Diving equipment

Traditional gear for skin diving, freediving, and snorkeling.

Gone are the days of 1950s-60s natural rubber diving gear, like the Cressi "Rondine" fins from Italy, created in 1952 as the first fins with full foot pocket and angled blade for better comfort and efficiency underwater and a true archetype. Or the circa 1960s Sportsways "Vista-Vue" mask and Voit "Skin Diver" fins pictured here, both from California.

But fortunately there are still some (very few) good options in traditional-type diving gear. The particular focus here is on the excellent gear from Gull by Kinugawa in Japan, one of the finest makers of diving gear and probably the best maker of natural rubber fins. Also included are some other traditional-type products.

Ever since the 1980s, diving gear has been progressively degraded with synthetic materials like thermoplastics and silicone and rote technological manufacture. Fewer and fewer make with the traditional natural rubber that requires real craft and makes such nice diving gear.

Natural rubber offers unique feel and elasticity in masks, snorkels, and fins and, if it is going to be done well, requires a craft production process with the selection, mixing, and kneading of raw materials, and then aging the rubber and cutting it into blocks that then go into the molds for vulcanization (the creation and maintenance of the molds is a whole other craft in itself), then being trimmed by hand and going through any further assembly and inspection processes for the product. Natural rubber requires knowledge and skill because it is an organic substance that can be challenging with which to work. In addition to the artisanal production process, the origin, collection year, and production climate and humidity can affect the characteristics like rigidity and require manual adjustments in the ingredient blend and kneading to stabilize the material and achieve the desired quality.

One of the only companies in the world that still does this with care and skill and for a range of diving gear is Gull by Kinugawa in Japan. Even at Gull, it is mostly for a nice range of fins, with only a couple masks and snorkels having (synthetic & natural blend) rubber parts. Ikari by Arai in Japan also make nice natural rubber fins and some rubber masks and snorkels. Japan seems to be almost the last place that appreciates and works with traditional natural rubber in a number of fields, with Nikko being one of the only makers of high-grade ebonite in the world and MoonStar making the best-quality vulcanized rubber and cotton canvas sneakers.

One can find a few others making select pieces of diving gear with natural rubber in places like Greece and France and Mexico and Malaysia, but in most cases it doesn't seem to be done with the expertise and quality of old.

For the most part, like with so many other good things, the discernment and skill to make natural rubber diving gear seems to be almost gone. But we can still support and use those few options left. In the masks and snorkels, I have also deigned to present a few options with the modern synthetic materials, but that are at least somewhat simple and old-school in style and use.

• Gull Mantis 5 (Volume: 177 cc or ml)
  • Longtime two-window mask first introduced in 1972, now in its 5th generation, and one of the few masks available in silicone or rubber skirt, optical corrective lenses available, also available from Riffe in the silicone skirt model
• Gull Abyss
  • Classic oval mask, with finger wells for equilisation, stainless steel frame and buckles (SUS304 is the alloy), but made now with silicone skirt
• Gull Basara
  • Classic rectangular-oval mask, *no* finger wells for equilisation, stainless steel frame and buckles (SUS304 is the alloy), single-lip rubber skirt (on the black skirt model)
• Gull Lanze (Volume: 115 cc or ml)
  • Nice two-window low-volume mask, silicone skirt, optical corrective lenses available (I think the same lenses fit Lanze, Naida, and Asteion), Gull "interlock system" for fitting the lenses
• Gull Naida, from Riffe (Volume: 130 cc or ml)
  • Nice two-window mask first introduced in 2004, silicone skirt, optical corrective lenses available (I think the same lenses fit Lanze, Naida, and Asteion), might not be available from Gull anymore but is available from Riffe
• Gull Asteion (AΣTEION), from Riffe as the Viso (Volume: 164 cc or ml)
  • Nice two-window mask, silicone skirt, optical corrective lenses available (I think the same lenses fit Lanze, Naida, and Asteion), might not be available from Gull anymore but is available from Riffe as the Viso
• Ikari Atlanta A-80
  • Classic rectangular-oval mask, with finger wells for equilisation, stainless steel frame (I am assuming the buckles are also stainless steel), rubber skirt (?), made in Japan
• Cressi Superocchio DN234650
  • Longtime two-window low-volume mask in the Cressi catalogue, silicone skirt, made in Italy, "a grand classic in Cressi mask production", I have found reference to the Occhio at least back to 1981, I think the Superocchio dates to the late 1980s when they introduced a different way to change the lenses (and possibly some other changes)
• Mares Samurai X 421413
  • Nice two-window low-volume mask, matte silicone skirt, made in Bulgaria, "Restyling of the historical Samurai mask", new design of the old Mares Samurai which was a similar design to the Cressi Superocchio
• Tusa Panthes M-210QB
  • Nice two-window low-volume mask, silicone skirt, made in Taiwan, favorite mask of William Trubridge for everything less than 100 meters ("world's deepest man", freediving 102 meters deep on a single breath and without fins)

• Riffe US-CA: Mantis 5, Naida, Viso (Asteion)
• Big Blue Scuba US-NY: Lanze
• Gidive Store ES: Superocchio (pretty widely available worldwide), Samurai X, Panthes

• Gull Samurai Extreme
  • Classic simple snorkel, silicone mouthpiece, also available from Riffe as the Standard J Snorkel
• Gull Canal 2 Rubber
  • Simple snorkel with purge valve, rubber mouthpiece
• Gull Canal Stable (Leila Stable, smaller mouthpiece)
  • Fancier snorkel with purge valve and corrugated flexible tube and splash guard at top, silicone mouthpiece, also available from Riffe in the Canal-size model with the Leila-size mouthpiece available as replacement part
• Gull Canal Dry SP (Leila Dry SP, smaller mouthpiece)
  • Fancier snorkel with purge valve and corrugated flexible tube and splash guard at top, silicone mouthpiece
• Ikari Stream AS-353
  • Classic simple snorkel, rubber mouthpiece (?), made in Japan

• Riffe US-CA: Standard J (Samurai Extreme), Stable (Canal Stable)

• Gull Warp ($$$)
  • Medium-long length natural rubber fin, black color is a harder rubber compound similar to the Hard Mew, marine blue and red colors are similar stiffness to standard Mew
• Gull Hard Mew ($$)
  • The classic medium length Mew natural rubber fin in a harder rubber compound, first available sometime mid-late 1990s
• Gull Mew ($$)
  • The most classic natural rubber fin from Gull, first introduced in 1984, medium length, perhaps similar to the 1970s-80s Cressi Rondine when they lengthened them
• Gull Emden ($)
  • Short length natural rubber fin, perhaps similar to the original 1950s-60s Cressi Rondine
• Ikari Madras DFS
  • Short length natural rubber fin, made in Japan

• Big Blue Scuba US-NY: Mew

Custom wetsuits made using Daiwabo, Heiwa, NJN, and Yamamoto limestone neoprene from Japan. Smoothskin outside and opencell inside is the most natural, traditional, warm, and flexible construction, but also has some delicacy and must be put on wet. The neoprene is smoothskin on both sides originally, and when it is cut to reduce thickness then the side destined to become the inner has the opencell surface. I would avoid SCS nanotechnology (aka "Superskin") or any other technologies and just get plain neoprene.

Wetsuits are not environmentally-friendly, though. So toughen up and dive without one, at least if you are not going to die from hypothermia.

• Elios
  • Classic two-piece zipperless wetsuits, made to order in Italy

• KM Dive
  • Natural rubber weight belts and rubber-covered lead weights, made in Greece

• Hattori
  • The best, relatively expensive and rare, made in Japan, models: TK, AK61, AK62, 469, 568
• MAC
  • Some nice simple designs, inexpensive but decent quality, made in Italy, models to consider: Sub 9, Sub 9 Stiletto, Sub 11, Sub 11 D
• Cressi Killer RC554000
  • Longtime knife in the Cressi catalogue, first introduced in 1974, inexpensive but decent quality, made in Italy, nice simple design that can be disassembled for cleaning

Classic American-style spearguns are heavier and stronger than the nowadays more popular European-style spearguns. AB Biller are one of the most affordable spearguns, but they are simple, rugged, and useful, with a lifetime warranty. If desired, you can replace the standard 5/16" stainless spring steel shaft with the thinner and more streamlined 9/32" "Floridian" shaft for more speed and power. The AB Biller teak and padauk wood spearguns are finished with hand-rubbed oil and are superior woods to mahogany for a speargun. The larger models are also available in an "LTD" version, with the trigger mechanism fitted directly into the long wood barrel.

• AB Biller
  • Oiled teak or padauk wood, made in United States

You are going to have to wear something to get to the ocean. Let's stick with natural rubber and choose the best and most beautiful vulcanized rubber and cotton canvas sneakers available today.

• MoonStar Gym Classic
  • Derby-style long-lacing model, made in Japan
• Doek Court
  • Derby-style long-lacing model, cork footbed, made by MoonStar in Japan
• Doek Oxford
  • Balmoral-style short-lacing model, cork footbed, made by MoonStar in Japan
• Victoria 1915 Inglesa Eco-Friendly Canvas Plimsoll 106613
  • Balmoral-style short-lacing model, available in Western Europe, made in Spain

Sometimes you might prefer sandals instead of shoes. Let's stick with natural rubber and leave the synthetic plastics to people who haven't wised up yet. Speaking of which, you are swimming and diving in cotton or wool shorts or swimsuit, right?

• Feelgoodz Classicz Core
  • Natural rubber, made in Thailand