USVI-On-Line

My 10 year old little man is trying to talk me into not insisting he wear the snorkel vest on our trip. He hates it...finds it cumbersome...gives him a man rash...etc.

He is a strong swimmer but I wouldn't relax unless he had something. I wanted to know more about the swim belt. Seanile maybe you can chime in here. I think your 10 yr old used one. Does their head stay afloat easily when not snorkeling? Seems like this might keep them parallel. Just want to make sure it wouldn't be a more of a struggle to remain upright when desired before I purchase one.

Anyone?

My son was 12 when we went and he does not swim, but that swim belt kept him afloat and he snorkeled a LOT!
He made it all of the way around Trunk Bay and Waterlemon cay. He has no fat so he sinks, but this kept his whole body afloat. I can't remember the name of the belt right now. It was one of the best things that we bought for the trip.

chrisn - I don't swim but I used this belt last year when we were in St John and it was great. I'm a chicken in the water.

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product ... 008&r=view

But, there is a warning with it, Not USCG approved, which I would think means not to be used as life saving device.

Have a great time!

To chime in here. I am not a swimmer and first used the vest at Trunk several years ago and it was horrible. The belt was fantastic. You can rent one at the store in Mongoose Junction. Very inexpensive.

I'm also a belt fan. You can rent then a Lowkey Watersports; ~$30 for the week.

Note: I am not a 10 year old boy; just swim like one

chrisn wrote:My 10 year old little man is trying to talk me into not insisting he wear the snorkel vest on our trip. He hates it...finds it cumbersome...gives him a man rash...etc.

He is a strong swimmer...

Part of the fun of snorkeling to us is being able to dive down to swim through a school of fish, get a little closer to some coral (without touching, chase a large fish, checkout a turtle, etc. If he is a strong swimmer, wearing fins and good at snorkeling then you may let him go without the float belt for part of the time, especially for shorter snorkel trips.

You may want to take our comments with a grain of salt since we are on the other end of the scale. We (including our boys)are in the minority of people who wear weight belts when snorkeling. The weight belts help us dive down deeper and stay down to take pictures. Everyone needs to determine what their own comfort level is.

Thanks for the comments. He is a good swimmer and a great snorkeler. MUCH better than I and he does like to dive down for closer observation. He knows not to touch. It's just the paranoid mom coming out in me. Trying to give him freedom but keeping him safe at the same time.

He's doing a Discover Scuba class on Wednesday with his dad. I'm going to watch. He's so excited. I'm anxious . My honey and kids are all thrill seeking adrenaline junkies. I like my feet firmly on the ground and my bum on the surface of the water, not under it so it's hard for me. I'm trying...