This is a very good question.  A person who snorkels with their own personal snorkel gear is going to be more comfortable while they’re snorkeling. I know this from personal experience. When I go on vacation I have always made sure that I have brought my own mask, snorkel and fins. I know whose face my mask is been on and I know whose mouth my snorkel has been in. As far as snorkeling fins go, I know that my fins fit me comfortably and I have gotten extremely used to how they perform for me while I am snorkeling.

When the airlines started putting restrictions on luggage which included number of pieces, size for carry-on and weight, it threw me in a dilemma. My original snorkeling fins were 24 inches long. They did take up a goodly amount of space in my luggage and they were a bit on the heavy side. My dilemma was to take them or do I rent a pair of fins while I’m on vacation? I thought long and hard about this.

Snorkeling manufacturers did come to bat by making “travel fins” such as the U.S. Divers Trek Fins and Cressi Palau SAF Fins. These fins were touted as lighter in weight and shorter than traditional snorkeling fins and from the reviews by users, people are actually preferring the travel size fins over the traditional length fins.

Now the question changed to, do I buy a pair of the new travel fins to take with or do I rent what they have there?

My answer actually came from a telephone customer who was purchasing mask, snorkel and fins for his upcoming vacation. He relayed a story of being on his last vacation where he chose to rent his snorkeling gear. His experience was having a mask that leaked because it didn’t fit. They didn’t have another selection because most of them were already rented and it was the best of what was left. It came with a snorkel but he realized that the snorkel was going in his mouth and he wasn’t sure of whose mouth it had been in before and wasn’t sure if it was sanitized. And they were out of the size snorkeling fins he needed. He was told that he could come back in an hour or two and they would probably have a lot of the previously rented gear back. If that didn’t add insult to injury, then the fact that he had already waited 45 minutes in a line to rent the equipment did.

Needless to say I bought my travel fins shortly after I finished processing his order.

Grab your snorkel gear, we are jumping in the water!

I have had the opportunity to be on boats in the salt waters and I have seen many dolphins in the wild, but this is the first time I have seen 2 dolphins crash in the water…. sorta reminds me of two snorkeling buddies who did the same thing. The first video is my snorkel buddies and the second video is my dolphin buddies… so grab your snorkel gear!

We found this video on the TODAY Show.

Yipee… everyone grew up with National Geographic and now they are making snorkel equipment and we have it in stock!

The National Geographic Tunny 46 includes the travel snorkeling fins, mask and snorkel and it comes in black, blue or yellow. We also will be offering individual snorkel equipment that of course includes snorkels, snorkeling fins, masks and bags. National Geographic snorkel equipment has a nice selection and they keep adding to the snorkeling products. The snorkel gear that we offer is top quality that you have come custom to purchase through us. In another week, the staff of Snorkeling Online.com will be testing the products so watch for our reviews.

I came across this picture and thought I would share. Isnt the puppy adorable? If you dont have a puppy and never had the opportunity to put a snorkeling mask & snorkel on your pet, check out this picture.

Thank you MNFX for this adorable picture and sharing what a dog looks like with snorkel equipment.

Product reviews, including snorkeling gear, are an important part of shopping in todays world. Though SnorkelingOnline does not have a review program at this time, we still do have reviews from customers. We sell online, not only on our website, but we do have a presence on Amazon. Here is our top most popular snorkeling fins and a few customer reviews that have purchased the U.S. Divers Trek Travel Fins.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of both worlds-Fast fins that act like a shoe…
By Tim “Digital Dude” (Texas)
Ever try to walk around in swim fins, especially the long ones? It ain’t easy. The Trek’s made it a breeze for me though I probably looked like a duck because of their shape. I tried the long and thin Proflex II’s but they were so flimsy they curled with every kick of my legs creating drag which quickly tired me out. Walking in them was impossible. The Trek’s stiffness and short length propelled me through the water like I was flying using rapid stiff leg bent at the knee minikicks. They held their own advancing against the strong current of tuber’s river rapids without a problem. Also used them as shoes to brace myself standing moving limestone boulders the size of 5 gallon water jugs out of the way of the rapids. I couldn’t believe how tough these fins were. The rubber/plastic material is thicker than the Proflex II’s and they fit perfectly and comfortably. I walked on concrete without slipping and could brace myself from hitting huge underwater limestone boulders. I would say the Trek’s are the best design out of all of the US Diver line of swim fins, but I’m not a pro diver, so take that for what it’s worth. Just started this month trying out this type of equipment for recreational use and I just love how these fins work.

5.0 out of 5 stars Light and fun!
By C. Lizan (Texas)
Wow, what fun fins! Easy to pack, light to carry and perfect for the water.

5.0 out of 5 stars Travel fins
By Beverly B
I love these fins. The are wonderful to use and easy and light to pack.

I love our industry… snorkeling is fun and full of adventure. Snorkeling can be a family sport and is a sport for the young and old. Snorkeling can be inexpensive or you can travel across the world. And all you need is a mask, fins, snorkel and depending on your location and your comfort of the water, a snorkeling vest. Oh, you need water too!

SnorkelingOnline.com wants to make your snorkeling adventure fun and we are here to help. Have you read our snorkeling guides where we tell you what snorkeling is to how to clean your gear. We continue to add to our catalog the newest snorkeling gear available. We even have a snorkelers clearance where you can get discontinued snorkeling gear at a huge discount. Because it is important that you are happy with your snorkel gear, our return policy is open and we even accept used gear. With the used gear, we even started a Used Gear category.

Please let us know if there is something that we can do, we want you to enjoy your snorkeling adventure.

Product reviews, including snorkeling gear, are an important part of shopping in todays world. Though SnorkelingOnline does not have a review program at this time, we still do have reviews from customers. We sell online, not only on our website, but we do have a presence on Amazon. Here is our top most popular snorkeling package and a few customer reviews that have purchased the U.S. Divers St Tropez Mask, Trek Fins, Seabreeze Snorkel & Bag.

5.0 out of 5 stars snorkeling in the carribean
By ru4shore
We got two sets to take on a cruise to the carribean and they were perfect. Just the right size to fit easily in a suitcase, and easy to carry to the beach…

5.0 out of 5 stars good product
By A Kib (Maryland)
Items worked fine, you get a good line of vision from the mask and it kept the water out. i’m new to snorkeling and found this served my needs very well on my vacation. item arrived quickly and i would recommend.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good basic snorkel set
By J. A. “Froggie” (Washington)
It came within a week of ordering which was good because I was slow to place the order. I like the bag which fit perfectly in the bottom of my suitcase and yet was all I needed for a snorkeling day trip. The short fins provide all the power you need for snorkeling with the benefit that they put less stress on knees and ankles–at least my joints held up better than usual. I snokeled 4-5 hours a day for three days in a row with only minor stress to joints.

Another part of our job is to go on the internet and answer snorkeling questions that we find and we will now share some with you, as you may have the same questions.

What are some good kinds of snorkel masks? I want to buy a good quality one that works well.

Snorkeling Masks, Select the Right One, will help you to make an educated decision about what you want in various snorkeling equipment. It covers how to select the right masks, fins, snorkels etc. With snorkeling masks, you want tempered glass lenses and silicone skirting. Comfort and fit is the main priority. If your primary focus is snorkeling then invest in a dry snorkel. It shuts off as soon as you go below the water so there is no unexpected rush of water down the tube. Silicone, again is preferred as it is more comfortable in the mouth. SnorkelingOnline has a large assortment of snorkeling masks, if you have an questions, please feel free to email me.

Reef booties or fins? I am going to be vacationing on the Big Island of Hawaii for 2 weeks and will be doing quite a bit of snorkeling and free diving. In the past I have not used reef booties or fins but think for this trip I would want to bring one of the two as I have seen them recommended several times in snorkeling reviews for the Big Island. I just wanted to get some opinions and recommendations.

There are tons of different snorkeling fins on the market but they can be divided into different categories. The first is full foot snorkel fins. These are made to be worn barefooted. They are designed to be snug so they won’t fall off while you are kicking. If you have a wide foot or high arches then this style of fin can be a bit uncomfortable. Strap snorkeling fins are made to be worn with neoprene boots/booties. They are traditionally wider in the foot pocket area to allow the use of the boots. I do believe the reason that the boots are recommended in Hawaii is to protect the feet more from cuts and abrasions should you happen to step on any lava rock which can be pretty sharp. The boots won’t help you with the molten stuff though. For other differences and stylings, check out our snorkeling guide, Snorkeling Fins – Select the Right Pair.

Finally, finally, finally! U.S. Divers (Aqua Lung Sport, same company) has come out with a snorkeling package in pink! Though the men might not find this exciting news, but pink lovers do. In the scuba industry, in the old days, hot pink was the color and it was so insulting that there were t-shirts made that said, Women Divers Dont Wear Hot Pink! But U.S. Divers hit it on the head when they came out with a pretty soft pink. For those that love pink, the U.S. Divers Diva LX Mask, Island Dry Snorkel, Trek Fins & Travel Bag will definately fill your snorkeling needs.

Having dinner with my snorkeling buddies, we were discussing how we havent traveled as much as we have in the past. We decided that work can wait and we are ready to plan our next snorkeling adventure. Of course when talking snorkeling or scuba, Cozumel always comes up but this trip we are talking St. Croix. I have been there maybe 20 years ago and it was so long ago, I welcomed this idea.

Doing a little research and being an outdoors person, I am looking forward to going to Buck Island which is one of only 3 Underwater National Monuments. Nope, did not know this either.

So hopefully this summer, I will grab my mask, my U.S. DiversTrek Travel Fins, and my Ultra Dry Snorkel and visit the beautiful island of St. Croix and the marine gardens in the Caribbean Sea.

Whether we go to St. Croix or somewhere else, you know I will be blogging about it!