Normal
Cathy and I have found we prefer our own gear. We checked at some dive shops then wound up buying at K-mart/Wal-Mart (this time of the year you can usually find everything on clearance) get a snorkel with a "purge valve" (a one-way valve near the mouthpiece...lets water out but not in) they make all the difference...AquaLung and Clearwater are both decent brands. Fins are a bit of a pain to carry around so you may want to rent those...we usually put up with the inconvience because the rental fins have been used a lot and some have lost their regidity- the stiffer the fin, the more distance per kick you get.If you decide to rent you can always us alcohol to disinfect the mouthpiece, it works and dries fast and it's easy to cary if you buy the pads from health/beauty or a drug store. If you decided for bleach only use a 10% solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water anything stronger will likely cause irratation and 10% will kill anything (that's what we use in hospitals)have funSDB
Cathy and I have found we prefer our own gear. We checked at some dive shops then wound up buying at K-mart/Wal-Mart (this time of the year you can usually find everything on clearance) get a snorkel with a "purge valve" (a one-way valve near the mouthpiece...lets water out but not in) they make all the difference...AquaLung and Clearwater are both decent brands. Fins are a bit of a pain to carry around so you may want to rent those...we usually put up with the inconvience because the rental fins have been used a lot and some have lost their regidity- the stiffer the fin, the more distance per kick you get.
If you decide to rent you can always us alcohol to disinfect the mouthpiece, it works and dries fast and it's easy to cary if you buy the pads from health/beauty or a drug store. If you decided for bleach only use a 10% solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water anything stronger will likely cause irratation and 10% will kill anything (that's what we use in hospitals)
have fun
SDB
