Snorkel sets from Sam's club

[Psychodisney]

We've decided to buy snorkels and masks for our cruise. Does anyone have any experience withe the Body Glove Snorkel sets from Sam's? Just don't want a leaky poor fitting mask. I saw on line that costco has the for about $10 more than Sam's-are they worth it?

 

[birkner]

We've decided to buy snorkels and masks for our cruise. Does anyone have any experience withe the Body Glove Snorkel sets from Sam's? Just don't want a leaky poor fitting mask. I saw on line that costco has the for about $10 more than Sam's-are they worth it?

I get my snorkel gear from Snorkel Bobs as we want an excellent fit plus if you have family members that need prescription masks, they also sell them made to order.

http://www.snorkelbobs.com/

 

[dizzi]

r there places to rent this stuff or do we need to take this with us too?

 

[Nik's Mom]

There is snorkel equipment to rent, but many of us are concerned about renting a used mouth piece.

 

[mattmommy]

We have the ones from Costco and they're wonderful. They come with fog preventing drops (what a crock!), a dvd (didn't watch) and a carrying bag (love it). We did bring them with us on our last cruise, but we have no problem renting. The only thing I need from a rental is a dry top so no (not as much anyway) water gets in if I go under.

 

[sparty]

I just purchased the Body Glove sets for myself, wife and two kids. I have researched them and I have found nothing negative about them. I just couldn't justify paying 3 times the amount for sets at a dive shop. They appear to be very good quality and the price was right.

Have fun Snorkeling!!

 

[AshburnMom]

I also bought Body Glove snorkeling equipment from Costco and agree totally with Mattmommy. We didn't bring the flippers since 4 sets would weigh too much and take up too much space (or the drops--spit is probably better), and put the masks and snorkels in the carrying bag. But the quality of the face masks were great. It also came with snorkels with a water valve at the bottom that lets the water run out so that you are less likely to inhale water--I thought that was invaluable. Not only was the quality better than something you rent, you knew they were clean. Have fun!

 

[Anal Annie]

After my DH had a disatrous rental experience with a leaky mask several years ago we purchased our own equip. & take it on all of our vacations - it will pay for itself one day - and yes, we purchased from a dive shop. I don't consider this dipping them in a bucket of water thing to be very sanitary + I need a RX mask and not all dive excursion companies have them - I found that out the hard way too. My RX doesn't change very often so it's not like I need to replace the lens each time we go - but if you wear glasses and not contacts it sucks not to be able to see! (Plus it can be a little scary in deep water if you get separated from your spouse or whoever you're with & you can't see to find them.) But if you need an RX mask you should go to a dive shop - just take them a copy of your RX & they'll have a mask that they can order the lens for - allow some time to get that done as they may need a couple of weeks depending on the shop & the volume of their business. But now that I have the mask it's simply a matter of replacing the lens if my RX would change that much. We also want to learn to scuba one day (after DS is old enough) so we bought masks that can go down to like 60' or something. We probably won't need them again until next summer - so we'll probably have to go back & buy our DS new flippers since his feet will grow - but that's the only thing we'll have to replace.

We like having our own equip. so that if we go somewhere where we want to do off-shore snorkeling we don't have to rent - we can just go. We have taken our equip. to St. John, on the Mexican cruise in '05 and have taken them to Hawaii twice. Used them several times off-shore in Hawaii last summer and it was really nice to have our own equip. (Great off-shore snorkeling on the Big Island BTW!!)

If it's your first time, I would suggest at least going to a dive shop to get an idea what to look for with the proper fit for a mask. Some dive shops sell the same brands you can buy at a Costco or Target - the thing is that you can try them on at a dive shop to make sure they're the right size for your face - and you can't do that in a store if they're all sealed up in that plastic packaging. Also, I would suggest getting a good snorkel - one with a valve to keep the water from coming in. The anti-fog drops / spray are helpful too - just use them each time you go out & re-apply if you spend a lot of time in the water. Another thing I do (being that I'm so anal) is to make sure I have a bottle of water with us - so if we get out & take a break we can splash a little fresh water on the inside of the mask & rinse off the salt & sand before we start rubbing in more spray on top of the grit - I especially don't want to scratch my RX lens!! I also like to get one of those laminated cards at the dive shop before we go somewhere that has pictures of the fish native to the region where we're going - so we can look at it to see how many varieties we saw. A lot of excursion companies will have the same thing - but since we go off on our own a lot it's fun to have our own.

This post is probably too long but we plan to use our equipment for a lot of trips & like knowing that it fits & that it's clean. Poor equipment can really ruin the fun - we've gone enough times to know the difference.

 

[Anal Annie]

I also bought Body Glove snorkeling equipment from Costco and agree totally with Mattmommy. We didn't bring the flippers since 4 sets would weigh too much and take up too much space (or the drops--spit is probably better), and put the masks and snorkels in the carrying bag. But the quality of the face masks were great. It also came with snorkels with a water valve at the bottom that lets the water run out so that you are less likely to inhale water--I thought that was invaluable. Not only was the quality better than something you rent, you knew they were clean. Have fun!

*Spit works too, but the drops will last longer...

*Don't go out w/o flippers - if you get caught in a current you'll need them to swim back to safety. That happened to us in Cozumel - went in off-shore with rented masks & snorkels & didn't have the flippers with us and we both got washed downshore about a mile before we could get out! All of a sudden we looked up & there was a huge cruise ship docked & we were heading straight for the rocks! VERY scary not to be able to fight the current! We will never, ever go out again w/o them! If you don't pack them at least rent them!

*The valve is a GREAT feature!

 

[mmouse37]

How much are the Costco sets? I saw a set I was going to purchase from LLBean for $59.00 a set.

Here is a link....

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/st...langId=-1&categoryId=50040&sc1=Search&feat=sr

 

[BoardwalkBabe]

We purchased the US Diver sets from Costco four years ago and have taken them on every trip. These are the sets with the short, split fins so everything packs well without taking up too much room. I did buy a small container of stuff to rub on the masks to help keep them from fogging up, but that's it.

 

[twinmommyks]

We've decided to buy snorkels and masks for our cruise. Does anyone have any experience withe the Body Glove Snorkel sets from Sam's? Just don't want a leaky poor fitting mask. I saw on line that costco has the for about $10 more than Sam's-are they worth it?

Just curious as to how much you paid at Sams Club?

 

[Psychodisney]

Thanks for all the info everybody! I was at Sam's yesterday and the body glove adult sets were $39.99, kids were less. According to Costco's web site their sets(not body glove) were $49. I called a local dive shop and their most basic set was $80. We've all snorkeled before but I'd like to skip the eew factor-agree with not trusting the sanitizing bucket! I think we'll leave the fins at home. We should be able to use the fins on captain Marvin's and on the Fury Cat trip without using their other equipment. Do you think we would want fins at Castaway Cay-is there much current there?

 

[spoon2003]

Costco store carries US Divers for $39.99 adult and $34.99 for children.

Sue

 

[AshburnMom]

I'm pretty sure that we paid the same at Costco last year--$39.99 for adults, and I think we actually got US Divers snorkel sets at Target for the kids (about $20). The summer stuff is starting to come out so check there too. I have to admit that the flippers would have been nice, but we never went too far and I just didn't have that kind of room in the suitcase.

 

[BuzzNutt]

We've decided to buy snorkels and masks for our cruise. Does anyone have any experience withe the Body Glove Snorkel sets from Sam's? Just don't want a leaky poor fitting mask. I saw on line that costco has the for about $10 more than Sam's-are they worth it?

I say go for it. We bought two for the pool at home. This is the set we carry every year to St Thomas when we fly down for Thanksgiving. (dad lives there)
The set is worth the $$. Mine came with a very cool carry bag. I hope yours does too!!

 

[Hanover]

We have 2 adult sets and 2 child size sets from Costco. We love them and have had no problems. We found that we can fit one child size set in each of the adult size bags nicely without being overcrammed.

 

[spoon2003]

We have 2 adult sets and 2 child size sets from Costco. We love them and have had no problems. We found that we can fit one child size set in each of the adult size bags nicely without being overcrammed.

Hanover,
May I ask what size is your older child using the snorkle set? My son is 8,4'8" and 95 lbs. He wears the same shoe size as me, woman's 6 or child 5. So I'm debating about buying him the adult small or child large. Any advice?

Thanks

Sue

 

[KimberlyC]

Does anyone know who makes and where to find a set for a 39 lb toddler? I don't want to spend a fortune since he'll grow and won't get to use it again.

 

[birkner]

Does anyone know who makes and where to find a set for a 39 lb toddler? I don't want to spend a fortune since he'll grow and won't get to use it again.

This is one of the reasons we buy from Snorkle Bobs as we have 6 GK's to for whom we buy. Their exchange policy is as follows:

With no age limits on snorkeling, you get Trade-In Privileges for Life! Now my, Snorkel Bob’s, Compleat Kid System gives you a Snorkel Bob Brand mask (Rx lenses optional), a Bubba dry snorkel with an angled, orthodontic mouthpiece, fins, a membership card good at border crossings around the world, a gear bag, some toy fish, T-shirt AND 1/2-PRICE TRADE-IN FOR LIFE! Kids need trade-in when they outgrow a mask, snorkel or fins. You bigg’uns can trade to a MOFLO Fresh-Air snorkel for a taste of springtime on every breath, and I ain’t talking menthol. Or MOFLEX fins, for the thrust, torque, bhp, separation, lift & spread you crave. The Card gets you, your family & friends (YES!) Frequent Snorkeler Discounts—$5/head off adventures & 15% off ALL STUFF at any Snorkel Bob’s or at snorkelbob.com. The CKS lets you SNORKEL FOR LIFE! It’s big, bold & aggressive. Oh, yeah, & YOU GET THE COMPLEAT KID VIDEO(a snorkel epic) IN THE SAME DEAL! The Compleat Kid System is $78 for kids, $138 for adults, and (YES, he said YES, again YES!) weekly tariff still accrues to fee simple ownership of a la carte snorkel gear. How do I do it? I, Snorkel Bob, can hardly believe it myself!
Your C.K.S. Privileges: FREQUENT SNORKELER DISCOUNTS entitle members to 15% off all stuff & $5 off per head on adventures booked at any Snorkel Bob’s in Hawaii or at snorkelbob.com.

NOTE: Rule 6 preempts this discount on additional CKS memberships or other SB specials, already like dirt; they’re so cheap. TRADE-IN PRIVILEGES FOR LIFE shall grant members 1/2 price on new Snorkel Bob Brand masks, fins and snorkels plus S&H.

http://www.snorkelbobs.com/