I Need a Snorkel

[Russic]

You never notice how ridiculous of a word that is until you write it out. Snorkel.

Anyways, I'm off to Hawaii on Saturday and I want to buy a snorkel. I'm just going to take a stab and say that buying one there might prove overly expensive or time consuming. Is that an unfair assumption?

I've heard of the dive shop on macleod trail, but does anybody else have any suggestions? I have tomorrow to run around.

Cheers!

[ok, ok,....I get it]

I got a decent one from Cosco.

[Locke]

Yeah, the Dive Shop by Hooters and the Back Alley on Macleod.

Canadian Tire? Sounds like something they'd stock.

[prarieboy]

Coast Mountain Sports across from Mountain Co-op had a decent selection of snorkel gear when I was last in there.

I bought set from Costco and like the mask and snorkel but not the fins.

[The Ditch]

If you're going to buy your own I would suggest going to a dive shop and getting a properly fitted snorkel. Every face is different and each shape will require a different design for the face piece. Nothing is more annoying then constantly getting water in your mask, or it falling off. There is a dive shop in Marda Loop, I got mine from there, they seemed like good people.

[FurnaceFace]

Aquasport in Marda Loop are excellent. I highly recommend them.

I assume by saying snorkel you mean snorkel and mask, because a snorkel on it's own isn't much good...unless you already have the mask. Get one with a decent mouthpiece because you'll be spending a bunch of time in the water and biting into it. Just don't buy one from Walmart because the plastic mouthpiece will likely hurt as it's harder plastic. Make sure you get good silicone.

For the mask, hold it up to your eyes, without putting the strap on and then breath in through your nose. If the mask sucks into your face, and stays on your face you're getting a good seal. A poor seal will wreck your snorkelling because you'll always have to clear your mask.

MEC also used to carry a US Diver set which looked like it would do the job. They still might (edit: they do ). The ones at Coast might also be ok.

Make sure you wear a dry fit shirt because if you're like me you're out puddling around in the water for an hour or more at a time and sunscreen just doesn't cut it.

Enjoy your foray into the magical underwater world...maybe if you snorkel without a hitch you'll want to scuba. Aquasport is again the place...unless you're down south then Adventures in Scuba are fine.

[Buff]

You can rent them for a decent price at Snorkel Bob's in Hawaii. At least they were decent prices back in 2004. You can rent from any Snorkel Bob's location on any island and return it to any location on any island. I think we paid $10 to have the gear for a week. It wasn't top of the line stuff, but it was good enough for a couple of beginners. You can pay more to rent higher quality stuff. They also help you to properly fit the stuff and show you how to use it.

Their website is slow for me but didn't have info on rentals, but I found another site where users are talking about renting from Snorkel bob's. Pricing seems to have gone up but its still a decent deal. Click here

For my wife and I, renting was the way to go because we were only going to use the equipment while we were in Hawaii and we didn't plan on going anywhere else where there is snorkelling for quite some time. Its worked out well because nearly 5 years later we don't have equipment we never used again and there is no trip in site where snorkelling is involved. If you plan on snorkelling on a yearly basis then you may want to buy gear.

[Russic]

Great advice guys, thank you all very much.

[Bill Bumface]

Also very handy once your vacation is done for 'pleasuring' larger ladies...

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Also very handy once your vacation is done for 'pleasuring' larger ladies...

Making up for lost time?

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

I got a decent one for Cosco.

We do you need a snorkel to go to Costco?