Are full-face snorkel masks safe to use in Sharm El Sheikh?

Avoid buying full-face masks from random street stalls or underpass vendors — some fakes have even been modified to work with mini oxygen tanks, which is unsafe. Luckily this kind of seller is rare in Sharm itself.

Cheap Chinese full-face masks usually have only 1-4 valves instead of the ~20 in original models, so you end up partially rebreathing your own exhaled air with less oxygen. They're hard to rinse out in the water if fogged, and even harder to remove quickly — especially for a child.

A standard (non-full-face) mask can be cleared and taken off in one motion even underwater, which is more practical in emergencies than dealing with a full-face rig.

Even at a depth of just 1-2 meters, a full-face mask starts pressing into the face due to pressure difference and the air volume trapped inside — the larger that air pocket, the stronger the squeeze, making diving down in one difficult.

If you want to dive under the surface (not just float on top), regular swim goggles or starter racing goggles work better — they have very little air space, sit tight against the eyes, and have minimal squeeze effect, even less than a standard snorkel mask.