Snorkeling Equipment which mask, snorkel and fins are for me?Snorkeling EquipmentDivers love the water. It doesn’t matter if we’re down 100 feet (30m) breathing compressed air or cruising lazily across the surface; we just love to get wet. Fortunately snorkeling equipment is a lot less expensive than scuba equipment and in many cases you can use the same mask, snorkel and fins that you use for scuba diving. The one thing that you don’t want to do is buy the “snorkeling” sets that you see at grocery stores and supermarkets. These sets are barely suitable for pool use much less use on the open ocean. So if you think you’re going to buy a $25 snorkeling set and be happy, think again. The total cost of your snorkeling equipment can vary greatly, but a good set of equipment will cost you between $175 and $400. Here’s what to look for in your next set of snorkel equipment. Snorkel Equipment - MasksWhere do I start? You may think that a mask is just a mask; but there are masks with purge valves, masks with clear skirts, masks with dark skirts, masks that correct for color loss and masks that have corrective lenses.What features should you pay for and what features are overkill for a snorkeler? High on my list of “overkill” for snorkelers are color corrective lenses. These lenses are designed to replace the colors that you lose as you go deeper in the water column. Obviously this feature is unnecessary for a snorkel since you’ll only lose a little red at shallow depths. Purge valves are also a luxury you can do without. If you’re unable to clear your mask you can always pop your head out of the water and dump it out. One feature that will make your snorkeling more enjoyable is a black mask skirt. Clear skirts will let a lot of light from the side of your mask and your vision can become slightly obscured by the reflection of your eyes. A black skirt will make your view much clearer. It’s kind of like cupping your hands around your eyes to look out a window. Snorkel Equipment - SnorkelSnorkels can also vary in their features. You can choose from snorkels with purge vales, dry snorkels, and ergonomically designed snorkels.There are no extraneous features here because all snorkels are designed for snorkeling (go figure). Dry snorkels are exceptionally nice because they have a mechanism that prevents water from entering the chamber when you go underwater. It’s a great feature for people who have a hard time clearing their snorkel. Snorkel Equipment - FinsYou have to be careful when selecting snorkeling fins because not all scuba fins make good snorkeling fins.Stiff fins can be difficult to use on the surface as well as some specialty fins. These specialty fins use principles that work well underwater, but not so well when they’re slapping the surface. The Mares Quattro fin is an example of a fin that works well both on the surface and under water. A fin like the Idea3 from SeaQuest will be much more difficult to use. For the most part, you can snorkel with the same snorkel equipment you dive with. However there are a couple of exceptions. Try your usual equipment first, but don’t despair if you aren’t happy with its performance. After all, it’ll give you a reason to go to your dive shop. Return to Underwater Diving Equipment Home Page.
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