TESTCENTRE
Appealing trio
Style Sling Strap Fins, Reverse Dry Snorkel & Appeal Mask
COMPANY: SEAC PRICE: FINS £ 89.95 / SNORKEL £ 27.95 / MASK £ 68.95 WEB: SEACSUB. COM
Diving kit has certainly moved on since I was a youngster. I fondly remember packing my old-school rubber mask, snorkel and fins for our annual family trip to Cornwall, where I knew I’ d see a whole lot more than in the waters of my native North-East [ well, it depends where you are in the North East – Regional Editor ]. These three essential pieces of equipment, although refined over time, still offer a relatively inexpensive shortcut into the underwater world for divers and non-divers alike.
SEAC’ s Style Fins, Reverse Dry Snorkel and Appeal Mask are all fully-blown pieces of scuba kit, but after a flare-up of dreaded TMD( Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) I decided to give my aching jaw a bit of R’ n’ R and spend some time snorkelling. The Appeal mask has several‘ Appeal-ing’ features. The soft, and as I discovered, very comfortable double-skirt is available in standard and‘ narrow’ sizes, the latter suitable for children or adults with a smaller face profile.
The 4mm tempered glass is of single lens design, but only just, as the frame comes very close to touching at its centre. Nevertheless, it provided good all-round vision and due to its angular teardrop shape, excellent downward visibility for snorkelling and if diving, for viewing gauges. The double button rocker buckle, welded direct to the skirt, was easy to adjust and the strap, forming a double at the rear, spreads the load and proved very stable.
Many divers eschew the snorkel completely or tuck it away until the occasion demands, but unless I’ m diving a rebreather, I still like it attached to my mask strap. It’ s a great way to conserve gas on surface swims, or in the event a friendly seal decides to play. SEAC’ s Reverse Dry Snorkel is one of the best examples of the genre I’ ve had the pleasure to use. It’ s still a plastic tube that you breathe through- but improved so much that it is a literally a bone-dry experience.
Unlike the rather unwieldy( and potentially dangerous) table tennis ball contraptions of the 1970s which attempted to prevent water entering, but also had a tendency to stick, SEAC have perfected the concept. Coupled with a bottom purge valve, I now no longer reach for the Strepsils due to salt water affecting my throat.
The Reverse Dry’ s corrugated lower section has an extremely soft silicone mouthpiece, which can be easily orientated to the left or right. If my jaw began to bother me, I could easily switch sides whenever I felt a twinge.
Last but not least, SEAC’ s lightweight( 0.80kg each) Style fins with elasticated Sling Straps completed my snorkelling kit.
The medium / large size, measured 63cm from blade to open-heel and 21cm at their widest, so they’ re fairly compact; for moving around at the surface they were just the ticket.
Available in a variety of colours, they look smart and their rigid rubber central section expanded to‘ spoon’ away the water as I finned along. The elasticated straps also feature a large rubber handle, which made donning and removing them so much more convenient than conventional buckle and strap types.
The foot pockets are however, slightly on the narrow side and while the M / L size happily accommodated my wetsuit boots( size 8 / 9) they were too small for my drysuit boots, so I’ d recommend going up a size. I did, at a later opportunity, get to dive with all three and would recommend them just as much for fully-fledged diving as for snorkelling. NH
SCUBA SAYS
Italian style, design and functionality make SEAC’ s Style Sling Strap Fins, Reverse Dry Snorkel & Appeal Mask the perfect triumvirate, whether diving or snorkelling. Lightweight and compact, they’ re just waiting to be packed away for your next trip abroad.
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