Snorkeling Gear

Snorkeling gear is used to comfortably explore the first few meters of the water, holding your breath. Snorkeling gear is actually extremely cheap for a beginners set, and then it can be fairly expensive as you work your way up the price range. In saying this, snorkeling gear is very cheap when you compare it to other sports. You don’t have to buy the best snorkeling gear to have a great time underwater. Snorkeling gear composes of a few things:

A mask: This is what determines how you see things underwater. It’s important with all of your snorkeling gear to ensure that it fits comfortably, and correctly. Masks should be held up to the face, and then suck in through your nose. If you let go with your hands, does it stay there? If not, find one which fits your face better. Black masks tend to be best because they block out the sunlight, and hence you can see further and clearer underwater. Attached to a mask is a snorkel, which is the breathing apparatus, involved with snorkeling gear. The most simple and reliable snorkel is just a J snorkel, but these days many people use purge valves. These tend to be more expensive, and can break if treated roughly or if sand gets inside of them. In saying this, they are a lot easier to breathe and to get rid of water. Its important to weigh up personal need when buying snorkeling gear.

The next piece of snorkeling gear is fins. These propel you underwater, so make sure they are good. Flexible fins are often good, and they can even be up to a meter long. Some fins use booties, whilst other need socks and some don’t need anything; you just slip them on. Snorkeling gear varies so much, and some fins have straps, whilst others are not adjustable. The only problem with straps is that they can break, and then you have no more propulsion underwater! You want your snorkeling gear to be reliable – you don’t want it breaking because you usually don’t have spares! Snorkeling is fun if it runs smoothly; be prepared.

Something which makes snorkeling gear much more comfortable is a wetsuit. This will keep you warm even in cold water, if you buy the correct thickness. A good wetsuit will enable you to stay in the water for over 2 hours, without feeling too much cold. Some parts of the world don’t require this part of snorkeling gear because of the warm water temperature – make sure you need one before you get one.

Another important piece of snorkeling gear is a weight belt. This is literally just a belt with some weights on it, designed to help you swim underwater a little easier. Without extra weight, most people tend to float, so a weight belt just neutralizes this, enabling you to dive underwater without fighting the floating effect. Snorkeling gear is made to make your diving experience as easy as possible, and a weight belt helps with this.

Other snorkeling gear includes a bag, camera, knife, spear gun, torch and gloves. These are not all needed, but can make your diving experience more enjoyable. It’s a good idea to test out some snorkeling gear before you buy it.