Home > Learning Center > Snorkeling Equipment

Snorkeling Equipment

Snorkel equipment is really very simple. It is even simpler if you compare it to what you would need to go scuba diving, wakeboarding, water skiing, or tubing. To do any of those things, you need a wetsuit, a boat, and specific pieces of gear that can run up into the thousands. Snorkeling on the other hand can be done off the shore and with an equipment total of less than one hundred dollars.

Snorkel equipment consists of four major components: the fins (or flippers), the mask, the vest, and the breathing tube/mouthpiece. While some will tell you that fins and vest aren’t necessary for snorkeling, they are highly recommended by anyone familiar with the sport. They will both keep you in the water longer without tiring you out. This might not seem like it’s a big deal to you now, but it truly is important. It takes much more energy to simply stay afloat and move around in water than it does to walk around on land.

That is the reason vests have become commonplace as standard snorkel equipment. Staying afloat is the first challenge a snorkeling aspirant needs to surmount to succeed. Life vests were considered too cumbersome and top oriented to be used while snorkeling, so a more balanced and adjustable vest was invented. A snorkeling vest usually extends all the way down to the waist and includes a crotch strap to give your torso more even buoyancy.

 

Snorkeling Equipment | Safety | Learning Center | Site Map | Links | Contact | Home

©