SCUBAPRO Cruiser Adult Snorkeling & Scuba Diving Vest - Adjustable Buoyancy Compensator for Men & Women - Yellow/Black - Perfect for Ocean Adventures, Pool Training & Water Sports

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 bonusCons-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