Rent or Bring your own?

[RenSea]

On a Western IT is it wise to bring your own snorkeling equipment or rent? Most excursion include gear but is it good quality? Should I save the suitcase room for more clothes/shoes and souviners?

[beachchick]

Bring your own. There's just no comparison, not to mention the cleanliness factor (sometimes the disinfecting procedures are very good; other times, not).

 

beachchick

[superjerryw]

We always bring our own masks and snorkels and use the rental fins.

[vacationbound]

We easily slid our snorkels/masks into our suitcases but chose not to take up the room for our fins. The fins they supply are awful, but you're only snorkeling, not diving so we didn't feel the need for good equipment. After seeing thier snorkel supply sitting in water that barely covered them all, I was really glad we had our own. Who knows what was in that water...YUK! Kinda like the feeling I get when we're at muster....all those people who are blowing the whistles on their life-jackets. YUK! Really goons me out....

 

Lori the RN.....:-)

[dougp26364]

We bring our own since we both work in the medical field and just don't trust that everyone will clean/disinfect equipment to our standards. In St. Maarten's pinel island tour, they did a really good job of cleaning things up. So much so you had to wash the disinfectant off the snorkel and mask before putting them on. In Nassau, it was just plain nasty. No disinfectant, just toss the equipment in the hold where I'm pretty sure it stayed until next use. Our snorkel vests had the wonderful smell of mildew about them. Next time, I'm bringing my own snorkel vest as well.

 

I'll continue to bring my own fins since I don't want to pick up the foot fungus someone before me might have left in the rental fins.

 

We had friends that decided to rent in Costa Maya against our advice. They were the first tour of the day. The didn't think anything about it until after their tour. She said when they came out, they just took their snorkel and mask and handed it to the next person without even washing it off. At that point she said she got a little green around the gills. next time, they're at least taking their own snorkel.

[char64]

Absolutely bring your own. Keep in mind that some people andplaces don't have the same ideas we do about cleanliness and sanitation. It's well worth the extra bump in the luggage for the snorkel gear compared to the yuk factor of using someone else's slobbery snorkel.....

[TheBeachBears]

I know exactly what you mean;

On one hand it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to snorkel and see something great, so you want to bring your best equipment.

On the other hand it takes up a lot of space in the suitcase vs. time actually spent using it.

 

Last time we brought it, this time with our six year old in tow and more luggages, I don’t think so. Also test your mask before going we had people on our sting ray city trip with leaky mask, prescription no less, so she lugged it here and now has to lug it home for no return.

[brmoqueen]

Do u rent or bring your own toothbrush????????........

 

We always bring our own....I would NEVER want to breathe in a snorkel that someone else has spit on.......GROSS

[britchicknyc]

what is reasonable to pay for a set?

[Babs66]

As a scuba diver we never travel without our own mask and snorkel. There is nothing worse than trying to dive/snorkel with a mask that does not fit well and leaks and of course the cleanliness of it. Fins take up to much room (especially if you have the kind that require booties), and we always use the provided ones but I usually bring some kind of anti fungul foot stuff to put on after I use them, just in case.

[KamloopsCruisers]

what is reasonable to pay for a set?

 

We got a good quality set from Costco three years ago. If I remember correctly we paid about $80 Cdn. Set came in a nice little back-pack, which has room enough for my towel, sunscreen, water bottle & underwater camera. Worth every penny.

[britchicknyc]

great thanks! i'll keep an eye at my local store!

[busric]

Try www.snorkelmart.com for some pretty decent equipment. I got my mask made for my Rx also very reasonable. They are fast also if your in a hurry.

[sleeples23]

Definitely bring your own. Costco is selling for $39.99 right now, what I paid $70.00 for last year. Plus it comes in a great travel bag.:)

[TC Cruiser]

Make sure you get good quality gear if you buy your own. I purchased a bundled set at Sam's Club and then went to Cancun. The materials were a bit stiff and not very stretchy, so the mask didn't seal well and leaked and the fins wanted to twist around my feet, even though my feet felt a bit like they were being crushed. It was a waste of money, but then again I bought junk. :mad:

[busric]

The equipment I bought from Snorkel-Mart was the same as the dive shop was using in Cozumel. I was pleasantly surprised with that.

[Babs66]

If you plan on using this mask and snorkel in the future, I suggest going to a local dive shop. With a mask you would want it to fit snug on your face. The way to test this is to place the mask on your face without strapping it on, bow your head forward and suck in throuh your nose, if the mask falls off then it is too loose if it makes your eyes bulge it is too tight, you will know if the mask feels good. Snorkels are the same you will want to attach it to the mask you choose and make sure that it comes to your mouth comfortably (without actually putting it in). You can get masks as low as 29.99 and snorkels about 15.00 even at a dive shop. Im not sure what part of the country you live in but we have dive shops even here in the suburbs of Chicago. Now remember this is coming from a Certified Diver with many hours underwater so this information may be more than you need.