SnorkelMonkey
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I know this gets asked a lot, but I have some specific criteria which should affect the suggestions, and I really trust the input of the awesome members here!
I live in Colorado and don't get to travel very often, but I'm going back to Maui in October. I went there for my wedding in 2010 and snorkeling immediately became my favorite thing to do, so I plan to spend a LOT of time doing it when we go back. I don't need a snorkel or maskI actually bought these before we went the first time, and I've been very happy with them.
Here were some things that affected my experience snorkeling before that I'd like to address this time around if I can:
* I am a skinny guy (5'10", 125 lbs). I don't float, but the other down side of being skinny is that I get cold easy. After an hour paddling around I would be shivering, but not enough to get me to stop. I'm considering getting a neoprene shirt, or at least a rash shirt so I can go easy on the sunscreen (being that sunscreeneven the "green" kindis apparently hard on corals).
* Also being skinny, I'm not buoyant. Add to that a near drowning experience when I was a child and I'm not the most water confident person. I rented a floatation belt last time we went and it was fine, but am I correct that a neoprene shirt might help with this?
* I asked this in a separate post, but I'm thinking of getting a handheld light to use to see into the darker areas and also so I can get a more color-accurate view of the fish. I know they sell color corrected goggles, but they seem intended for deeper (SCUBA) diving. Plus, they're expensive and I already have a mask. I'm looking at the Dorcy 220.
* Last time we went I rented fins from Snorkel Bob's (I think it was these). They seemed fine, but the last couple days we were there I started having knee pain and had to cut my snorkeling short. :depressed: I've looked into fins a bit, but I'm seeing a lot of conflicting opinions. Some people say longer fins are better for snorkeling, some say shorter. Split fins seem to be good for propulsion, but it seems like the consensus is that they're useless for surface snorkeling. Everyone loves carbon fiber, but it seems hard to justify that much money for something I can only use every few years.
I have no plans to start freediving, and I'm fine with that, so please don't bother recommending something because it will be good for freediving as wellthis is solely surface snorkeling gear I'm looking for.
Phew, long post! Thanks for bearing with me and I really appreciate any suggestions people have to offer!
I live in Colorado and don't get to travel very often, but I'm going back to Maui in October. I went there for my wedding in 2010 and snorkeling immediately became my favorite thing to do, so I plan to spend a LOT of time doing it when we go back. I don't need a snorkel or maskI actually bought these before we went the first time, and I've been very happy with them.
Here were some things that affected my experience snorkeling before that I'd like to address this time around if I can:
* I am a skinny guy (5'10", 125 lbs). I don't float, but the other down side of being skinny is that I get cold easy. After an hour paddling around I would be shivering, but not enough to get me to stop. I'm considering getting a neoprene shirt, or at least a rash shirt so I can go easy on the sunscreen (being that sunscreeneven the "green" kindis apparently hard on corals).
* Also being skinny, I'm not buoyant. Add to that a near drowning experience when I was a child and I'm not the most water confident person. I rented a floatation belt last time we went and it was fine, but am I correct that a neoprene shirt might help with this?
* I asked this in a separate post, but I'm thinking of getting a handheld light to use to see into the darker areas and also so I can get a more color-accurate view of the fish. I know they sell color corrected goggles, but they seem intended for deeper (SCUBA) diving. Plus, they're expensive and I already have a mask. I'm looking at the Dorcy 220.
* Last time we went I rented fins from Snorkel Bob's (I think it was these). They seemed fine, but the last couple days we were there I started having knee pain and had to cut my snorkeling short. :depressed: I've looked into fins a bit, but I'm seeing a lot of conflicting opinions. Some people say longer fins are better for snorkeling, some say shorter. Split fins seem to be good for propulsion, but it seems like the consensus is that they're useless for surface snorkeling. Everyone loves carbon fiber, but it seems hard to justify that much money for something I can only use every few years.
I have no plans to start freediving, and I'm fine with that, so please don't bother recommending something because it will be good for freediving as wellthis is solely surface snorkeling gear I'm looking for.
Phew, long post! Thanks for bearing with me and I really appreciate any suggestions people have to offer!