Fins and Mask for Newbie

[kanonfodr]

Try the fins if possible, while a Jetfin and Slipstream may seem similar in your hands they are vastly different in the water, the Slips being quite a lot stiffer.

Granted I didn't have my JetFins for long (freakin' thieves ) but the only difference I ever noticed between the two was the weight both in-water and out.

Peace,
Greg

 

[Guy Alcala]

Hi,

<snip>

I love my Atomic Frameless low volume mask and have both clear and black, but perfer the black because of glare on the clear one. My XL Jet fins have served me well.

Have fun shopping

Another happy user of the Atomic Frameless, although I have the clear and like the extra peripheral vision - their skirt seems to give higher visual quality than most, although it's still distorted. It can lead to occasional adrenaline rushes when a seal or sea-lion zooms into your peripheral vision, until your brain makes the I.D. To date I haven't noticed any problems with glare, but I don't dive with people whose lights could fry eggs and who continuously shine them in my eyes. I have been told by an instructor I know, that he finds a clear skirt lets in a painful amount of light in our usually turbid Monterey water, let alone the tropics. He attributes this to his blue eyes. I don't know if that's a factor in his light sensitivity (Lynne?), but my brown eyes don't have a problem.

Photographers (and spearfishermen, I've read) generally prefer a black skirt, as it makes focusing and framing easier. I had a black skirt Scubapro Frameless mask as a backup, but preferred the Atomic so almost never used it and can't make a useful comparison. Besides, the Atomic's field of view through the glass was much better to start with, so it's not a fair comparison. The Scubapro's glass has now separated from the skirt, so I'll probably replace it with a black Atomic and will be able to do a proper comparison.

Fins have already been covered at length. As to Color, I want to be in all red/or yellow to help the Cutter/SAR helo spot me if I'm ever adrift at sea, and I don't have or have run out of flares, dye, lights, have lost my mirror, and my radio and/or EPLRB's malfunctioned. Not that I believe in personal redundancy or anything.

Guy

 

[BluewaterSail]

Hi,

Since I got so much great advice, I wanted to report on how the shopping is going.

Mask: All black Mares X-VU. Its really comfortable and low volume.

Fins: I actually headed out to the stores to buy Hollis F1, after reading how comfortable they are. But it turned out that I found the Scubapro Jet more comfortable, so I got the Jets, along with spring straps.

They do say that basic black is the most elegant!

I was diving in Eilat on the Red Sea this weekend, and was really happy with both.

Next projects: BP/W and regulators.

Thanks for the advice!