Should I wear a snorkel or not

[Cdncoldwater]

Normally no snorkel for me; if I dive where there are swells or I might wait for a boat then I stow a collapsible one in my pocket.

 

[Storker]

At 1 atmosphere you have gas for a long time, even with the 500 PSI or so you surface with.

Is the snorkel is a gear solution for the skills problem of surfacing OOA?

Even if I surface with 50 bar left in my tank (about 500 surface liters, or 25-30 minutes of breathing at 1 bar ambient pressure), I'd appreciate being able not to deplete my reserve. After all, the amount of gas available from the nice, huge topside tank is virtually unlimited. The amount of gas left in my personal tank isn't. Sometimes, it may take some time before you can be picked up, and sometimes the sea might be a mite choppy. At least if you're ocean diving.

As I've said already, bringing a snorkel in my drysuit pocket costs me exactly zero. No matter how low the benefit is, the cost/benefit ratio looks pretty good to me.

 

[Chavodel8en]

Whether you wear a snorkel on your mask is almost entirely a matter of personal preference.

I mainly shore dive. On the long surface swims, many of my buddies like to snorkel, so they can see what's below during the dive.

Me, I prefer not even wearing a mask during the surface swim, and I swim on my back. (Maybe if I was tropical shore diving, with better viz, I would wear a snorkel). The snorkel I recall as mildly annoying flopping around on the mask, sometimes snags on kelp, and I sometimes momentarily mistook it for the inflator hose. So I dont wear one on my mask. I have a foldable snorkel. Have yet to use it in 100+ dives, but good to have.

Note that I view the snorkel as a mild annoyance -- not in any way a "hazard" in my recreational diving.

Think about your diving, and decide if you want a snorkel on your mask or not.

 

[doctormike]

Even if I surface with 50 bar left in my tank (about 500 surface liters, or 25-30 minutes of breathing at 1 bar ambient pressure), I'd appreciate being able not to deplete my reserve. After all, the amount of gas available from the nice, huge topside tank is virtually unlimited. The amount of gas left in my personal tank isn't. Sometimes, it may take some time before you can be picked up, and sometimes the sea might be a mite choppy. At least if you're ocean diving.

As I've said already, bringing a snorkel in my drysuit pocket costs me exactly zero. No matter how low the benefit is, the cost/benefit ratio looks pretty good to me.

I have absolutely no problem with bringing a snorkel in your pocket, not sure if you think that anyone here is objecting to that.

I was responding to the idea that a snorkel is a good thing to have if you surface OOA.

 

[jonhall]

At 1 atmosphere you have gas for a long time, even with the 500 PSI or so you surface with.
Is the snorkel is a gear solution for the skills problem of surfacing OOA?

Agree with what you're getting at.......for the most part. As I described, several pages back, the diver on a trip to Aruba diving with a one-man-show dive op and with only ~20 dives under his belt - it was me - was at least prepared by having a snorkel on the dive I described on an earlier post. So no one has to go back, if you dive with Clive in Aruba, he is the boat captain and DM - stays down about 20 minutes with divers and then goes back to boat leaving divers to drift the rest of the dive and surface on their own, where he will pick you up once he sees you. So on this particular dive, in which my buddy and I were the only 2 divers, I surfaced with no air - although I knew I was extremely low, we had kept our heads down and continued kicking. When we did pop up the boat wasn't close, so had to wait.

To your point, I believe, the skill is to watch your air and surface when you're supposed to and so the boat captain can see you better (maybe inflate a SMB or DSMB in advance), thus not putting yourself in a situation.

Since that didn't happen, the snorkel could become an important piece of gear. Be prepared for any situation. I don't remember if I used my snorkel or floated. Whatever it was, I did the next dive and came up with 800 psi. I don't take a snorkel diving now, but have learned quite a bit through time and diving - and still learning - as to how I should prepare for a trip.

As for this thread, I have a question. Keeping in mind, this thread is for a new diver, what do instructors recommend for the new diver? Divers obviously have their thoughts and reasons for doing what they do - of which many have been shared and which are informative for any diver - but what direction do instructors have their students leave their OW course with regarding the snorkel?

Sorry, there were more replies as I typed this but posted anyway.

 

[Storker]

I was responding to the idea that a snorkel is a good thing to have if you surface OOA.

And I was debating just that point.

You don't have to mess up and surface OOG for a snorkel to be a good idea. Math added to enforce the argument.

 

[doctormike]

And I was debating just that point.

You don't have to mess up and surface OOG for a snorkel to be a good idea. Math added to enforce the argument.

No, you are debating a different point. The point I was responding to was that a snorkel is a good way of dealing with the problem of surfacing in the ocean OOG.

You are making the point that a snorkel can be helpful whether your or OOG or not, which I agree with.

 

[BoltSnap]

View attachment 633963 I just wanted to clarify I am not referring to the helpful guys as little boys. Just this dude. Cheers.

@Happyladydiver , I don't know what to say except that Tom is one of the nicest people I have met on SB. He may have had a bad day in the cold North or perhaps he is irritated by the numerous troll threads on this subject and others and thought you were one of them. He is a super nice guy and I don't think that he meant any disrespect or to attack you. I hope that you both work it out and get past it.

Signed: Burhan the peace and love maker!!

 

[TMHeimer]

@Happyladydiver , I don't know what to say except that Tom is one of the nicest people I have met on SB. He may have had a bad day in the cold North or perhaps he is irritated by the numerous troll threads on this subject and others and thought you were one of them. He is a super nice guy and I don't think that he meant any disrespect or to attack you. I hope that you both work it out and get past it.

Signed: Burhan the peace and love maker!!

Thank you Burhan. And a big apology to Happyladydiver. All I can figure for my comment was that I didn't realize I was in fact on the New Diver Forum. I really was sure this was a troll. No excuse.

 

[Blackcrusader]

At 1 atmosphere you have gas for a long time, even with the 500 PSI or so you surface with. Is the snorkel is a gear solution for the skills problem of surfacing OOA?

Sometimes OOA is equipment failure so not really a skills problem. So you can have air in your tank and not be able to use it. I use mine as often at beginning or end of dive waiting for others to get on the boat I will still be looking down at the reef and also looking to make sure all our divers are accounted for even though I am not the guide or DM.

Here on one trip I am in the water waiting for divers and I use my snorkel to view the reef. Sometimes I may get a passing turtle before we descend. As Stoker wrote, I am not using my air from my tank unless I am diving. It's my precious. In another case a Krait snake came up to the boat for air. So imagine someone on the boat going off and not seeing it and being bitten as a result?