HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF OUR SNORKELING FRIENDS!!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. Do you have your snorkeling adventures planned for the new year? If you are in the northern part of the states like we are, our cold is making you want to run to the south.

Our gift to our readers is snorkeling equipment that will make you jump into the warm waters soon. We have marked down the U.S. Divers Admiral Mask with the U.S. Divers Island Dry Snorkel and added a mesh bag to keep your snorkeling equipment together. Not what you are looking for? We have just added over 50 sale items to our snorkeling sale rack.

With so many snorkels in the market, we understand why it can be so confusing on choosing the right one for you, so we made a video. Though we do have a great article, Snorkels, Select the Right One, please find time to read it, but if video is your thing, click play.

U.S. Divers & Aqua Lung Sport has done it again. They have come out with a new dry snorkel that is more functional and even less expensive than the norm in the industry. The Paradise Dry Snorkel is has a replaceable mouthpiece, who is a plus in our book and the mouthpiece is 100% silicone. The Paradise Dry Snorkel also has the purge valve on the bottom to blow traces of water in the snorkel. But what is special about the Paradise Dry Snorkel is that the top is small and not top heavy. The Pivot Dry Technology is what keeps the water out of the snorkel. Because this snorkel works, the price (under $20.00) is what makes the snorkel top of the line. We do have the Paradise Dry Snorkel in stock and it only comes in electric blue or black, at this time.

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 Aqua Lung Sport 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 Trek 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!

We, at SnorkelingOnline.com get asked daily, what is the best snorkel package to purchase and we explain that everyones snorkeling needs are different, so it depends. But what are the most popular snorkel packages that we sell, well that is easy. It is between the Aqua Lung Sport St Tropez Mask, Trek Fins, Seabreeze Snorkel & Bag, the Aqua Lung Sport Anacapa Mask, Total Dry Snorkel, Trek Travel Fins & Mesh Bag OR the Aqua Lung Sport Sideview LX Mask, Total Dry Snorkel, Blast II Fins & Bag Snorkel Package. One package has a semi-dry snorkel and the other two have the total dry snorkel and all three have masks and the snorkeling bags are either made of nylon, denier or mesh. But the major difference is the fins and offered in each snorkel package is the Trek Travel Fins or the Blast II Fins. The best explanation is the manufacturer representation telling you the features and benefits of both.

On our blog, we usually dont want to tout one product over another but because we get so many phone calls, wanting to know what the best gear is. Since a snorkel is the most important piece of equipment, lets talk about our favorite snorkel. 

“The Best Dry Snorkel!” is what Scuba Diving Magazine had to say in its December 2005 issue. Here it is the year 2008 and Oceanic’s Ultra Dry Snorkel continues to live up to that statement. Oceanic even guarantees that it is the driest snorkel you’ll ever use. 

The Ultra Dry snorkel is designed to shut off the flow of air at the top most point of entry when that point goes below the surface of the water while the snorkel is in use. This is a plus for snorkelers and skin divers alike. For snorkelers, it serves as a reminder of just how far they can tilt or submerge their head without affecting breathing. Semi dry and unadorned snorkels remind the snorkeler with an unexpected rush of water entering the mouth. This type of reminder is especially unpleasant should the snorkeler be inhaling at the same moment.

Skin divers will love that the Oceanic Ultra Dry Snorkel eliminates the need to clear the snorkel of water upon surfacing.. Whatever technique the skin diver uses to get below the surface (feet first or head first) the snorkel will close whether upright or upside down once it is submerged below the water’s surface.

If this isn’t enough, Oceanic designers built the snorkel with considerable thought to snorkeler ergonomics. The barrel of the snorkel curves along the contour of the head. This makes the snorkel more streamlined when the snorkeler moves through the water. Snorkels with straight barrels have to cut their own path through the water and the unstable jiggling caused by this action forces the snorkeler to bite down on the mouthpiece harder to keep it from irritating the mouth. Excessive biting into the snorkel can lead to jaw fatigue.

Many snorkels on the market are being made with replaceable mouthpieces and Oceanic is no exception to this. They do take it one step further by recognizing that there are snorkelers that find the traditional sized mouthpieces uncomfortable in general because of smaller mouth sizes.  Through this recognition they also introduced the Ultra Dry Mini Snorkel which features a smaller mouthpiece for smaller mouthed adults.

If you are serious about snorkeling then why not be serious about your snorkel. If you want to read about all types of snorkels, click here.