Absolutely!There’s a time and a place for a snorkel
Use a snorkel for snorkelling or free diving.
A snorkel is unnecessary for scuba diving.
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Absolutely!There’s a time and a place for a snorkel
Maybe not while you’re actually in the act of scuba diving, but what about before and after during a surface swim?Absolutely!
Use a snorkel for snorkelling or free diving.
A snorkel is unnecessary for scuba diving.
You can swim on your back and just breathe through your mouth.Maybe not while you’re actually in the act of scuba diving, but what about before and after during a surface swim?
What if there’s kelp you have to surface swim through?You can swim on your back and just breathe through your mouth.
You can't really surface swim through thick kelp on your front with a snorkel either. Most of us just descend a few feet and swim under the surface kelp while breathing off a regulator.What if there’s kelp you have to surface swim through?
Do you like getting your tank valve completely wrapped up in kelp or feather boa? Because that’s what will happen if you try and swim on your back through it.
I don’t, I like to save my air for the dive. Surface swimming in your belly using a snorkel allows you to pick your path and maneuver around the kelp or push it aside. You can also kelp crawl while using a snorkel. It’s a very valuable tool, and I don’t want new diver people reading a bunch of anti snorkel rhetoric then feel silly, stupid, or amateurish for using one. Do what works for you, I’ll do what works for me, and we’ll leave it at that.You can't really surface swim through thick kelp on your front with a snorkel either. Most of us just descend a few feet and swim under the surface kelp while breathing off a regulator.
I’d actually say most of us here just don’t dive where there is kelp - I’ve never seen the stuff (and never wear a snorkel when diving)You can't really surface swim through thick kelp on your front with a snorkel either. Most of us just descend a few feet and swim under the surface kelp while breathing off a regulator.
That might work in sparse kelp. But it doesn't work at all when the kelp gets thick, like we had at Point Lobos yesterday. If you tried to push the kelp aside or crawl over it you would just exhaust yourself without making much progress. Totally pointless and counterproductive. If breathing gas is an issue, then just bring more.I don’t, I like to save my air for the dive. Surface swimming in your belly using a snorkel allows you to pick your path and maneuver around the kelp or push it aside. You can also kelp crawl while using a snorkel. It’s a very valuable tool, and I don’t want new diver people reading a bunch of anti snorkel rhetoric then feel silly, stupid, or amateurish for using one. Do what works for you, I’ll do what works for me, and we’ll leave it at that.