I highly recommend the Atomic Split Fins.  My wife and I personally use
them.  We do not use the full foot ones, as we perfer to wear booties, but I
know Atomic makes a full foot version also.

Good luck and safe diving

Atomic Split are very nice, my wife uses them.
What do you consider a decent price? Less that $150.00??
I still wear the Mares Avanti.
It is the policy of quite a number of dive shops
that purchased fins can be returned if only used in a pool.
Not real open water use, but you should get a good feel for them.
As far as the mask, get on that fits you. Personal favorites are
the Tusa Liberator and Cressi Sub Horizon.

A split fin would slow you down when you really have to get somewhere in a
hurry, which is one of the reasons I won't use them.  Just my 2 cents.

What works for me will not necessarily work for you. Go to a few shops and
try various pairs in their pool (you will notice the differences). Apart
from taking them diving with gear on and currents running, it's the best
way. Fins are important, don't simply take another person's word.

I'm not a fan of split fins. I've used Atomics and ScubaPro, and found
them more of a gimic than a real improvement. They're easier to kick,
but you don't get as much power out of them. They're also useless for
finning backwards, and I found them much harder to use for sculling and
fine movement.

If you can, I suggest renting a pair before buying them.

Whatever fits best.

 You need to slap whoever told you that (usually the salesguy with the
shiny $200 fins in his hand).

 Mares Quatrros are the best fins I've found, and it varies from person to
person.

 http://www.scuba.com/shop/product.asp?category=20

 Halfway down the page.

 You may find them 10 bucks cheaper, or on E-bay.

 Rent or borrow whatever fins you plan on buying.

 I tried 6 different kinds.

 Don't be fooled by fins that are "easier" to kick, you're probably moving
less water, and using more air.

 You want the most -efficient- fin.

 Some people like split fins, insist they are good, possibly because they
just paid $200 for snake oil.

 Same advice.

 How "good" a mask is or isn't depends on how well it fits, and each face
is different.

 I like Scubapro masks, but still occaisionally use a $15 wlamart mask I
once bought.

--
One million Marines cannot seize Tarawa in a thousand years.
Admiral Keiji Shibasaki, 4 days before his death.

BLADES fins by US Divers/Aqualung, and PLANA AVANTI QUATTRO fins by Mares
have consistently tied for top honors.  I would recomend either of these.
There are many other choices that as good or nearly so.

Split type fins, as well as the types of fins produced by Force Fins (r)
have there advocates.  Unfortunatly, there is no evidence known to me
that supports the argument that these are "better".  In fact -- or at
least in my opinion -- conventional type fins are:

   More efficient -- as evidenced by studies that show they require
   lower breathing rates to maintain the same speed.  (Tests by the
   same divers using different fins in different tests.)

   More powerful -- as evidenced by my own experiences and by the
   experiences reported by most divers who have tried various types
   of fins.

Note that Split type fins and Force Fins (r) often seem to be a lot easier
to kick.  However, they require much more kicking to get the job done;
hence they are actually more work to use.

As you may have noticed the opinions are polarized about split vs solid
fins.  Personally speaking I fall on the solid-fin-is-best side, so take
what I say appropriately.

Generally speaking split fins are easier to move through the water.
This is due to the fact that they are more flexible, and flex in
additional places, in comparison to a solid fin.  However, the
flexibility means that you're loosing water displacement - in plain
English they're easier to move through the water, but generate less
thrust per kick.  As such you have to move splits faster then solid fins
to achieve the same amount of thrust.

So basically when choosing between split and solid fins, you're really
choosing between kicking slow (but with greater force) or fast (with
less force).  Most experienced divers will tell you slow is always
better underwater.  My personal experience is that I get much less
tiered and use much less air when I use solid fins.  Maybe I can't motor
along as fast on solids, but IMO going fast = missing a lot of cool
s*it.  Plus I can move pretty damn fast on solids if I need to.

But the biggest difference between the fins, and the best argument
against splits, is their ability to develop "spontaneous" power.  If you
kick a sold fin hard (say when getting into the boat) you get a large
amount of thrust, and thus with a single stroke can move quite a
distance.  Since splits are so much more flexible they bend, and you
don't get nearly as much force.  This can make getting into a boat,
swimming against strong currents, etc,  much harder.  This is especially
an issue for technical divers and cold water divers as we tend to carry
a lot of weight, so getting into a boat isn't always the most trivial of
tasks.

Lastly, it is near-impossible to swim backwards in splits.  Many divers
do not swim backwards, but it is a useful skill (positioning yourself
for photography, hunting, wreak/cave penetration, better mobility in
general, etc).  IMO backwards swimming should be a basic skill you need
for OW cert, but its not...

the main points, quick and dirty:

Splits:
1) Easier to move through water
2) Have to kick them fast to generate thrust
3) *May* use less air
4) Higher top speed

Solids:
1) Don't have to kick fast to get thrust
2) Harder to move through the water
2) More "instantaneous" power
3) In my experience use less energy/air
4) Can swim backwards
5) Cheaper

As for masks, the one which fits is the best one for you.  I have Big
Eye's and love'em - but you pretty much need a mutant face to fit into a
set of those.

Bryan

Try them.  Then you'll know if they are for you and, if so, which one is
best for you.

Yep.  Get one with a glass lens that fits properly.

Lee