A mask that doesn't leak: fitting snorkel gear like a local

Before you ever touch the water, hold the mask to your face without the strap and breathe in gently through your nose. A good seal holds the mask in place on its own for a few seconds. If it falls off or you feel air sneaking in around the edges, the shape is wrong for your face — try a different model.

Most owners renting snorkel sets carry two or three mask shapes for exactly this reason. Ask. A mask that fits your bridge and cheekbones will not leak; a cheap one-size-fits-all almost always will.

Keep hair out from under the skirt — even a few strands break the seal. Set the strap high on the crown of your head, not over your ears, and snug rather than tight; over-tightening actually distorts the silicone and creates leaks.

For fog, a drop of baby shampoo or the classic spit-and-rinse on the dry lens before you get in works better than any expensive defog. Do it before the lens is wet.

Full-foot fins should be snug but not pinching — you will be in them for an hour, and hot spots become blisters fast. If the owner offers open-heel fins with booties, those are kinder on the heels and easier to walk to the water in over hot sand and sharp coral rubble.

On the calm house reefs around Fulhadhoo you do not need stiff, powerful blades. Comfort beats power for relaxed reef cruising.

A decent personal set runs well over a hundred dollars and then lives in a cupboard for fifty weeks a year. A week's rental from a local owner is a fraction of that, comes pre-checked, and means one less bag to carry through the airport.

Rent the set, do the suck test at handover, and spend the saved money on a dhoni trip to a better reef.