Snorkle diving "vests" Whats that about?

Hey folks please forgive my lack of education here. A Vacation program on TV caught my eye. heck it was going on about all the fantastic snorkling in an area. Then pan to a bunch of adult snorklers in what look to be VERY old school BC's or airline life preservers. I've been snorkling for a heck of a long time and they are a new thing by me.
what are they?

Yeah some operations in resort type environments that sell snorkel tours generally use them so that members of general public that don't get in to the water much have a safer experience while doing so. its just a safety feature, normally you self inflate them and dump them if you want to duck then just blow them up again on the surface

Basically, life vest for inexperienced snorklers. A lot of ops require them as a safety factor....as much for them as the customer.

Well I've been snorkling for many, many years but when we went on a cruise with Royal Caribbean and we stopped at Labadee (Haiti) they wouldn't let us snorkel without the vest.

I personally use a bright yellow inflatable vest that zips up the front and has two pockets on front and looks more like a BC. I use it because I snorkel alone in a bay where there might not be anyone else close by. Also because of the color, boat and jetski traffic can spot you a whole lot easier. Another great feature is that there are nylon loops where I can attach the strap from my underwater housing.
I am a pretty good swimmer but when you are a couple hundred feet from shore and you get a leg cramp or just want to rest, by blowing a couple of puffs of
air into the vest you will be bobbing high enough to rest.

Most of the dive companies out there are using more of a "bib"type of vest that has straps that go between your legs and from what I have read are not that
comfortable.

BeckyTV:

I personally use a bright yellow inflatable vest that zips up the front and has two pockets on front and looks more like a BC. I use it because I snorkel alone in a bay where there might not be anyone else close by. Also because of the color, boat and jetski traffic can spot you a whole lot easier.

Click to expand...

Hi,
I am very interested in such a vest. Can you recommend yours and, if yes, let me know the brand? For me it is very important that the vest is lightweight, because it has to fit in my luggage when flying.
Thanks.

[video=youtube;85Lc8KtED5s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=85Lc8KtED5s[/video]