Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Greece

[David Wilson]

Thank you for the post about the Balco sub goggles, dmaziuk.

Next up is the Balco sub snorkel-mask with the product name "558".

This is a diving mask with full face coverage, a circular lens surrounded by a top screw retained metal rim, a stiff rubber skirt and a split adjustable head strap. Twin breathing tubes emerge from either side of the skirt, terminating in shut-off valves of the so-called "Gamma" type also used for Cressi snorkel-masks. So far as I am aware, the Balco sub 558 model can still be purchased. I have one in my collection, bought new from a Cypriot online retailer several years ago.

 

[David Wilson]

We now come to Balco sub fins. Let us start with Bibi-Bo fins, which appear to have been targeted at younger underwater explorers.

​

I would guess that these fins were intended in particular as a beach accessory for young girls. So full-foot open-toe fins in a rather fetching shade of yellow with reinforcing ribs on top and a non-slip patterned heel tread.

More Balco sub fins at the weekend, starting with ones designed for adults.

 

[David Wilson]

Balco sub Dynamic fins:

​

So a more sturdy pair of full-foot open-toe fins. When Howard Hall’s “Pro Dive Fin Roundup” appeared in the March 1980 issue of Skin Diver magazine, the Balco Dynamic was one of the forty-two different models under review. Back then, the Dynamic’s special feature was being a “comfortable, light fin”. The model still courts attention because it not only survives four decades later, but it also remains one of very few Greek-made fins to have ever penetrated the American market.

 

[David Wilson]

Here is the Balco sub Eris fin:

​

The Eris is a newer model and I have seen no evidence yet of the fin being on sale anywhere. The Greek word embossed on the fin in the last image means "floating" and the significance of the German Standard DIN 7876 can be found here.

More Balco sub fin models midweek.