Snorkel Gear?????

[gizmo0013]

We are going on a cruise for our honeymoon and want to go snorkeling. I have my scuba gear that Ill use to snorkel. Mine came from a dive shop 11 years ago. But I need to know where to get my fiance some snorkel gear?

[scubaran]

We are going on a cruise for our honeymoon and want to go snorkeling. I have my scuba gear that Ill use to snorkel. Mine came from a dive shop 11 years ago. But I need to know where to get my fiance some snorkel gear?

 

 

Hi,

 

Best place, your local dive shop. Fit and comfort over price any time.

 

Randall

[mipps]

same as Randall

We have previously snorkeled with cheap mask snorkel sets which continually leaked no matter whos head it was on.

2 weeks ago we went to the local dive shop and the chap made sure each mask fitted perfectly. DW also got a flash snorkel which shuts off when you go under water. I went for a standard snorkel.

If you have a local pool it is a good investment to go along and test the gear out before you depart. I loved DW's flash snorkel so much I took mine back and the dive shop happily upgraded it to the same model as hers for the extra $$

 

:)

[scubaran]

same as Randall

We have previously snorkeled with cheap mask snorkel sets which continually leaked no matter whos head it was on.

2 weeks ago we went to the local dive shop and the chap made sure each mask fitted perfectly. DW also got a flash snorkel which shuts off when you go under water. I went for a standard snorkel.

If you have a local pool it is a good investment to go along and test the gear out before you depart. I loved DW's flash snorkel so much I took mine back and the dive shop happily upgraded it to the same model as hers for the extra $$

 

:)

 

Hi,

 

Couldn't had said it better. :D

 

Randall

[teachergal29]

Flash snorkel?? Call me uninformed, but what is it and how is it different from the ones you rent like at Snorkel Bob's in Hawaii??

Thanks so much.. We are thinking of buying ourselves each our own equipment before our cruise in Nov.

[mipps]

hehe .... flash .... yeah its like light years away from my old tube

 

Basicly its got a little float that sits on top of the snorkel. The moment you go under water the little stopper goes over the snorkel tube and no water goes down it. When you come to the surface you just breath normally there is no need to blow the water out first.

 

The dive shop guy said keep away from the cheap imatations. This one was about $40US. everything costs the earth in New Zealand so they may be much cheaper in the US

[34TigerLily]

Is a flash snorkel the same thing as what is called a dry snorkel in the US?

[mipps]

Dry would be a pretty good way of explaining it

 

:)

[scubaran]

Is a flash snorkel the same thing as what is called a dry snorkel in the US?

 

Hi,

 

Sounds like it. Mipp's description is the same for a dry snorkel in the U.S. The actual mechanism may be slightly different but the effect is the same. And I agree, don't go cheap on a snorkel if you want to keep the water out of it. It took some practice but I can now use a standard open tube (but not without more than a few mouth's full of water before I got down the "blow the water out of your snorkel" manuver down). The only real advantage in going "wet" is the weight of the snorkel. The sealing mechanism on the end of a dry snorkel can sometimes be weighty causing the snorkel to drag against a mask strap.

 

Randall

 

(Mipp, I just got done watching Treasure Island NZ on cable. Those New Zealanders are a tough lot :) )

[Marietta]

We want to buy some cheap snorkel gear and try it on our cruise this fall. Do we have to go to a dive shop or can we buy it online? We have never been snorkling and live in southern Oklahoma, 2 hours from nowhere. Are we stuck either using the rental stuff (ickk) or forgetting the whole thing?

[CFDAlden]

The problem with buying online is the fit. All masks fit a bit different, and you need one that fit's you.

 

Trying them on before buying is a huge help!

[gizmo0013]

Thanks everyone. I think we are going to get his at a dive shop. And I already had mine from diving.

[Cruise_More_Often]

I bought a set during the summer at Costco -- mask, fins and snorkel. The mask was too big for my face, and I ended up going to a dive shop to get fitted correctly. Plus, they have fins and snorkels on sale.

[Lsimon]

I agree with some of the posters above to get a good quality dry snorkel. We use the Oceanmaster dry snorkel - buy online for $30 or so. We have nice masks too. We used to take our own fins, but it is a lot to carry and we've found that almost every place we go snorkeling they either provide fins (boating excursions) or you can rent them at the beach for $5 or so.

 

We did buy some neoprene socks to wear under rental fins - helps a lot with fit and skin chafing.

 

We've bought most of our stuff online from leisurepro.com there are other nice web sites too. Took a chance on the masks (bought Oceanmaster masks for around $40 or $50) but they fit great. I think we asked and could return them unused if they didn't fit - ask them to make sure.