Snorkeling and Scuba Diving: 2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Snorkeling - Safety First – Safety Snorkel Gear

As I have always said, Snorkeling is one of the most exciting and at the same time relaxing water activity. But in order to enjoy it in confidence, we need to make it as safe as possible. There are a few precautions we must consider, in order to keep it that way. Fortunately for us, there is some snorkel gear out there that will help us to keep it safe.

The first thing in the safety snorkel gear if you don’t mind me calling it that, we must consider is the use of a snorkeling or safety vest. The type that is inflatable, so you can submerge anytime you want. Did you know that 1 out of 10 people normally can’t float, even if they know how to swim? It makes it very hard for these folks to maintain themselves a float in the water. These folks can partially inflate the vest, to help them maintain themselves on the surface. The rest of us can inflate it when we get tired or get a leg cramp or are not feeling well.

Rip current: We all know that when we are caught in a rip current, that we should not fight it. All we have to do is swim parallel to the shore until we get free from that current and then start working our way into shore. Here is when the snorkeling vest also comes into play. The vest can help us keep afloat safely until we can get back to shore.

The other item of the snorkel gear that contributes to our safety is a knife. Besides looking cool, it can help us cut through discarded fishing lines or nets left behind by inconsiderate fishermen. I hope it never happens to you, but just imagine yourself submerging to get a closer look at some great underwater scenery to find yourself tangled in some old fishing line, with only seconds of air left. That happened to me once, and it wasn’t funny. Thanks to my knife, I was able to cut myself free just in time. Although it just happened to me once, and long ago, I still remember that moment and always carry my knife every time I snorkel or scuba dive.

So remember these tips the next time you go snorkeling and in addition to enjoying the wonderful underwater world, please keep safe.

Friday, October 1, 2010

The Snorkel Mask, The Most Important Item of your Snorkeling Gear

We already discussed how to choose the proper Snorkeling Gear in general and the important points of the diving or Snorkel Mask. So let’s talk about now about the next most important piece of equipment that you will need. I would like to talk specifically about the Diving or Snorkeling Mask. Remember, this is the item of your Snorkeling Gear that allows you to see the wonderful world that lies beneath the surface.

As I had mentioned in my previous article the Snorkeling Masks come, if you will, for three types of faces. The majority of them, of course are for average faces. But you can find them for smaller and larger faces. Smaller faces, like in kids and petite women. Larger faces, I mean larger faces as in big, since most average Masks will fit most faces. So when you’re ready to buy, read the specs and make sure your buying the proper one for your face. That way, when you test it you should have no problems and with minor adjustments you can achieve a proper fit.

Now, to test your Mask, hold it against your face with your hand, not the strap. Inhale through your nose until the mask feels stuck to your face. If you let go of your hand and the Mask remains stuck to your face, you have achieved a perfect seal. That way you shouldn’t have to tighten the strap too much and the mask will fit comfortably.

Masks also come in different forms and colors. A serious diver will tell you that the best one will be the one with a black body and skirt. He could be right. This mask blocks the light that comes in through the sides and upper and lower portion of the clear masks avoiding reflections. But not all masks come with panoramic view, and in addition to reflections you may catch a glimpse of something with your peripheral vision with the clear one. So if you like the blue, red, yellow or pink trim ones just keep that in mind.

Also, if you wear glasses to correct your vision, you may want to know that some Diving or Snorkeling Masks come ready to replace the original lens with an optical correction lens that will fit your prescription. Don’t worry; they are much less expensive than regular glasses. But remember, water magnifies everything and if your eye site isn’t that bad, you may be able to save a buck or two.

In the most economical Masks the body and skirt are made of PVC or plastic, compared to less economical ones that are made of silicone or liquid injected silicone. So depending on your budget, the silicone makes it more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time but the PVC ones do the job too and if you find the right one, the price may not make that much of a difference.

So when you’re ready to enjoy the wonders of the underwater world or getting a better set. These are a few tips that may help you decide which one is the right Diving or Snorkeling Mask for you. So keep them in mind.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Snorkel Gear – How to Choose the Best Snorkeling Set

I discovered, many years ago that the most relaxing and at the same time exciting water sports is Snorkeling. Just to float around in the water and become part of the underwater world is enough for me to escape the rush and pressure we live in now a days. Don’t worry; you don’t have to be an Olympic swimmer. As long as you can float and kick your legs, you can snorkel; we’ll deal with style later.

Now in order to be able to relax and enjoy snorkeling the right way, we need to learn how to choose the proper snorkeling gear. To make sure that everything fits and works properly so we can enjoy the beauty of the world that awaits us.

There are three essential items you will need. A snorkel mask a snorkel and snorkeling fins. Some folks call it a diving or scuba mask. Yes, you can use a more expensive diving mask used for scuba diving they are the same (just more high priced), but you really don’t need to. There are two additional items that I recommend but we will discuss these in the future these are a diving knife and a snorkeling or vest.

So let’s talk about the snorkel mask, that’s what lets you see under the water. Masks come in different shapes and sizes and the ideal way to check if it fits properly is to hold it against your face and suck in through your nose. When you let go and it continues stuck to your face, you have a perfect fit. The thing is that all masks come in three types, for average faces, for larger faces and for small faces. Most of the masks will come for average faces so when you buy the mask, make sure you get the correct type. Also, the masks skirt, or area that wraps around your face will come in two materials. These are PVC or rubber, for more economical models and of silicone for better models. The last being a bit more expensive, but more comfortable to use and depending on how much you’re planning to spend snorkeling and you’re budget, both work well.

The snorkel: This item allows you to breath while floating on the surface of the water without having to lift your face out of the water to get a breath of air, like what you have to do when normal swimming. Now, these come in different types also, Dry, Semi-Dry and the regular or purge snorkel. Of course, the dry snorkel says it all, if you submerge, the snorkel will stay dry and when you surface you will not need to empty it out like the purge snorkel. This last one you need to blow out the water that fills the tube while you were under water. With the Dry snorkel you definitely can spend more time under water, since you wouldn’t need that extra reserve of air in your lungs to blow the water out. Again, depending on your budget and your interest in snorkeling, that’s the one you will buy. But make sure the mouth piece is made of silicone and not PVC, this will avoid irritating your gums and inner lips.

And then there were the fins. Yes, you guessed it; there are various types of fins, actually, too many. But for our purpose, we will discuss two types of snorkeling fins. They are the full foot and the open heel. The advantage of the full foot is that it covers the entire foot and if you were to do some walking on the shore, your feet would be protected. But they don’t come in exact shoe sizes and they may fit either lose or too tight, and besides who wants to walk around like a clown with those big shoes they wear. The open heel fin comes with an adjustable strap that you tighten or loosen depending on how you need to properly fit it. Yes your heels will be exposed but probably the fins will fit better and you won’t have to worry about them coming off or being too tight that could make you uncomfortable.

So, when you go hunting for the best snorkeling set or snorkeling gear, keep these hints in mind and they will help you choose the Best Snorkeling Set.