Suggestions on FINS, MASK, SNORKEL? All dive shops are telling me something different

[frankrom]

Hi Guys,

I am having some serious issues getting information from dive shops in the Toronto area. I am looking at buying my own wet suit, fins, snorkel, mask and every dive shop keeps telling me something different.

Funny... I called one dive shop about a wet suit and it was $179 for an Akona and then I called another and he was selling a BARE for $130, and he says "well you get what you pay for!" I am like the AKONA one was more expensive.

Anyhow I cannot be more confused!

I am posting in this section for assistance with the FINS MASK and SNORKEL... I guess the wet suit question belongs in another forum. Can anyone please give me some feedback on how to determine what is good and long last? (yes i know it is kind of a general question and probably can't 'TRULY' be answered) Any feedback would help.

Price is one of my least concerns... I want to make sure I get a mask that doesn't FOG up, good vision, good fins, snorkel and wet suit.

** also another question, is this something I can buy online if i find a cheaper price for what I am looking for? Or should these really be tried on at a dive shop to ensure a proper fit?

Thanks!

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Hi Guys,

....

Price is one of my least concerns... I want to make sure I get a mask that doesn't FOG up, good vision, good fins, snorkel and wet suit.

** also another question, is this something I can buy online if i find a cheaper price for what I am looking for? Or should these really be tried on at a dive shop to ensure a proper fit?

Thanks!

Fogging masks have very close to nothing to do with make/model/price; pretty much every dive mask offered for sale today is being used successfully. There are some people that may never make a dive that does not include some fogging, but that fogging is not because of mask make/model/price (~99.9% of the time). Most Shops/Instructors in Hawaii have a milk crate, or milk crates, full of less than $20 dollar "generic" masks that only the foggiest of divers could fog up.

For a number of reasons, one "holy grail of diving" is the mask that works. I have had numerous visiting diver beg to buy the inexpensive rental they just used.

With all your questions the only real test of how it works for you diving is to use it diving. A swimming pool is better than nothing, but some aspects of what works best for you will only be figured out by diving; the more diving you do the more you will figure it out.

Are you diving locally? You are talking wet suits under $200 in September, so you sound like you might not be diving locally.

If you are not diving locally why not rent for a while, where ever you dive? The divers diving in the waters you dive in have typically got a good idea what works for divers in those waters. The shops you rent through should have demo's for rent of fins they have for sale. Rent some splits, rent some paddles, rent some short ones, some long ones, some heavy ones, some light ones, maybe even full foot's of all of the above as well; then you might be close to the best answer for you.

 

[Thalassamania]

Hi Guys,

I am having some serious issues getting information from dive shops in the Toronto area. I am looking at buying my own wet suit, fins, snorkel, mask and every dive shop keeps telling me something different.

Funny... I called one dive shop about a wet suit and it was $179 for an Akona and then I called another and he was selling a BARE for $130, and he says "well you get what you pay for!" I am like the AKONA one was more expensive.

Anyhow I cannot be more confused!

I am posting in this section for assistance with the FINS MASK and SNORKEL... I guess the wet suit question belongs in another forum. Can anyone please give me some feedback on how to determine what is good and long last? (yes i know it is kind of a general question and probably can't 'TRULY' be answered) Any feedback would help.

Price is one of my least concerns... I want to make sure I get a mask that doesn't FOG up, good vision, good fins, snorkel and wet suit.

** also another question, is this something I can buy online if i find a cheaper price for what I am looking for? Or should these really be tried on at a dive shop to ensure a proper fit?

Thanks!

You have two things working against you, the profit motive where the shop wants to sell what it has in stock and thus denigrates what the "other guys" sell and the honest stupidity of many shop employees who, while still working on their first set of mask, fins and snorkel and their first wet suit, confuse what, in their inexperience, they adjudge as working best with what does actually work best, but that they've never used (or in some cases even heard of).

What you have going for you is ScubaBoard. When you decide, a first cut, of what you think you want ... post it, brand, size, color, etc., and let the membership yap about it.

 

[Brandon]

What Thalassamania and halemanō said, plus a few general pointers:

Fins - Most important is fit- Make sure you try these on with the booties you're going to wear most often - slop in the fin pocket will translate to blisters and chafe marks after a couple days of diving. As for design, fins come in basically three different categories (blade, split, animorphic), and the various models in those categories have differing degrees of stiffness. If you can try several different styles in the pool, that would be best. A simple, blade-style fin of moderate stiffness is a good starting point, but you won't know what's right for you until you compare several.

Snorkel - Buy a cheap j-tube snorkel (<$15) and be done with it. They sell snorkels with all sorts of whiz-bang gizmos like purge valves and various stay dry devices, but these features can be rendered unnecessary with good technique.

Mask - Look for a mask with low volume and no purge valve. Of those, find one that fits properly (seals to your face and doesn't smoosh your nose). You really want to get this one right; an ill-fitting, leaky, uncomfortable mask isn't doing anyone any favors and just gives the new or inexperienced diver one more thing to stress about.

The dive industry has saturated the market with gear at literally every imaginable price point, with virtually every feature combination imaginable. And we get more options every year. Identify the features you need/want first, then shop for whatever item meets those needs at a price you can be comfortable with.

Keep in mind that every dollar you save on gear is a dollar you can spend on diving.

-B

 

[RK05]

Hi frankrom,
So,there is lots of good info in the previous posts but i thought I would give you a couple specific items to try out based on my experience.

Masks- I used to dive a nice (expensive) mask that leaked constantly I used that stupid thing for years because I had spent a decent amount of money on it. A poorly fitting mask will ruin any dive so like above, choose fit over anything else. I would suggest trying the Seadive line of masks. They have very comfortable soft skirts that seem to form to almost any face type and I generally wear mine with at least 2-3 days stubble if not a full mustache with no leaks! I also recently tried on( did not dive it) a Hollis M-1 mask, has a very low volume and a nice soft skirt which seemed to fit much like the Seadive.

Snorkel-cheapest one in the store. Just make sure if it has one of those hard plastic clip connectors you grab one of the rubber snorkel keepers to replace it with. If it doesn't fall off immediately it will break sooner or later. The rubber snorkel keepers work better.

Fins- this is a touchy subject but again as stated above fit is really important. Second is how much work you want to put into kicking. I saw in your profile you are mostly a vacation diver (that's how I started out, I miss the warm water...) so I would suggest a medium to soft fin instead of a stiff one as they are easier on the legs/knees. Regular fins are fine but I ended up buying a pair of Force Fins for travel, and now use them most of the time due to a bad knee. They are shorter then a regular fin, very soft and require a different kicking motion from blade fins( this is why they are easier on the knees) but definitely work just as well as blades. They are also super easy to put on and take off in the water if needed and don't beat up your toes due to their design. They will actually stay on your foot during finning even if the bungee heel strap breaks ( yes, I tried it and they actually stay on!) oh and they are a heck of slot easier to walk around in than any other fins I have ever had on!

Hopefully this gives you a couple of items to check out, it only really matters what you like since nobody else needs to dive your gear!

Just my $.02.

Happy hunting
RK05

 

[Shftrdog]

As far as the mask and fogging all you need to do is clean the mask with a soft scrub like 500psi mask scrub. For the most part mask fins and snorkels are very close to the same. I really like TUSA mask for the fit and soft silicone, you also get a 3 year warrenty with TUSA soft goods which is the best in the industry. As for fins split fins are the best becasue you have to work less to use them. Again I like the TUSA SF-16's, I feel you get a great fin without the huge price like the expensive Atomic ones. Snorkels I would go with the Oceanic Ultra Dry snorkel so you don't get any water in it. As for the wet suit the reason the prices are differnt is because of the strech. Not all wet suits are the same, and don't let anyone tell you that the 100% strech are the best. Yes they will be the most confortable, but the problem with the 100% strech is that it doesnt last very long. I recomend the BARE Velocity, you get good comfort with durablility. The BARE Sport will last the longest and the BARE Elastic is the 100% strech and they only last a few diving seasons. That is the same as all 100% strech suits, the Henderson line is the worst with that.

 

[xeon_intel]

Fins=Force Fins
Mask=Atomic aquatics
Snorkle=Any brand will do

Visit your LDS and have them set up a trial for u,..buy what fit u best,..both budget and comfort-wise

 

[frankrom]

Dang... its amazing to see how everyone has their own personal preference. Thanks for the awesome pointers guys... I am going to make some notes off this and bring it to my LDS and let them sell me crap and see how it compares with my notes.

Again this place rocks!

Cheers (new regular user of ScubaBoard!)