Snorkeling Fun: A Mask, Snorkel and Fins Buying Guide

Starting down the road towards becoming a professional or a recreational diver can be a truly exciting thing. Newcomers are faced with tons of information, equipment needs and the thrill of gearing up for the first time. Despite all of this, every aspiring diver should look into purchasing at least a set of fins, a mask or a snorkel. These three items are the holy trinity of diving and are known as a snorkeling set. They’re pretty basic tools, that can help you get started, and can make or break your first diving experience.

For this reason, picking the right snorkeling sets is of utmost importance. But where does an inexperienced person start to look? Well, if you’re reading this article, your search has already begun, and you’re on the right path! The most important thing to know, before buying snorkeling sets, is that there should be no compromise made on comfort. Being comfortable with your equipment and ensuring it fits just right are the two key things to look for. Let’s discuss how you should go about when picking out the right snorkeling set.

Snorkeling Mask

The scuba mask market is flooded with different types of scuba masks, all of which differ in shape, design, colour, style and even the materials they’re manufactured from. With that being said, the price tag can change with each and every difference. As aforementioned, comfort is key. A diver must be comfortable with his new mask, making fit the most crucial feature of the mask. If the diver spends half an hour doing nothing other than adjusting the mask on his face, then that dive is completely wasted. The first course of action to take when buying a mask is to ignore the price tag and start trying them out. Put the strap away, and place the mask on your face. Slowly inhale through the nose and see whether the mask stays on your face or falls off.

Snorkel

Snorkels have been used for centuries, in one form or another. They’re remained close to their original design throughout all that time, because if something isn’t broken, there’s no need to fix it. The most basic design is a simple tube snorkel, which doesn’t have any extra features like whistles or bells. There are more advanced types of snorkels, known as semi-dry snorkels, which fend off the water on the surface, but will still get flooded if you submerge. There are also dry snorkels, which have floating valves which close down when you submerge, preventing the snorkel from flooding. And the most advanced models – the roll-up snorkels have taken the scuba equipment industry by a storm in these past several years. They can easily fit in a pocket, and have a purge valve near the mouthpiece, so that if the snorkel gets flooded, you can blow the water out with minimum effort.

Fins

Even though they seem pretty simple, scuba diving fins can be quite complicated, to say the least. There are countless of colours, designs and styles to choose from, and despite all the unique types, there are still some basic factors that can help you make a good decision. First and foremost, there are two types of fins – open-heeled and full foot fins. The full foot fins are typically used by snorkelers, as they’re relatively easy to take off and put on, and are less expensive. Open-heeled fins, on the other hand, require you to use booties so that you can walk over rocky terrain and maintain fraction when you aren’t wearing the fins.