BEST SNORKELING VEST 2023

The Soly snorkeling vest is made from quality materials like ripstop polyester on the outside and thickened PVC on the inside. The back is also meshed for additional comfort. Unlike other snorkel vests with buckles around the torso, the Soly snorkel vest comes with detachable leg straps. This ensures that your vest won’t push up your body once inflated and in water. It comes with the standard oral valve on the front for easy inflation and deflation of the vest which you can control during your snorkeling.

BRAND: SOLY
COMPETENCY: Intermediate

The Promate snorkeling vest comes in two high visibility colors neon orange and neon yellow. It’s the standard over the neck snorkeling vest with an oral inflation valve on the right side. Made from 90% Nylon and 10% TPU coating, this snorkeling vest is made to last. It comes in 1 junior size and 4 adult sizes, additionally adjustable with the buckle in the back. The Promate snorkeling vest is great for beginners and it’s an excellent price for value.

BRAND: PROMATE
COMPETENCY: Intermediate

The SEAVIEW PALAWAN is one of the most innovative vests for more experienced swimmers at the time. Seaview Palawan created a hybrid design engineered for a nice and comfortable trim on the water that lets you regulate buoyancy on the fly with a purge valve. The vest features a very stylish and intuitive design that is easy to put on and take off in the surface and in the water. Another more personalized vest, it comes in four different sizes to cater to different needs and to provide a snug fit around the waist, which prevents it from riding up. Materials are soft and sturdy and it features an inner layer of spandex that prevents the webbing from rubbing on your skin, which makes it extremely comfortable and probably the main reason why the piece has received such excellent snorkeling vest reviews.

BRAND: SEAVIEW PALWAN
COMPETENCY: Beginner

The Scuba Choice Snorkel Vest might not be the most stylish one, but it’s certainly one of the best budget options. This snorkel vest has a very simple design and it’s very easy to use. It has a strap that buckles in the back to keep it from moving when inflated. It has a special valve on at the front for easy inflation and deflation. Additionally, it has a high visibility safety color, making sure you’re visible in the case of an emergency. It’s lightweight and folds very nicely, so you can take it with you anywhere you go.

BRAND: SCUBA CHOICE
COMPETENCY: Beginner

Probably one of the cheapest options on this list. However, don’t let the price tag fool you into thinking this isn’t a good quality product. The Typhoon Sports snorkel vest is the classic over the head horse style vest with buckles in the back and an oral valve in the front. It’s made from 420 denier Nylon and comes in a high visibility neon yellow for added safety. The adult sizes even come with zippered pockets for carrying smaller accessories.

BRAND: TYPHOON SPORTS
COMPETENCY: Entry

This canvas snorkeling life vest is great for added safety on the water while allowing for the occasional dive down. The colors are bright for high visibility so you can snorkel with confidence. This design by Rtizan is better suited for shorter people since the length of the crotch strap is shorter than that in other models, which could be an issue for taller users. Despite this, the straps and buckles are quality-assured and provide a firm and durable hold to keep you safe and comfortable.

BRAND: RRTIZAN
COMPETENCY: Beginner

Wacool’s snorkeling vest is a great horse collar option for any watersport lover. The vest comes with a satisfaction guarantee so you can test and see how well the vest fits and feels. It comes in blue and bright green fabric, which makes it more stylish. Note, however, that although this looks good, blues and greens camouflage with the water and are not as bright for easy spotting. The deep-neck design makes it more comfortable by keeping it from feeling tight around the neck. Another great perk is that the vest offers two different sizes, for adults and children, which makes it one of the best options for the whole family.

BRAND: WACOOL
COMPETENCY: Entry

The perfect option for travelers: Lyuwpes seems to understand that not all of us live right next to the ocean and, hence, came up with probably the most compact snorkel vest design in the market. The device packs down around the inflation tube to a tiny 7 inches, which lets you take it anywhere with you. Its polyester and PVC construction makes it durable while still friendly on the skin, and its adjustable design for adults makes it perfect for almost every shape and size.

BRAND: LYUWPES
COMPETENCY: Intermediate

Undoubtedly the best advantage of Deep Blue Gear’s snorkel vest is its custom design for different body types: this amazing family of snorkel vests offers three different sizes designed for the specific needs of the person wearing them. The vest comes in children, adult, and adult XL sizes, ranging in capacity from under 90 to over 200 lbs. Besides, each size has also been modified for better performance. The inflation tube is sleek and comfortable and the vest features long, adjustable straps for every fit. There is barely any bad snorkeling vest review for this product, so trust you’ll have a more enjoyable and secure experience with it!

BRAND: DEEP BLUE GEAR
COMPETENCY: Entry

Another great option by Omouboi. This snorkeling flotation device comes in jacket design and has leg straps instead of the less comfortable crotch strap. The zipper is wide and durable and offers the added benefit of control. Just like its horse collar counterparts, this vest inflates and deflates fast to regulate buoyancy on the fly. The mesh back also offers additional sun protection, which can be a huge advantage when snorkeling out in the sun.

BRAND: OMOUBOI
COMPETENCY: Entry

Innovative Scuba sure knows what proper snorkeling vests should look like. For those of us looking for added safety, they’ve included a safety whistle in there so there’s no need to worry if conditions get a little rougher. Their horse collar design features heavy-duty coated nylon and comes in three colors and sizes, so there’s a suitable option for everyone. When fully inflated, the vest allows for leisurely floating, but it can also be easily deflated for diving if you spot something interesting in the bottom, just make sure you’ve got the right snorkeling fins to enhance your experience.

BRAND: INNOVATIVE SCUBA
COMPETENCY: Beginner

Types

Horse Collar Vests:

This vest goes over the head, so it’s intuitive and simple. Vests of this kind come with waist and crotch straps to hold it in place and keep it from riding up. The inflation tube, as with most other designs, requires oral inflation and comes to one side of the head for easy access.

Most of these vests have the disadvantage of leaving your back exposed to the elements (sun, jellyfish, etc.) so we strongly recommend wearing suitable exposure protection, i.e. a rashguard or a wetsuit, for the conditions you’ll be snorkeling in. Remember sunblock washes away and it won’t be enough protection!

This type of vest is also less buoyant, which means it will allow you to dive if you feel more like exploring. This advantage also makes it less suitable for places with stronger currents or swell, since it will require additional effort from you to stay afloat.

Snorkeling Jackets:

Unlike horse collar vests, jackets feature a zipper at the front and have a snugger fit around the waist to prevent them from crawling up the neck. They use a single bladder connected at the neck just like horse collar vests, so there’s no need for two inflators. Some jackets offer optional leg straps for added comfort. One of the main advantages of jacket-style vests is their lack of crotch straps, which many people find uncomfortable. Jackets are also more buoyant and stay in place easier than horse collar vests, keeping you afloat even in rough conditions; although this is mainly an advantage, these vests won’t let you dive down.

Hybrid Vests:

A more uncommon type of vest is the hybrid. This piece of equipment combines different features and constructions to create a more personalized product. Hybrids usually come in many different sizes for a snug fit and, therefore, tend to be more comfortable. Materials and the number of features tend to make these vests a bit more expensive, but they’re also more durable and comfortable. These vests are great for the more seasoned swimmers and snorkelers who are looking for added comfort and a personalized fit.

Materials

Most vests are made of either canvas or a combination of polyester and PVC (usually 60%, 40%), although there are many vests using different materials and coatings for added durability and strength. Depending on budget, the person using it and site conditions, both can be good options.

Canvas is less expensive and more common, many newer models using canvas use different coatings to make the fabric more resistant and waterproof. Canvas serves its purpose for keeping the air in but it provides less warmth and tends to be heavier when wet. On the other hand, polyester and PVC alloys retain more water and are more resistant to tearing. They also dry much faster and, when in contact with the body, tend to add an extra layer of warmth.

Sizing

Jacket and horse collar vests come either in a one-size-fits-all format or in three sizes: kid, adult, and XL adult. Although this is an advantage for a diverse family or for touristic operators that need to fit a wide range of users with a vest, they are also less snug and a bit more difficult to adjust to the right size. Usually, most adult and one-size vests have a capacity of 85-210 lbs., which makes them extremely versatile, XL sizes cater for people over 220 lbs., and kids’ sizes cater for shorter people of under 80 lbs. Hybrid vests depend on size charts and have different capacities and measurements for each individual size.

As always, we create our content with you, fellow adventurers, in mind. So, how’d we do? Did you find this informative? Did it help you make a decision? Did we miss anything? We’d love to hear from you below. Thanks for reading and we hope your next adventure is a great one!