Diving is one of the most fun ways to spend your leisure in the water during summer, and also a great career choice for some.  To fully enjoy diving, you will need a number of equipment to ensure efficiency and safety.  Physical body movement is one of the areas where optimum effectiveness is needed most under water.  Since humans were not created to live underwater, we must rely on scuba diving fins for movement.  Whether diving for fun or professionally, you will definitely need a pair of diving fins.

Description

Scuba diving fins are fins used for propulsion during diving, swimming, snorkeling and body surfing.  These fins provide easy mobility for a diver and his gear while under water.

Features of a diving fin

A diving fin is not that complicated, as it comprises of two major parts, the blade and foot pocket.

The blade

This is the wide part of a diving fin and is either made from neoprene rubber or composite plastic.  Its main purpose is to offer propulsion.  Any good diver knows that the best fin has an ample blade size for maximum efficiency.

The blade is designed to match different flexibility and stiffness levels leaving you to choose the one you prefer.  While stiff fined blades deliver maximum distance cover per kick, it can be pretty exhausting to flutter kick your way through the entire dive.  Flexible diving fins, on the other hand, offer a more comfortable and less exhausting swim.

Foot pocket

The foot pocket is the part of the diving fin where you can either put in the foot like you do with a shoe or strap it into the pocket depending on which type of fin you are using.  Foot pockets are designed to offer comfort and stability while you are in the water.  For this reason, they are made from neoprene rubber.

Classifying Diving Fins

When it comes to classifying diving fins, many factors come into play.  These factors include, but not limited to the type of dive you are planning to execute, comfort issues and make or design of the fin.

Types of Diving Fins

1. Closed heel fins

These are dive fins with rubber foot pockets that fully cover the heel of a diver and are quite comfortable especially in warm water dives.  Another thing about them is that they are made to be put on barefoot without dive booties.

2. Open-heel fins

If you ask many experienced divers, they will tell you they prefer this type of diving fins.  This is because open heeled fins have foot pockets with an adjustable strap that makes it easy to fit in and out, as compared to the closed heel fins and are used together with dive booties making the dive experience warm and comfortable.  Their foot pockets are also bigger than those of closed heel fins due to the fact that they are used together with dive booties.  These fins will protect your feet during getting in and out of the water.

3. Paddle fins

These are diving fins whose blade is continuous to the end with no split.  Some have holes or vents, ribs and rails to channel the water for more efficient propulsion.  In these, you can definitely flutter kick and even frog kick.  Paddle fins are made in different levels of stiffness and flexibility as mentioned earlier.  They are also great while turning, reversing and stopping.

4. Split fins

Split fins have a blade that is cut through the middle dividing it into two equal sides.  This type of diving fin is very efficient especially for those who tire easily or have joint issues.  The ideal way to move in these fins is by flutter kicking.  Frog kicking in split fins can be quite an inefficient way to propel you.  They are also good to use in reefs since they don’t put a lot of stress on your back and leg muscles.

5. Jet fins

Also known as turtle fins, these diving fins are made to offer maximum propulsion and are heavier than other models.  Though not great for tropical diving and use by inexperienced divers, they are very efficient in turning and also easier to get on and off mainly because they have a spring strap.  Jet fins are great for frog kicking, advanced diving techniques like backing up and helicopter turns, and thus are mainly used by technical and drysuit divers.  Due to their spring strap feature, they fall under the open heeled classification.  The spring strap enhances comfort.

6. Snorkeling diving fins

For those who love to have fun in water but more closer to the surface, these diving fins are the best choice for you.  Snorkeling fins also go by the name full-foot fins.  They have foot pockets that slip on like shoes and are short thus easy to use on the surface.  This feature makes them suitable only for shallow depth and not deep scuba diving.  What would happen if you tried to scuba dive in them is you would have to kick harder and faster to move as fast as divers using other types of diving fins.

7. Colored fins

You may see diving fins of different colors and think it’s just for beauty, but while scuba diving far below the water surface visibility can be a problem and this is when the color of the fins matter most.   Fins with bright colors are easy to see and divers can use this to identify their partners when it gets darker.

8. Freediving fins

This type of fins stands out from others because of their long, thin and stiff design.  Freediving fins are great for frog kicking and flutter kicking.  They deliver great propulsion and speed due to the long thin blade and were first specially made for breath-hold diving.

9. Innovative fins

These are modified diving fins that provide more efficiency and effectiveness compared to other diving fins.  Some are made with more elastic rubber, others have a special wing-like design while others even have a gear shifting mechanism that increases or reduces resistance while you dive.  All these factors greatly increase propulsion and reduce work on your body.

10. Hand fins

If you thought diving is only for those who can use their legs then you are very wrong.  Hand fins are just gloves with web design.  They are specially made for the physically challenged who can`t use their legs.

In conclusion, scuba diving fins have been and will continue evolving to boost comfort, efficiency, and effectiveness during moving under water.  However, this is not the only method of propulsion used, another way is by using a diver propulsion vehicle; this only proves that humans will continue innovating and inventing new and easier ways to do things that have been previously thought to be impossible.

 

Regardless of what you plan on doing, making sure that you have the right kind of equipment is vital for success, and this is true with scuba diving as well.  One of the most important types of equipment for any diver are the scuba masks.  These masks are specifically designed to allow you to see clearly underwater, which in turn makes your experience that much more memorable, as well as improving your safety.

What are Scuba Masks

Before we can delve any deeper into this very special piece of equipment, we’ll first need to understand what scuba masks are.  A scuba mask, also called diving mask, is a type of eyewear that divers use to see better underwater.  What makes this special compared to other types of eyewear is that it keeps a pocket of air between a person’s eyes and the actual water itself.  The reason why dive masks are designed this way is because human eyes aren’t able to focus clearly when it’s in direct contact with water.  Our eyes can only focus in light if it’s in the air, not refracted by water, and scuba masks provide this sort of environment with its unique design.

There are two common types of dive masks: the half mask, which covers only the eyes and the nose, and the full scuba masks, which covers the eyes, nose and the mouth, which has a component where the breathing apparatus is supposed to fit into.  Scuba masks are made up of four primary parts: the lenses, the skirt, the mouthpiece, if it’s a full mask, and the strap.

Choosing the Right Scuba Mask

Given the amount of choices available in the market, choosing the right scuba masks can be very overwhelming.  You’ll first need to familiarize yourself with the different components of the mask, what materials you should focus on, and how well it should fit.  You’ll also need to put into account how deep you plan on going with the scuba masks, since the pressure will have a significant effect on how tight it would feel.

Here are a few things you’ll need to consider when you’re choosing your scuba masks:

1. Buying vs. Renting

Depending on whether you plan on diving just once or multiple times, or if you plan on scuba diving only for leisure or as an actual hobby, you’ll need to consider whether you should buy or simply rent a diving mask.  It’s highly recommended that avid divers get their own masks, ones that would actually fit them and their needs specifically.  Renting is only a good idea if you’re not planning on sticking around long for the hobby or if you’ve forgotten or lost your mask for some reason.  In the long run, you’ll be spending more money on renting anyway, so you might as well buy your own if you want to make diving a regular hobby of yours.

2. Choose the Right Fit

If the mask you’ve been looking at doesn’t fit well, it’s not the right mask for you.  People tend to put a lot of stock as to how pretty or cool a mask looks, but no matter how good scuba masks look, they’re useless if they don’t fit.  Being able to force the mask on your face isn’t enough, either.  If it barely fits when you are above water, then the underwater pressure will certainly make it more uncomfortable to wear.

Try looking for scuba masks that can provide you a perfect seal all throughout the skirt without it rubbing or pressing against your face uncomfortably.  Make sure that the frame and the lenses also envelop the entirety of your face without leaving areas where the water would come in.

3. The Mask Skirt

The mask’s skirt helps maintain a good, watertight seal around your face.  The only way scuba masks could ever do what it was meant to do is if the skirts do their job at keeping the water out. Skirts are generally made of silicone and are designed to rest comfortably on your skin.  The thickness and softness of each skirt varies from mask to mask, and the only way for you to find the right one for you is to try them on.  There’s no real metric of knowing what a mask with a good skirt is, except for you to personally wear them and gauge for yourself.

Some models would mold unto your face like a second skin, and you’d soon forget that it’s even there, while scuba masks whose skirts don’t fit, however, would chafe and irritate you, and sometimes wouldn’t even form a tight seal.  There are manufacturers out there that create mask skirts with varying textures that could further enhance the comfort you’d feel when you’re underwater.

Different masks also have varying colors on each of their skirts.  While this may seem like something that is of little importance, the skirt’s color could actually come in handy in blocking out reflective glare, especially if you’re using darker colors.  Lighter toned skirts tend to reflect light more and can be a bit uncomfortable given the right situation.

Another thing you should watch out for is masks with plastic skirts.  Plastics tend to be rigid, and don’t conform well with your skin, unlike silicone does.  You can use scuba masks with plastic skirts if you’re not doing a deep dive, or if you’re just having a quick swim, but if you’re serious about scuba diving, give plastic skirts a wide berth.

4. Your Field of View

Another thing to watch out for when you’re looking at a good mask is checking its field of view.  You’d want scuba masks that would allow you to look horizontally and vertically with as few obstructions as possible.  If you find yourself checking out masks at a physical store, you’ll notice that some scuba masks vary from one another on how much you can see from side to side or up and down.  This is what your field of view is.

A good field of view means you’d be more aware of your immediate surroundings, and you’d also be able to check your various gauges, buckles, pockets and other important bits of equipment.  If you’re the claustrophobic sort, having a viewport where you wouldn’t feel hemmed in while you’re underwater will help you deal with any anxiety you might feel otherwise.

5. Low Volume vs. High Volume

When you’re looking into getting scuba masks, you may have encountered the term “mask volume”.  Mask volume basically refers to how much air space is inside your mask.  Having high volume scuba masks mean that you have a wider view of the world around you, though the downside to this is that they may take a while to clear out if water ever gets in.  If you’re the type who likes to take their time with descending and equalizing the pressure, then high volume masks are definitely the way to go.

If you prefer masks that are easier to clear of water, or ones that sit closer to your face, then low volume scuba masks are for you.  Because of their shorter profile, low volume scuba masks tend to have lesser drag when you’re swimming about, making it easy to get to speed.  More experienced divers prefer low profile masks because they give a wider field of view, since they’re closer to your eyes than high volume masks are.

6. Single Lenses vs. Multi Lenses

Scuba masks come in different number of lenses, from one, two, three and four window versions, each with its unique characteristics.  One-window masks, as the name would suggest, come with a single pane of tempered glass to cover your face.  Two window masks have two glass panes that join together at the bridge of your nose.  The three-window version comes with one large pane in the front, much like the one window version, and one piece of glass on either side of the face.  Lastly, the four-window version comes with two panes of glass in front, joined at the bridge of the nose and one glass on either side.

The choice of how many lenses on your mask should be ultimately depends on your preferences and the style of diving you do.  Masks with multiple lenses tend to have lower volume, because they’re usually designed to be closer to the diver’s face.  Scuba masks with side lenses tend to put in more light, which can be helpful for your vision, but too much light can cause significant glare. The segmenting on the front where the front panels meet may also create a blind spot for you, which can significantly reduce your field of vision.

Final Thoughts

With so many features to put into consideration, and with so many mask models out there, it’s no wonder that many people get overwhelmed with something as simple as eyewear.  Ultimately, however, what makes a good mask depends greatly on your own preferences, and how you do your dives.  Never forget to do a dry test in the store when you’re looking for one.  Choose one that works well for you.

Scuba diving has been one of the most intriguing open water recreational and professional activity since its invention.  It involves using a number of apparatus that are meant to make you comfortable while you are underwater.  The activity is all about learning how to use these various scuba diving equipment as you explore the aqua life and get to know more about the sub aqua landscape.  Unlike the breath-hold divers and the surface-supplied divers, scuba divers carry their supply of breathing gas to maximize the amount of time they spend underwater and increase their comfortability when submerged.

Source: Scuba Gear For Beginners

The scuba diving certification and what it entails

Before you are allowed to scuba dive, you must undergo training where you will learn how to operate the numerous scuba diving equipment.  You will have to take health and fitness lessons as well as self-help and assistance lessons.  All this training is meant to improve your flexibility and functionality while in water, and they also prepare you to know what to do in case you or your partner encounters a problem while scuba diving.  Once you are well equipped with all the scuba diving skills, you will be issued with a certificate that will indicate you are fit to scuba dive at a certain capacity.  The capacity depends on the kind of scuba diving lessons you have taken.  The certificate will thus indicate whether you did a beginner course, advanced course, rescue diver course, dive guide course or you took diver instructor lessons.

Source: How To Get Your Scuba Certification

Why is scuba diving equipment important

What makes scuba diving much more different and exciting from other types of diving is the equipment used by the scuba divers.  These apparatus have been well designed and engineered to provide you with everything you need while in water.  With them, you will be fully protected from various elements, you will be able to breathe in water, and you will also be able to see where you are going among many other things.  Their main function is to ensure that you have completely easy and comfortable scuba diving sessions and also enable you to spend too much time in the water.  For the professionals, this equipment enables them to perform their work diligently while for leisure, they enable you to view the different forms of aqua life and increase your underwater experience.

Source: Scuba Diving: Necessary Gear

How does scuba diving equipment work

This is a question that you will often hear from people who have never attempted scuba diving before.  This is because the equipment is always a fascination to many.  Whenever you put on the whole gear, people tend to see it more of a serious operation than a recreational activity which sometimes is true.  There are quite a number of scuba diving apparatus that you will get acquainted with in your initial scuba diving course which is also referred to as beginner course.  You will start by learning the names of each scuba diving equipment then you will go ahead and try them on.  So how does scuba diving equipment work?

The eponymous scuba or the breathing apparatus

The first gear to answer the question of how does scuba diving equipment work is the breathing apparatus.  This is a very important piece of equipment that is designed to enable scuba divers to breathe comfortably underwater.  There are two types of breathing apparatus, the half mask, and the full face mask breathers.

The half mask breathers are aimed at covering the individual’s eyes and nose.  You are also provided with a mouthpiece, breathing tube or snorkels through which you can access breathing gas from the rebreather.

The full face mask, on the other hand, covers the whole face just like the name suggests.  It tends to protect the divers’ eyes, nose, and mouth.  Unlike the half mask, with the full face masks, the diver can breathe through the nose.

Source: Differences Between a Traditional Diving Mask and a Full Face Mask Instructional Video

The full face masks are the most common even though most recreational scuba divers use the half face masks.  What makes full face masks more preferable is that they can keep the airway clear in case the diver loses consciousness while in water.  The idea of covering the whole face is thus much more incredible than covering only half of the face.

They both enable scuba divers to maintain their breathing process something very vital when it comes to enabling the scuba diver to remain underwater for quite some time.  This increases your aqua life exploration time and makes the whole activity to be much fun.

The Buoyancy Compensating Device (BCD)

In most cases, scuba divers take an interest in the activity not because they love water but because they want to acquaint themselves with the underwater experience as well as see and feel what goes on down there.  This means that most scuba divers always want to go as deep as they can with some scuba diving professionals going up to the seabed.  Well, this is only possible because of the buoyancy Compensating Device which is popularly known as the BCD.  This device is built to enable the scuba diver sink and float on demand.  Without the BCD, some scuba divers would find it hard to sink in water while others will find it hard to float back to the surface after sinking.  This is because of the difference in weight of the two scuba divers.

Source: Buoyancy Compensators | SCUBA 101

The BCD comes with an ingenious design that makes use of abrasion-resistant air bladders.  This is fitted in a jacket like a costume and once worn you can control your buoyancy however you like. When you are diving in, the jacket will enable you to sink deeper into the sea.  This will increase your weight and keep you underwater in a horizontal position with minimal kicking.  At the end of the day, you will spend less energy as well as less air walking around and exploring the aqua life.  To regain buoyancy, all you have to do is let air in the jacket using the available valves, and you will be able to float back on the water.  With these abilities, the scuba diver will have a very easy time traversing different sections underwater without any buoyancy problem.

Diving regulator

This is yet another gadget that will answer the question of how does scuba diving equipment work.  The diving regulator is a very important piece of apparatus that is used to make a convenient connection between the scuba cylinders and the breathers.  Without the diving regulators, it would be a bit problematic to control your breathing capabilities while underwater.  Some people refer to the diving regulator as a demand valve.  To understand better how this equipment work, you need to get acquainted with the two stages that are involved when breathing.  These stages are the reason why scuba divers breathe comfortably despite the fact that the scuba cylinders carry high pressurized air.

Source: Scuba Regulators | SCUBA 101

The first stage regulator comes with a valve that controls the high pressured breathing air from the cylinder to low pressure which is then released to the scuba hoses.  This means that the air can now be transported safely to the breather.  This regulator is usually fastened on the cylinder so that it may initialize regulation as soon as air exits the scuba cylinder.  The second demand valve is positioned on the mouthpiece.  This, in turn, tends to minimize the pressure of the incoming air to match the surrounding water pressure so that it can comfortably and safely be used for breathing by the scuba divers.  This makes inhalation and exhalation of the scuba divers easy and very convenient.

The scuba cylinder

This is one scuba diving equipment that you will never fail to notice on a scuba diver.  This is because it is usually large than most devices and very visible.  The scuba cylinder or the air cylinder is designed to hold a specific amount of air at high pressure.  The material used to create the cylinder is often aluminum or steel depending on the company’s preferences.  The scuba cylinder is the main reason why you will be able to breathe underwater without any problems.  It must, however, work with other scuba diving equipment such as the breathers, the hose, and the regulators to function optimally.

Source: Scuba Tank Basics

As mentioned above, the regulators’ main task is to reduce the pressure of the compressed air at different levels making it easier and safer to breathe.  Without the regulators, it would be nearly impossible for the scuba diver to be able to breathe in and out.  The cylinder is usually carried on the back of the scuba diver with the scuba hose leading either to the breather or to the BCD.  With a scuba cylinder, you have more than enough air to make prolonged observations and spend more time underwater than without.  That is why it is important that a scuba diver learns how to manage the weight of the cylinder as well as its operation before diving into water.

Rebreather

This is one of the most advanced apparatus in this session of how does scuba diving equipment work.  You will find that most times, professional scuba divers require much longer periods of time than recreational scuba divers.  This is so that they may make valid observations and complete the tasks assigned to them without any problems.

Source: Pros And Cons Of A Rebreather

With that in mind, it means that professional scuba divers need an unlimited supply of air something that the scuba cylinders can’t provide.  Scuba cylinders carry a specific amount of air depending on its capacity.  This tends to limit the scuba divers by giving them a minimum amount of time required to spend underwater.

The rebreather, on the other hand, makes use of much advanced technology.  It is designed in such a way that it can reuse air in a very simple yet complicated method.  Unlike the scuba cylinder, when scuba divers use the rebreather, the exhaled air is not bubbled into the water, but instead, it is taken back to the rebreather where carbon dioxide is eliminated and oxygen left is resupplied back to the individual.

This means that the rebreather is just packed with minimal air while the rest is reused.  This, in turn, makes the rebreather to supply professional scuba divers with an unlimited amount of air. This is the main reason why professional scuba divers tend to spend so much time underwater.  The rebreather, unlike the air cylinders, requires maintenance and proper usage for them to function optimally.

Scuba diving fins

Source: Choosing The Right Fins

Scuba fins are very important when it comes to making underwater movements seem very easy.  This is because they are usually much denser compared to air and thus they provide a great way to improve every single foot paddle you make.  They can either be open heal where you only have the fins or adjustable that comes with booties.  The trick to having an easy time with diving fins is to ensure that you pick the ones that fit precisely.  They are not supposed to be too loose or too tight to give you a hard time.

Dive computer

As a scuba diver, finding out how long you can safely stay in water is essential in calibrating your next moves carefully.  Diving blindly without something to monitor the amount of time you have spent at the bottom can be quite problematic.  That is why you need a dive computer, which is a device that uses electricity to monitor how long you have been under water.  It also enables you to know the amount of air you are remaining with.

Source: Why OWN a dive computer?

Scuba diving is one of the best recreational and professional activity that involves diving into open water in a bid to explore underwater or professionally partake an assigned task.  The experience becomes even better with the right equipment.  The above list shows how scuba diving works, training, and some of the main scuba diving apparatus that are essential.  You must, however, undergo a scuba diving training to equip you with the required knowledge that you will find very useful during the process.