One of the things I love about traveling is island-hopping, especially if the trip involves snorkeling! Unlike you lucky ones who are brave enough to dive down deeper waters, I can't. Or at least I haven't tried it yet. Being too scared to swim without a life jacket on, I would settle for snorkeling near the boat instead. With snorkeling, I still get to enjoy the experience of seeing the beautiful life down under.

If snorkeling is part of your trip, you'd usually need to rent a snorkeling gear consisting of a mask and the breathing tube or snorkel. More often than not, I find the quality of these gears wanting. Some of them don't fit well, some, just by looking at it, can be a health hazard and some are just a few uses from falling apart. So I decided to go ahead and invest in my own snorkel gear. I am no expert and just a mere snorkeling enthusiast so I've done a little research. I found that there are 2 types of snorkel masks you can get. One is the regular one with the mask and a snorkel, and a full-faced snorkel mask which already has the breathing tube inside like these ones below:

I was contemplating on getting the full-faced one but I've read several bad reviews of people complaining of getting dizzy and almost passing out while swimming with it which makes you prone to drowning. Yikes! We don't want that. Also, the full-faced one is only good if you are planning on just snorkeling on the beach surface. It is not advisable to dive deeper with it. Again, that's just what I read. With that information in mind, I searched Lazada for a trusty regular snorkel gear that is within my budget.  I tried searching for one in malls nearby here in Pampanga but I just can't find something that meets my requirements: quality + budget. I have no choice but to try my luck online instead. Once again, Lazada did not fail me. I found this Thenice Snorkel gear for Php 999 from B&D Tech Innovation. It could've been lower than that but it took a while for me to make up my mind about whether I'm going to buy it or not and the price increased slightly again by the time I bought it. I read all the reviews and finally placed an order. I was worried it wouldn't arrive in time for our Hundred Islands trip but to my relief, it arrived the day before. It was neatly bubble-wrapped and even included a container for the mask and a net bag for the whole gear. Looking at it, I was satisfied with the quality.

Finally got to try this out on our Hundred Islands trip! 

Another beauty shot of this bad boy

It worked great! At first, the water was getting inside the mask but all I had to do is tighten it a little bit more. It is made up of flexible silicon which made it comfortable to wear because it will fit the contours of your face. The silicon mouthpiece also provides comfort while using the snorkel and the mask is made of tempered glass which is "two to five times more durable than traditional glass". Aside from the comfort, this snorkel gear is also PVC-free which makes it safer to use. 

The mask was so clear! I really had fun seeing all the corals and the schools of fish going different ways. It really is a different world down there.