r/snorkeling Jul 08 '26

Advice Why Snorkeling Is More Dangerous Than You Realized

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outsideonline.com
61 Upvotes

Good article about ROPE as well as the real drawbacks to full face masks.


r/snorkeling Mar 12 '26

Equipment CPSC Warns Consumers to Stop Using OUSPT Full Face Snorkel Masks Immediately Due to Risk of Serious Injury and Death from Drowning Hazard

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cpsc.gov
108 Upvotes

Description:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers to stop using OUSPT Full-Face Snorkel Masks immediately due to risk of serious injury and death from drowning hazards. The mask can cause consumers to experience labored breathing, causing loss of consciousness or excess fluid in the lungs that can lead to drowning.  In addition, the mask can give rise to increased levels of carbon dioxide which can exacerbate the difficulty of breathing in the mask. 

Field Life, of China, the seller, has not responded to CPSC’s requests for information or to recall the product.   

CPSC has received reports from five consumers who had trouble breathing, felt light-headed or lost consciousness while using the product. There has been one lawsuit alleging that the product caused a drowning fatality.    

About 84,000 of these full-face snorkel masks were sold from March 2019 through February 2026 on Amazon.com.  

The full-face snorkel masks have a glass screen and a breathing apparatus that covers the mouth and nose, with a snorkel pipe at the top center of the product.  They come in various colors.  The masks have “OUSPT” printed on the snorkel tube. 

These products are manufactured in China. 

CPSC urges consumers to stop using the full-face snorkel masks and immediately dispose of them. Do not sell or give away these hazardous full-face snorkel masks. 

Report any incidents involving injury or product defect to CPSC at www.SaferProducts.gov. 

Credit: United States Consumer Product Safety Commission


r/snorkeling 17h ago

FirstTime Swam with a Tuna

64 Upvotes

I’m in the south of Spain, near Motril. The water these days is flat as a table, and there is a lot of animal movement: 100mt+ long school of anchovies, seagulls and you can occasionally see tunas jumping in the distance.
I’m a really good swimmer, but I can’t swim over a minute where the water is more than 5mt deep, it just scares me way too much.

Well, today I was snorkeling about 10mt from shore, visibility was pretty low, and about 3mt from me a 2mt long fish emerged from the darkness. My first instinct told me it was a shark, and I immediately turned around and swam to safety. While doing so, I realized it was probably a tuna, and turned back to see it once more. This time, once I saw it, I fought back fear and stayed to look at it better, and oh boy if it was beautiful. Regardless, swimming next to something so big and fast was too scary for me, and I eventually turned back after a few seconds.

It was by far the best swimming experience I have ever had, even better than swimming in the Australian reef. It felt so surreal and rare, that my thalassofobia was beaten by my curiosity to see the tunas again and again.
I can now kinda understand people that do scuba diving for fun, and at the same time I have no idea how they can enjoy swimming with things far bigger than the tuna I saw today. It’s just mental to me.


r/snorkeling 2h ago

Advice Red Sea vs Raja Ampat vs GBR vs other?

1 Upvotes

Hello,
Snorkeling + general vacation trip in October

Can’t decide between snorkeling places; balancing cost vs a location suitable for beginners/wont give me fomo about not having a scuba license

Raja Ampat I’ve heard is the best, but coming from USA, the flight situation is a lot. Should I save it for when I have a scuba license? Australia is a huge flight commitment as well + expensive. Red Sea is easier because I was planning a trip in Europe, and it’ll be simpler to add on, and cost seems lower?

Also dunno the state of each reef with bleaching etc. if anyone has insight

And open to other suggestions, thank you!


r/snorkeling 16h ago

Wildlife Help id seen on reef by Whitsunday island AU

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5 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 2d ago

Wildlife Surprised by a Manatee. Volusia County, FL, U.S.

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85 Upvotes

Didn’t even see him approaching, Kinda got freaked out when he swam towards me since I wanted to give him a wide berth to follow local laws / follow common decency.

Recorded with a GoPro Hero 13


r/snorkeling 1d ago

Advice Sharm El Sheikh - Sharks Bay

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I was wondering how the reef is in Sharks Bay, Sharm el Sheikh. I’d like to stay in The V Hotel. The reef is my priority. I’ve tried looking for videos on YouTube, but I even got more confused. Some videos show quite dead corals, other show healthy reefs. How was your experience there? Thank you. And also, other than Ras Mohammed, which other snorkeling excursions would you recommend?


r/snorkeling 1d ago

Wildlife Tulum Mexico, above and below. Caleta Tankah

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19 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 2d ago

Advice Swimming with Whale Shark in Mafia Island?

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4 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 2d ago

Advice Grotta Beach, Naxos

2 Upvotes

Looking to get some insight on snorkeling here. I’ve heard there are Bronze Age era ruins in swimming distance, but not much on how to locate them. I’ve also heard it’s not the easiest swim? I’ll be there September/October.


r/snorkeling 2d ago

Miscellaneous Tahiti/Papeete - Whale Swim Buddies Wanted - Mid September!

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12 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 3d ago

Wildlife Manatee // Peanut Island

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81 Upvotes

Lost my dang camera in the apartment somewhere so I had to shoot today with my phone. And of course my phone didn’t get a full recording despite the fact I swam a good bit with it


r/snorkeling 2d ago

Wildlife Andaman or Gulf of Thailand?

2 Upvotes

Planning family holidays, and nice, easily accessible wildlife such as clownfish, nice coral would be a key attraction.

Also, looking for a quiet setting topside, i.e. forget about Phuket, Samui and other top tourist infested bits.

Thinking about Cambodian islands (Koh Kong, Koh Rong), maybe Thailand's Ko Kood (Gulf) vs Ko Lipe (Andaman).

Or should I forget about all this and head to the Maldives?


r/snorkeling 2d ago

FirstTime Swan’s Song

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youtu.be
2 Upvotes

My first time snorkeling in the ocean! Shot using a DJI action 5 pro! Shot at Darkwood Beach in Antigua! Enjoy!


r/snorkeling 3d ago

FirstTime Staying at the meraki resort in Sharm el sheikh for six days in November. How was the diving/snorkeling there and how was your stay overall?

3 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 4d ago

Wildlife Beautiful turtle coming up for air 🐢

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128 Upvotes

Gili Air, Indonesia 🇮🇩


r/snorkeling 3d ago

FirstTime Swimming with humpbacks in Tonga or French Polynesia?

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1 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 5d ago

Advice Anyone been snorkeling at Kalpeni?

1 Upvotes

Going for a dive trip in Lakshadweep this December. Plan A was Bangaram, but IndieGo keeps cancelling and rescheduling our flights. There’s a seaplane from Kochi to Kalpeni, though. Wondering if we should look at that for plan B, but I don’t know how good the snorkeling is or what the hotels are like.

Has anyone here been there?


r/snorkeling 5d ago

FirstTime Any good places to snorkel in Bahamas/Caribbean with amazing farm to table food?

0 Upvotes

I'm looking for a beautiful place to snorkel that's easy to get to from DC/Baltimore. We love amazing food, and while I know giant resorts with 10 different restaurants have good food, it's just not our vibe. We prefer local food, fresh caught fish, higher end dining. Plus I'm celiac.

I've heard that islands with great food don't have great snorkeling and vice versa. We went to Harbour Island for our honeymoon and that was nice but didn't love it. Any suggestions?


r/snorkeling 6d ago

Wildlife Manta Point, Komodo Indonesia

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86 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 6d ago

Reposting because it's cool MAR BRASIL

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2 Upvotes

Pra quem curte mergulho, vai gostar desse livro.


r/snorkeling 7d ago

Wildlife A glorious presentation by the Lionfish and his cousin!

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30 Upvotes

Obviously he was saying "See those fancy looking needles? Imma make you pull them out of weird places if you don't stay away!"


r/snorkeling 7d ago

Not OC Dance for your life

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213 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 7d ago

Miscellaneous Japanese Shipwreck, Bali.

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29 Upvotes

r/snorkeling 7d ago

Miscellaneous Creepy wreck video in murky water!

1 Upvotes

Snorkeling the Wreck of The Sailor Boy sank in 1923, Hancock Michigan, Portage Lake Shipping Canal
https://youtu.be/YeEGcsRu-js