Snorkeling Vests
Purpose
A snorkel vest will allow you to comfortably rest at the surface with little effort while it is inflated, providing more comfort and security while snorkeling in deeper water. It will allow you to dive down beneath the surface when deflated. This is especially valuable for beginners, non-swimmers, children, or anyone snorkeling in choppy water or strong currents. A snorkeling vest is not a life jacket and should not be used as a substitute for one in open ocean or high-risk conditions, but it is an excellent safety aid for recreational snorkeling.
Features
Inflatable bladder
All snorkeling vests are a bladder that you can inflate and deflate to control your buoyancy. The bladder will mainly lay along your front chest area allowing you to comfortably float on your stomach. The bladder is easily inflated and deflated using the inflator tube attached to the vest. To inflate, just push the top of the inflator tube down while exhaling into the tube. Couple of breaths and it's inflated. To deflate, just push down on the top of the inflator tube to allow the air to release and squish the air out of the bladder with your hands.
Style
A horse-collar design is a donut-shaped bladder where your head fits through the middle hole and is secured by straps. There is nothing covering your back with this style. A jacket-style design fits more like a jacket with a zipper in the front and neoprene covering your back. A vest design is similar to a jacket but tends to be more form-fitting and a more size-specific fit compared to the horse-collar or jacket-style designs, which can be adjusted to fit a variety of sizes.
Care & Maintenance
After each use, rinse the vest with fresh water inside and out by blowing a small amount of water through the inflation valve and shaking it around. Rinse out the valve to remove salt and sand. Allow to dry completely — both inside and out — before storing to prevent mould and odour. Check the oral inflation valve and seams before each use. Air-dry, then store out of direct sunlight.