Nice mask, great snorkel with one potential problem
Written: Dec 29 '06 (Updated Dec 30 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice clear mask lenses, Very easy to use and comfortable snorkel, price
Cons: Possible flimsy connection between mouthpiece and purge valve plate.
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this snorkel and mask for casual snorkeling. You might want to superglue the purge valve connection to be safe.
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| colstudent69's Full Review: Body Glove Astonish Mask with Qas Strap/Arid Dry S... |
My wife and I both enjoy snorkeling, but before our trip to Cancun this Christmas we discovered that my wife's mask was a little old and yellow and my snorkel had broken at the end of our last snorkeling trip.
So I set out to find a good, affordable mask and snorkel set. Luckily, snorkel equipment is typically on clearance in Texas in Decmeber as it is too cold to snorkel here now. So I found this very reasonably priced Body Glove set.
The Mask:
My wife needed a new mask and this "One size fits all adult" mask fits her face great. The strap for the mask is comfortable silicone and the lenses are tempered glass. It is supposed to be "Astonishing" clear lenses, but I could detect no difference between it and my dive mask.
The mask did great in water tests in our hot tub and my wife used it for 3 days in Cancun with no problem. Like most other masks, it will sink if you accidentally drop it, so be careful in deep water. The mask is not very brightly colored, so it would be difficult to find without a dive light if it falls into a dark area of the reef.
For the price the mask is great, but if you are serious about snorkeling or diving, it is best to get a mask that fits your face very well. This mask did not fit me as my face is much larger than the average person.
The Snorkel:
This is by far my favorite snorkel I have tried so far. I started out using the standard cheap snorkels that amusement parks typically provide when you rent snorkel equipment. However, clearing a snorkel full of water every time you get hit by a wave or dive underwater gets tiring fast.
This snorkel uses a float valve at the top that prevents almost all water from entering the snorkel if you get hit by a wave or dive under the water. It also has a purge valve at the end of the mouthpiece that lets you expel any water that gathers near your mouth from gravity. These two features means you hardly ever deal with more than a few teaspoons of water in your snorkel in even rough conditions.
The mouthpiece and 90 degree angle are made of flexible, comfortable silicone and the rest of the snorkel is made of durable hard plastic. The mouthpiece was very comfortable in my mouth and even after an hour of snorkeling I had no jaw fatigue from holding onto it. I used the snorkel for 3 days and had no complaints. I did get a little bit of water coming in when using it in choppy conditions (2 foot waves), but it was very easily expelled with a small breath. It really reduces the amount of effort to clear the snorkel compared to the open tubes and for me that is worth the higher price. The snorkel also has a hard plastic clip that securely fastens to any mask strap. This snorkel will sink if accidentally dropped, so I found this was a nice feature and keeps the snorkel vertical when snorkeling.
My only concern is that the purge valve is attached to the mouthpiece with a separate piece of hard plastic and I'm afraid the purge valve could fall off the snorkel easily. Why am I afraid? Because my wife and I had a much more expensive snorkel with an almost identical design to this Body Glove snorkel and the purge valve fell off after only 5 days of use.
Just to be cautious, I'm going to super glue the edge of the bond between the purge valve and the rest of the mouthpiece. It won't be as pretty, but hopefully it prevents the purge valve from falling off.
Summary:
My wife liked the mask and I liked the snorkel during our 3 days of using this equipment. I will attempt to come back and update this review after we have used it for a longer period of time. No complaints with this equipment at all, especially for the clearance price I found!
My only concern is the rather flimsy looking purge valve connection to the mouthpiece. I will reinforce it with superglue and hope for the best.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
colstudent69
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Member: Brian
Location: Houston, TX
Reviews written: 127
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
Instructional Technology Educator
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