Cruiser Adult Diving Vest, Yellow/Black

LOVE this thing. I just moved to California a couple of months ago and started up snorkeling. While I don't view myself as a bad swimmer I don't think I am amazing either. Plus a lot of people can swim, swimming in the Ocean is a COMPLETELY different beast. Snorkeling and swimming in 50 ft. deep water after you got beat down by a couple of waves can be tough. Couple that with cleaning fogging goggles or having fin problems while in the middle of the Ocean it can make for a long day. With that said, I bought this product to relax and not have to worry when I am out there a mile off short and have been swimming for an hour plus checking out cool reefs, schools of fish and/or Leopard Sharks. Let me just say it does EVERYTHING I wanted it to. It was nice being able to dive, swim around, then just inflate it real quick and float there staring at the awesome California Sky Line. What made it nice is I could work my way back to shore without swimming hard or being worried about getting tired. Which DOES happen the first time I ever went snorkeling I didn't realize it had been ~2+ hours and when i got to shore i puked everywhere from not eating for awhile and swimming so much. Like someone said, it just makes things more comfortable when you are new the sport of not familiar with ocean swimming. I work with some pretty crazy free divers who got me into the sport and I would never recommend this for them; but they have been free diving in 75 ft deep water and spear fishing for 10+ years, for someone like me who is 6 months in.........this has been a great investment, I feel SO much more confident in going out there, plus the pocket to store stuff makes a HUGE difference which you wouldn't think about. I will say though, this is a bit pricey, I haven't used the other ones, and for me it was worth the money since I do go every other weekend but if you go on just vacation or whatever $80 is a bit steep. Also, everyone is way off on the sizing. Think of it like a wetsuit. I am 6' 1" and ~195 and a L would fit just fine, I might ever return mine and exchange for a L because the XL rides up on me. I thought to go bigger because of the reviews, I would question if these people are buying the right size Wetsuit and gear of other stuff to. It is true to size. You may not feel like you have a lot or rrom and it might feel tight but trust me once you are in the water AND have it inflated, its true to size which is nice because otherwise it floats up a bit. Its not too bad but just something to be aware of. In Summary: Pros: -Great Fit -WAAAYYYYY more stylish than other options -Increases comfort-ability snorkeling exponentially if you are not familiar with Ocean Swimming -The pocket is a huge bonus Cons -Very pricey if you are not going to use it a lot -Can ride up which some people complained about but I don't think its too bad

I have had this for a short time now and have had a chance to wear it snorkeling before doing a review. I have this as a men's small and it works perfectly for me. I normally wear a woman's medium/large in tops. I also wore a dry fit short sleeve top under it ....over my swim suit. It fit fine. The neoprene covers the back which is great protection from suns rays for the time I spend in the water snorkeling. That can be easily several hours. Sometimes the vog here in Hawaii can have an asthma like effect on my breathing without warning. This can tire me easily. I love the ease of blowing the vest up out in the water. It stays inflated for any length of time I spend in the water. It is a safety precaution for me if or when I may need it. Vest is heavy duty and did not rise up under my chin. The ease of getting in and out of the vest is great. There is a nice zipper off to the left side and also there is a Velcro strap closure to help keep the zipper closed. I took much time looking into something durable and well made for the amount of time I spend out in the warm waters of Hawaii. I definitely recommend this vest. You can inflate and deflate easily. It does not lose the air. It's nice sense of security. Very comfortable to wear. I did not care for the horse shoe types that fit around the neck and has straps between the legs and the sides of the waist. Not fun. If you want comfort and durability I recommend this vest.

Good quality, needs a bottom strap to not slide up your neck

I purchased this item along with another popular snorkel vest to test both items. I found that the other vest (which was styled like a normal life jacket) was difficult to put on, bulking on the chest and hard to blow up. This vest was super easy to put on (zipper on the side) and easy to blow up. Only issue was that the sizing isn't necessarily accurate. It is categorized by weight which doesn't really make a difference. You should order by cbest measurement. I ordered both a medium (what the site says I should fit) and a large. I couldn't even get the zipper close to zipping. The large fit perfect. I'm 5'4" female and 135lbs. Only thing is I have a large chest (36dd) so I would definitely order based on chest measurements. Overall great product. Perfect for my trip to Fiji!

Going snorkeling off the beach at Lauderdale by the Sea and have to swim a couple/few football fields off shore and want to be safe out in the ocean just in case. You never know when you might become exhausted. This fits great! Got the XL and I’m a short, large chested woman and it fits great with room to spare even. Love the neoprene back & sides (jacket style) as opposed to the ones that go over the neck. It’s also neoprene in the front too and the yellow inflatable portion is attached to that with elastic bands (you can put your arm through between the neoprene and the yellow inflatable portion). So, basically it’s all neoprene all the way around. I feel like this will keep it from riding up on you in the water like some others tend to do since the neoprene is snug. No issues zipping up the side but can also just keep it zipped and put it on over your head just like a shirt. Large, roomy armholes that won’t inhibit swimming. Haven’t tested it in the water yet but it inflated and deflated just fine when tested. Too bad it doesn’t come in any other more muted colors but I suppose the bright color is for safety. It’s super streamlined with no clunky buckles like some others have. It’s the only one I found like this. Has a pretty large Velcro pocket in front at the bottom. Only downside is the very steep price. Hopefully it will last a long time.

This snorkel vest worked extremely well and I recommend it highly. I'm not a strong swimmer and it provided me with added security. It was very comfortable, fit well and was extremely easy to adjust depending on the buoyancy I wanted. Worth every penny !!

Best fitting vest ever