Should I wear a snorkel or not

[Dody]

Revisit that explanation and evaluate it. Don't take anything at face value, don't drink the cool-aid. Use your own judgment. That's one of the things you have to be able to do if you want to be a competent diver.

I understand what you are saying. I think that my assessment was that it was not that important. Choosing between donating primary or octopus did not seem to me like life threatening issue. I knew (and still don’t know much) nothing about long hose and setup that could complicate things. That’s why I am very conservative in my choices. I regularly practice OOA with my buddy by donating the primary reg and making a controlled ascent and we have never had any issue. But that’s right that she has exactly the same setup that I have.
To end up with a funny note. Nowadays, nobody wants to test reg exchange or first aid breathing (even with a mask) because of freaking Covid. Except my buddy/ wife .

 

[BoltSnap]

You might want to re-evaluate your pedagogical and didactic approach to education.

Sure.

 

[BoltSnap]

New divers don't need snorkels anymore than experienced divers do.

And this proven scientific statement is based on what?

There are lots of BAD instructors out there. Citing your credentials to bolster your side of an argument does nothing but weaken it.

An instructor/educator is supposed to lead new divers away from inaccurate and false information such as the information on why a snorkel isn't need that was brought up here in this thread. When somebody justifies the reasons for not using a snorkel based on their confusion with the BC inflator hose, this implies to the uninitiated new diver that the snorkel is a bad thing to have and they must avoid using it. This statement and the conclusion drawn from it are totally wrong and are actually derived from poor skills and poor training. You want to buttress your argument against using a snorkel, bring out a valid reason based on proper facts not based on your lack of skill and poor training.

 

[dmaziuk]

New divers don't need snorkels anymore than experienced divers do.

And this proven scientific statement is based on what?

English reading and comprehension. What it means is, the need is orthogonal to the experience.

HTH

 

[Pressurehead]

Please stop it ,my lack of education,
backwardness. illiteracy. illiteratenes having left school in 1966 after only 10 years of schooling, I find myself using Google to understand all these large words .
Snorkel: A tube that you hold in your mouth to help you breathe if you are swimming with your face underwater.

 

[Joneill]

And this proven scientific statement is based on what

And what science supports the need to use a snorkel?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t spend a lot of time on the surface when I am diving. Once submerged, it’s a completely useless and unnecessary dangly bit that just flops around and pulls on my mask, especially in strong currents.

If I was diving in rough seas, I’d carry a foldable one to use on the surface, if needed. If shore diving, I either swim on my back and roll over to check position periodically or just do some breath hold surface swimming for a bit.

However, if folks feel a need to use one, it’s their right/choice to do so - but it is not about any essential scuba skills that I can see?

 

[TMHeimer]

If for some reason you unexpectedly found yourself in very rough seas and have no idea where your boat is, or a similar situation... I can very well see that a snorkel could be of some use. And there are other reasons using is could probably come in handy. Some have mentioned being in clear water and surface swimming to see the bottom. Others have said swimming on the back is more efficient and the snorkel only gets in the way there and always underwater. I have explained why with my particular diving in my usual known spots it is never needed. Then we get into arguments about it's place in training, etc.
I think this has all been said many times before on SB. I was wrong to assume that here in the New Divers forum the OP was a troll. As I said, I probably thought I was in Basic and was forseeing all of this.

 

[BoltSnap]

I don’t know about you, but I don’t spend a lot of time on the surface when I am diving. Once submerged, it’s a completely useless and unnecessary dangly bit that just flops around and pulls on my mask, especially in strong currents.

We use octos/alternate second and dive with them although the greater majority of divers who buy and use them never ever have to use them in OOA situation (at least they shouldn't be in OOA situation) but yet most divers and instructors use them and never dive without them. Octos are worse than snorkels in terms of drag, getting caught on the reef, maintenance, cost and many other factors, BUT you still have them on you. I use the snorkel infinitely more than I have used the octo. Whatever "inconvenience" you may have with the snorkel, multiply that by 10 for the octo. yet you have the octo on. (It is even much worse for folks that carry a pony bottle and never have to use).

If I was diving in rough seas, I’d carry a foldable one to use on the surface

So you always predict the rough seas before hand for you to decide to carry a snorkel on you or not before you get on the boat just like you can predict if you are going to face an OOA situation to decide if to carry an octo. on you (or a pony)?

If shore diving, I either swim on my back and roll over to check position periodically or just do some breath hold surface swimming for a bit.

Using a snorkel, with all of its advantages you claim, its use is superior in this scenario and will make your swimming much easier, safer and efficient. You will be much more rested when you get to the drop down point. You will be on course more to avoid wasting energy getting to the drop down point too swimming face down with the snorkel than swimming on your back and having to turn occasionally to correct your course. Breath holding while surface swimming will make you get exhausted much more quickly and you will be out of breath by the time you get to the drop down point.

 

[lowwall]

Unless you have a specific use case for a snorkel, don't bother with it.

The important thing about the snorkel decision is that you never actually need one. They are occasionally nice to have, but if you can use a snorkel you can also just move your mouth out of the water and breathe.

That, by the way, is the difference between a snorkel and an octo. If your primary fails underwater, you don't have the option to simply lean back and breathe normally.

 

[BoltSnap]

Yes but when and if you need to use the octo, you can rest assured that unlike a snorkel, it works at all depths, not just within 10" of the surface.

And after you had to use an octo in an OOA, you will need a snorkel on the surface to get back to your exit point since you don't have air in your tank and you are most likely in an not so calm state and need the snorkel to help you swim comfortably to exit the water without having to strain your head to breathe, you are already stressed from your OOA experience (you or your buddy OOA, it doesn't matter, both of you are in a stress situation).