda. They are exactly the same thing. However i sometimes find that the valve on the top doesn't always open when you come up. I use an Aqualung Impulse 3. I absolutely love it. Its semi dry but has a great purge on the bottom and the valve on top is great. I can purge it with hardly any breath.

3. I can't see where you are located but im in Australia so buying online can be a bit of a bother. If i need to use the warranty, i have to send the equipment back to the company. This can be expensive. However if your in the US or UK i would go for it. I also agree with Hockeyguy, don't my equipment that you need to try on for size. The odds are too high of getting the wrong equipment.

4. I use boots and open heel fins. Purely because i walk a bit to get to snorkelling and diving sites and its great to have boots. However this is a personal thing. Your best bet is to get some open heel and full foot fins and try them for yourself. Then you will be able to best decide. This is the same for all of your equipment. What i love, you might hate.

 

[CompuDude]

1) Mask without purge. Totally unnecessary point of failure. Really easy to clear anyway, and one of the first things they will teach you once you get in the pool. NOT safe to buy online... the fit must be 100% perfect, and that can only happen if you stick it on your face in a dive shop. I've had to try on 10 masks before finding a really good fit before.

2) Semi-dry snorkel. Cheaper, more reliable, and frankly, I really don't want to pull down a tube of air tugging at my mask. Do make sure you have a purge valve at the bottom of the snorkel, just no valves at the top. I've been very happy with the Tusa HyperDry models (they're semi-dry, despite the name), but there's not a huge amount of differences among snorkels. Totally safe to buy online. It's just a tube that you bite.

3) Buy online from one of the major places, and you should be fine. We also highly recommend ScubaToys.com as your online source. Great shop, nearly everyone here can recommend. Some things are best to buy in person, however, and it's bad form to use your local shop as a try-on booth and then spend your money elsewhere.

4) Full-foot fins are only for use in the warmest tropical waters. If you're doing any diving stateside, you'll need open heel fins and good booties.

 

[rongoodman]

Now that I'm carrying a fold-up snorkel in my pocket instead of wearing it, as required in OW class, I find I have a lot less mask leakage. I tried a mask with a purge valve, but didn't think it was worth it. I went from mask clearing being a major issue in class #2 to it being a non-issue by the OW check-out dives.