SNORKELING GEAR
Fins, Masks, Snorkels, Bags, Markers/Dive Flag, Cameras, Rash guards, Mask fogging, etc
There are advantages and disadvantages to taking your own snorkel sets, i feel like the advantages are better
the bad
1. it takes up room in your luggage, if your tight on space could be a problem, it doesn’t really use a lot of room though.
2. weight, most times when flying if your bags are over 50 lbs you will get hit with fees, my snorkeling set weighs 5 lbs.
3.hauling it around with you. if you are seeing & doing a lot of things and snorkeling is only a small part of the day it could feel in the way.
4. a good set could cost you $45 -$100
the good
1. having good gear, a mask that doesn’t leak! (as long as you get a good one) its hit and miss as to whether you will end up with good gear renting.
2. its your own, the snorkel your using wasn’t in somebody elses mouth.
3. flexibility, if you want to snorkel at a couple different places you either have to rent twice or go back to the original place to return it.
4. cost, most 7 day cruises stop at 3 or 4 locations, if you plan on snorkeling in 3 different ports paying $10-20 each day it adds up.
5. availability, not all good snorkel spots have dive shops or rental places nearby, you may limit yourself by working around rental locations.
Buying Snorkel Gear, in general you don’t want to get the very cheapest set you can find, usually they have a softer plastic skirt on the mask which does not seal as well as the ones made from silicone, or poorly made buckles on the fins. but at the same time you do not need really expensive stuff either, you can find good gear for a good price.
you can find good gear as sets or pieced together, you could end up with better gear piecing it together but a little better price by buying a set or may come with a good pack. i have included links to some good equipment i have found on amazon, ebay is a great place to look too, especially for gently used stuff or a seller that has a few sets “overstock” type stuff.
you can find good snorkels for $15-20
masks for $20-30
fins $30-$40
Bag ? -$20
sets can run $35-$80 for decent to good gear
some individual gear i would recommend
Masks-in my opinion the most important item is your mask, if you have one that fogs really bad or leaks you will not enjoy snorkeling, the thing to look for is masks that say that they have a 100% silicone skirt. (not PVC) i also like masks with bigger viewing area.
One of my favorite masks is the Phantom Aquatics Frameless Snorkel Mask, (pretty much exactly the same as the Cressi F1) a nice soft 100% silicone mask skirt that seals well. a little more compact than the masks with frames, Phantom Aquatics Snorkeling Mask Set in clear or Black for $35 with the snorkel (great snorkel too, same as the Cressi) clear skirts can be better for people that might be claustrophobic
Mask strap cover, these are great to have if you have longer hair, my wife really likes it, the mask strap slides easily over her hair instead of catching on it here is one we use 
Fins, there are a few different types of fins;
SCUBA diving fins– which will be bigger/longer/heavier/stiffer for propelling a diver with a lot of gear.
Snorkel fins– lighter & shorter than SCUBA fins, but work great for Snorkeling, good for travel, usually about 21″ (open foot) 24″ (full foot).
Travel fins/Snorkel fins- there are a lot of smaller compact “travel” fins, shorter than regular snorkel fins, i guess the idea is smaller and lighter and easier to pack around, but after using some 17″ I would not recommend going that route, a lot more leg work, regular size snorkel fins are compact enough for travel.
Open Heel vs Full Foot, advantages to full foot are there are less parts that could break (heel strap and buckles), and could be a little lighter, but they will need to fit snug and will not give you the option of wearing snorkel socks–Advantages to open foot is they are adjustable, they can fit a variety of foot sizes (let friends or your kids use them) also allowing you the option of wearing a Neoprene Snorkeling Sock.
size note -i wear a size 9 mens and use the US Divers/Aqualung fins S/M (5-8.5) it is a good snug fit
U.S.. Divers Proflex FX Fin, a pretty common fin design, not my favorite but decent, fairly comfortable foot pocket after a long time it can start to not feel as comfortable, i have a few sets of these for our older kids, open heel, 21″ long $20-$30
US Divers Borneo, similar to the Proflex,
U.S. Divers Pivot Flex Fins, in my opinion the Best “snorkeling fins” unique design suppose to “increased efficiency and comfort”, i use them and like them a lot, very comfortable foot pocket, open heel, 21″ long $39
you can buy the set for $50-80– overall the best set you can get
if you are looking for the pivot flex fins be careful because there is a shorter model that looks the same (here),sometimes it is called the hingflex, it is about 3-4″ shorter, i have used them and there is a noticeable difference in it, a lot more leg movement to keep you going, you will want the longer 21″ fins.
Snorkel, if all you do is surface snorkel you can use about anything, if you like to dive down to get a closer look the “dry “snorkels have come a long ways, there are some good inexpensive ones that let hardly any water in when you dive down
Cressi Supernova Dry, $24- my favorite of the several I have, Nice flexible tube that lets the snorkel be positioned more comfortably, seals great, comfortable mouthpiece. exact same snorkel that comes with Phantom Aquatics Snorkeling Mask Set
Phantom Aquatics Dry Snorkel, $20 from what i can tell it is exactly the same as the Cressi but a few bucks cheaper.
U.S. Divers Island Dry Snorkel, i have a couple of these, they come with some of the US Divers/Aqua Lung sets, they are good snorkels if your getting them in a set, if you are buying just the snorkel go for the Phantom or Cressi.
Sets,here are some good gear sets that we have used
U.S. Divers Panoramic View Lux Platinum Snorkel Set US Divers does make some real cheap stuff thats not so great, this is a good set, the Mask has a good silicone skirt that is soft and seals well, i have liked the “Panoramic” windows on the side, it gives you more peripheral vision and makes you feel less closed in. the snorkel is a good dry snorkel and keeps water out of it well. the fins are ,in my opinion, really good, i like the “Pivot Flex” design, comfortable to use for a long time and propel you easily, another bonus to this set is the bag/backpack, it is great for storing them in and taking off the ship, it gives you a little room for bringing back some souvenirs or stuffing some extra clothes in, the mesh on the bottom helps let water and sand out. if you are buying a set this is my top recommendation, we bought ours for $50-60, right now they are starting out at $50 ish (link above)
Promate Snorkeling Set, these use to be a better price, my brother has this set and the mask has a nice soft silicone skirt, the fins have a nice comfortable foot pocket and are 19″ long, the snorkel has silicone mouthpiece, has a little cheaper look but should function well.
for the price the US Divers is a better set
Kids
U.S. Divers Junior Regal Mask, Trigger Fins and Laguna Snorkel Combo Set, $30-$40, sometimes you can find an odd set on eBay or end of season at a sporting goods store for $25-30, pretty good kids set, we have gotten a couple others in the past that were pretty bad, the mask on this is decent (not full silicone though), the snorkel is dry and the fins are the pivot flex style (not that that makes that much difference on a fin this small) but they are good fins.
Promate Junior Snorkeling Set for kids, we recently got one of these sets, this is a pretty good set, better than the US Divers Regal sets, the mask has a silicone skirt, the fins are bigger than the US Divers, but the snorkel has a cheap feel but still works. i would definitely recommend this over the US divers sets.
Snorkeling Gear Bags, we have used the US Divers bags that came with our sets a lot, they are great for taking off the ship, you can fit 2 snorkel sets in one bay snugly, with one snorkel set it gives you a little room for bringing back some souvenirs or stuffing some extra clothes, in the mesh on the bottom helps let water and sand out, great for storing your gear when you get back home, the US Divers bags can be bought without the set for about $20 and a similar one by Phantom Aquatics or Promate that looks good. you can always use a regular backpack if you get one tall enough (most regular size snorkel fins are about 19-21″ long) but just keep in mind that may have water or sand collecting in the bottom that you will need to clean out/dry later.
Dive Flag, usually you do not need a dive flag, a lot of regular snorkel spots are roped off or don’t have boat traffic, some places you do need one, in Florida (Ft Lauderdale) when we were looking for snorkel spots on a map the sites we wanted to go to showed that a dive flag was required (the only place i have taken one though) here is the one we used, it is inflatable and does not take up much room
Snorkeling Socks, We have used the 2 mm Neoprene snorkeling socks occasionally, mostly when we know we are going to have rocky areas to walk across to get to the water, they are not something you would want to wear in place of a shoe for a lot of walking,
They do add a little warmth in cool water ( also in really warm water they can keep your feet a little warmer than i like) some people use them all the time to keep their fins from rubbing or causing blisters, we have never had that problem though, going barefoot for hours at a time in our US Divers pivot flex fins, different fins may need to use something like this though.
they also help from pieces of sand getting stuck between your foot and the fin and rubbing, to keep this from happening barefoot after i get out away from the beach i float face down for a minute and take my fins off (one at a time) and put them back on to get any beach entry sand out.
the neoprene ones can make your feet a little warm if you are snorkeling in very warm water, there is another style called a sand sock that is not insulated that we also use and like, it is also taller (alot of people use them for sand volleyball) and is less likely to get sand inside of it.
Rash Guards, if you plan on doing a lot of snorkeling i would highly recommend rash guards/swim shirts, you can snorkel for hours without worry of sunburns, they are light, comfortable and dry quickly (nothing like wearing a heavy soppy T-shirt) lots of different brands and styles to chose from, you can get them a lot of places, i like the more fitted ones rather than the t shirt style. ( my wife, father in law and me doing SNUBA in St Thomas sunburn free)
Waterproof Bags, in addition to having a pack to haul your snorkel gear in if you want to take dry clothes or valuables you don’t want out of your sight one of these would be helpful, 10L Dry Bag about $15, you could easily tow it with you as you snorkel, if its a bright color it can help increase your visibility to boats, there are several different sizes available and colors, we got a 10L it is a good medium size, and black so it would blend in a little more.
or on the smaller side for phone passports papers etc. Waterproof Pouch with Waist Strap
Cameras for snorkeling, i started looking into GoPro’s for their underwater camera and video capabilities but did not want to spend $300 so i tried one of the knock off versions, it had really good reviews from people that had both the knock off and the GoPro brand and they had a lot of good things to say, i spent $60 and was really impressed with the quality of pictures and video, it does not show as well off you tube, it looks a lot better on my computer but here is a link to a video we took
– AKASO EK7000 4K Action Camera on amazon with 4.5 stars over almost 35k reviews, i watched a side by side video with it and a Hero 5 and i did not see any picture quality benifit from the GoPro Hero, i will post pics soon
update: if you only plan on occasional use this camera is ok for that, if you plan on using it alot the Gopro is worth the investment, especially the Hero 7 and newer that do not need a case to go underwater down to 30 ft
some pictures i took with my first Go Pro knock off camera
A few more snorkeling tips
Mask Fogging
mask fogging can be a real killjoy, the basic idea is keeping the glass really clean and surfactants that reduce the surface tension, these 2 things will allow the moisture to flatten out on the glass instead of beading up.
Cleaning, use toothpaste to clean the inside of your mask, not the gel kind, with the glass dry rub it all around the whole surface of the glass with your (clean) finger, rinse it all out with hot water, dry it and do it a couple more times. here are 2 sites that talk about cleaning and anti fog, site1 site2
some also recommend using a lighter to burn off the junk leftover on the glass from manufacturing Video here, pick your method, either way the best way to get rid of fogging is a clean lens.
anti fog, we have used a couple different commercial anti fog solutions, didn’t really like either (Spit Spray and Sea Gold Gel) some people like them though, i have had best luck with baby shampoo (aprox 25% baby shampoo mixed with water in a 2 ounce spray bottle, spray the inside of the glass, rub it around then a quick rinse. make sure your fingers are not oily from sunscreen)
snorkeling trips/excursions, we did a beach and snorkel excursion (got it free otherwise i would not have done it) anyway the snorkeling gear they provided was just a mask and snorkel, so if you are going to do something like that check to see if they supply fins, or bring your own gear (we did) most snorkeling excursions that are just snorkeling will provide gear that will include fins, just something to watch for .
swim trunks for guys, just thought i would share my favorite pair of swim trunks i have found, they have a draw string that is functional! and very comfortable to wear Kanu Surf Men’s Barracuda