Snorkeling Masks

[HangOutdoors]

What type of masks do you use for snorkeling? On our upcoming trip I purchased 7 of these masks for the all the kids the Admiral and the BIL. I have my own Mask and Dry Snorkel. I was about to buy 7 sets of fins. Really want them to have a good time, been a rough year for everyone. I am wondering if I should just return the full Face Masks and get regular Masks. I tried the full face in the pool and it is seemed to work fine. Found it was a bit more bouyant though.

I know we have members whom snorkel down south and in Bimini. Looking for any suggestions or if anyone has used a full face mask and what you thought. Trying to be budget friendly. I am sure the our kids will use them again though and maybe bring their friends when we go to clearer lakes.

This is what I bought, 7 of them and they came in today.
Amazon.com : W WSTOO Snorkel Mask with Latest Dry Top Breathing System,Fold 180 Degree Panoramic View Full Face Snorkel Mask Anti-Fog Anti-Leak with Camera Mount,Snorkeling Gear for Adults and Kids : Sports & Outdoors

Also looking at fins, man there are a lot of them out there.

 

[fatboyroy]

I have full face for shallow snorkeling if i want to dive deep I use the little one like olympic swimmer use… maybe it’s just me cause I’m not strong swimmer but the full face pushes me back up lol

 

[Scuba_ref]

Please don't use full face masks. There are many drowning deaths associated with these types of masks. You never get a complete exchange of air and so the carbon dioxide builds up. We see it frequently here in Hawaii. All the dive shops are trying to get them banned or flat out refuse to take snorkelers who use those masks. Get a real mask and snorkel.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Just ordered 7 of these

Amazon.com : ZEEPORTE Mask Fin Snorkel Set with Adult Snorkeling Gear, Panoramic View Diving Mask, Trek Fin, Dry Top Snorkel +Travel Bags, Snorkel for Lap Swimming : Sports & Outdoors

And also 8 of these just in case. In jamaica one time out I was fine and didn't need to inflate, the second time out it helped alot with the chop.

Amazon.com: Rrtizan Snorkel Vest, Adults Portable Inflatable Swim Vest Buoyancy Aid Swim Jackets for Men & Women(Black) : Sports & Outdoors

 

[Scuba_ref]

Make sure you scrub the lenses on the inside of the mask aggressively with a whitening toothpaste or other toothpaste that has some grit to it. Need to remove the film on left over from the manufacturing process. This will help to prevent fogging. Sometime you need to scrub it more that once - just the toothpaste and your finger.

 

[Nakk]

Please don't use full face masks. There are many drowning deaths associated with these types of masks. You never get a complete exchange of air and so the carbon dioxide builds up. We see it frequently here in Hawaii. All the dive shops are trying to get them banned or flat out refuse to take snorkelers who use those masks. Get a real mask and snorkel.

I have also read of a number of cases where water is ingested into the mask. Since it's difficult to expel the water with this type of mask, drowning was the end result.

 

[lazergeek]

Please don't use full face masks. There are many drowning deaths associated with these types of masks. You never get a complete exchange of air and so the carbon dioxide builds up. We see it frequently here in Hawaii. All the dive shops are trying to get them banned or flat out refuse to take snorkelers who use those masks. Get a real mask and snorkel.

Also people have passed out because they get CO2 build up too. I personally dont like them because you cant dive in them because of air bubble around your face, Im buoyant enough without adding more air pockets. They work of for surface snorkeling other then the safety concernes.

 

[lazergeek]

I have been using this set for the last 4 years and has been great. My only dislike is there is not a gopro mount on the mask. I ended up buying another mask with the mount but I never use it and keep going back to this one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005XYI3FW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[HangOutdoors]

I have been using this set for the last 4 years and has been great. My only dislike is there is not a gopro mount on the mask. I ended up buying another mask with the mount but I never use it and keep going back to this one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005XYI3FW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I looked at those but unfortunately, they don't have all the sizes I need and enough of them in stock. We are leaving next Saturday so I need them in this week. I was originally only going to buy a couple few, but with 5 kids, the BIL and the Admiral, I didn't want anyone to be left out or have to take turns. Very last minute I know, but trying to make it work out.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Just ordered 7 of these

Amazon.com : ZEEPORTE Mask Fin Snorkel Set with Adult Snorkeling Gear, Panoramic View Diving Mask, Trek Fin, Dry Top Snorkel +Travel Bags, Snorkel for Lap Swimming : Sports & Outdoors

And also 8 of these just in case. In jamaica one time out I was fine and didn't need to inflate, the second time out it helped alot with the chop.

Amazon.com: Rrtizan Snorkel Vest, Adults Portable Inflatable Swim Vest Buoyancy Aid Swim Jackets for Men & Women(Black) : Sports & Outdoors

I looked but did not see a sizing chart… howd you determine sizing?

 

[lazergeek]

I looked at those but unfortunately, they don't have all the sizes I need and enough of them in stock. We are leaving next Saturday so I need them in this week. I was originally only going to buy a couple few, but with 5 kids, the BIL and the Admiral, I didn't want anyone to be left out or have to take turns. Very last minute I know, but trying to make it work out.

Costco use to carry the US Drivers sets too, not sure if they stil do. I hvent been to a Costco in years.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Foot size is what you are really looking at, unless you need a much smaller mask for kids.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Foot size is what you are really looking at, unless you need a much smaller mask for kids.

Cool thanks! Hopefully the mask is big enough for my proboscis! LOL!

 

[adrianp89]

I am not very good at snorkling. I have found my self struggling more with traditional vs. full face. Full face makes me feel much more comfortable. Traditional I have had instances that scared me. I have probably done 30 minutes non stop with full face, I will keep in mind the CO2 concerns but I will NOT be going back to traditional.

 

[spatty99]

FYI, the safety of full face snorkel masks is still being studied, some recent research by DAN (Divers Alert Network, a global dive safety organization)...

DID NOT find issues with full face mask gas circulation (CO2 issues mentioned above) or mask removal.
DID find issues with gas flow (breathing pressure) and those issues were a function of poor design.

In summary, the difference in CO2 levels was not physiologically significant between mask types, full face mask breathing difficulty could increase when small amounts of water are introduced, and some full face masks produced by untraceable manufacturers had deficient designs.

I think the take away is that is is a lot harder for a substandard manufacturer to screw up the straight tube of a traditional snorkel, so if you prefer a full face mask, just get one from a reputable manufacturer.

It's a long video, discussion of the results starts here...

 

[HangOutdoors]

FYI, the safety of full face snorkel masks is still being studied, some recent research by DAN (Divers Alert Network, a global dive safety organization)...

DID NOT find issues with full face mask gas circulation (CO2 issues mentioned above) or mask removal.
DID find issues with gas flow (breathing pressure) and those issues were a function of poor design.

In summary, the difference in CO2 levels was not physiologically significant between mask types, full face mask breathing difficulty could increase when small amounts of water are introduced, and some full face masks produced by untraceable manufacturers had deficient designs.

I think the take away is that is is a lot harder for a substandard manufacturer to screw up the straight tube of a traditional snorkel, so if you prefer a full face mask, just get one from a reputable manufacturer.

It's a long video, discussion of the results starts here...

Great Video!

For me in my current trip, I can't really spring for 8 of the higher end reputable manufactures, for everyone. So to be on the safe side, I am returning the ones I linked above and just going with regular snorkel masks/tubes.

 

[adrianp89]

Great Video!

For me in my current trip, I can't really spring for 8 of the higher end reputable manufactures, for everyone. So to be on the safe side, I am returning the ones I linked above and just going with regular snorkel masks/tubes.

I would keep them. I have trouble clearing a normal snorkel so I would have to come up out of the water and take it off. Sometimes will doing this I would ingest water and struggle to tread water while coughing up salt water. Similar for clearing the mask, which seem to fog up worse. Treading water while trying to clean your mask is shitty.

Even with cheapo Amazon full face masks I had neither of these issues.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Just ordered 7 of these

Amazon.com : ZEEPORTE Mask Fin Snorkel Set with Adult Snorkeling Gear, Panoramic View Diving Mask, Trek Fin, Dry Top Snorkel +Travel Bags, Snorkel for Lap Swimming : Sports & Outdoors

And also 8 of these just in case. In jamaica one time out I was fine and didn't need to inflate, the second time out it helped alot with the chop.

Amazon.com: Rrtizan Snorkel Vest, Adults Portable Inflatable Swim Vest Buoyancy Aid Swim Jackets for Men & Women(Black) : Sports & Outdoors

I bought the zeeporte set pretty soon after you posted it, I’m very happy with that set, so happy that I bought another set.

The first set stays on the boat and has gotten some use.


The other set goes to the Y with me and I use it to swim laps. Eventually they will get phased out as I build up distance, currently at a half mile going up to a mile, the set works very well and allows me to swim the distance that I want to do.

So thanks for posting them up !

 

[zipper]

I would keep them. I have trouble clearing a normal snorkel so I would have to come up out of the water and take it off. Sometimes will doing this I would ingest water and struggle to tread water while coughing up salt water. Similar for clearing the mask, which seem to fog up worse. Treading water while trying to clean your mask is shitty.

Even with cheapo Amazon full face masks I had neither of these issues.

I always spit on the inside of the mask lens, smear it around, then rinse it out. Very few problems with fogging up. I know discusting, but it works. Another benefit of this is people that see you do this will not want to use your mask after. One of the first things you will learn in a scuba class. At least it was in 1981, been doing it since.

How does Spit work in Defogging a Scuba Mask - DeepDive

One of the first things we are taught while learning to scuba dive is how to spit in our masks before entering the water to prevent the mask from fogging

www.scuba.com

Edit: I use an old school snorkel and have always found it easy to clear if you start clearing before you breach the surface. On your ascent, look to the surface, this puts the snorkel outlet in the down position. A quick little exhale will displace the water and fill the snorkel with air. As you break the surface your head will change position and rotate the cleared snorkel up out of the water. Any remaining water will need a good blow up the vertical tube. Most people won't have that left in them. You can eliminate any/all water in the snorkel at the surface once you get the timing of your exhale while surfacing right.

 

[Julian]

Also have them practice using the masks in the shallow end of a pool. Dont go out snorkeling without them knowing what they are doing first. They should also practice clearing a snorkel - ones with clearing ports are easier to clear (but the valves do wear out/get dry).