Should I wear a snorkel or not

[Nick_Radov]

Are you a hog looped DIR type by any chance?

I don't know what "hog looped" means but I have a DIR equipment configuration.

 

[Nick_Radov]

I don’t (scuba) dive with a snorkel but saying you can’t swim / crawl over kelp with a snorkel is just not accurate. I have to wonder why you would think that? That’s a serious question. Did you hang up trying?

I have tried and I can do it if I really have to. It's just totally pointless and unnecessary (unless somehow you screw up the gas planning and end up back on the surface with empty tanks). And if you have extra gear, like a camera housing with strobe arms or a stage tank, then surface swimming in really heavy kelp makes entanglement tough to avoid regardless of technique.

Have you ever free dived locally?

Yes, a little bit. It's certainly a lot easier to kelp crawl in minimalist freediving gear.

Kelp is a non issue unless you just decide to entangle yourself by doing something stupid. As I recall, kelp crawling with both snorkel and reg was a part of my OW class (admittedly that was a long time ago)

Kelp is an issue once it becomes thick enough. Seriously, go look at Whaler's Cove right now. The surface kelp is as thick as I've ever seen it (which is good news for the ecosystem). Only a real masochist would try to kelp crawl on the surface any significant distance through that mess. Everyone who has been diving there the last few days just goes under the kelp.

 

[Celt]

I can swim better than most, and I have a real snorkel for freediving only. Never needed one in over 20 years of scuba diving all over the world in some fairly challenging conditions.

If that’s true I don’t understand your opposition to the use of a snorkel. The most efficient way to swim on the surface is on your belly using a snorkel to save your limited supply of gas. It can be stowed if it gets in the way of hose routing. Divers should make the effort to learn the proper use of a snorkel.

 

[Nick_Radov]

If that’s true I don’t understand your opposition to the use of a snorkel. The most efficient way to swim on the surface is on your belly using a snorkel to save your limited supply of gas.

Actually, it's more efficient to swim on your back (as long as you're not going through kelp). I've tried both ways and I can go faster with less effort on my back instead of using a snorkel. And if you're riding a scooter on the surface, you can just turn your head to the left occasionally to breathe.

 

[Celt]

Actually, it's more efficient to swim on your back (as long as you're not going through kelp). I've tried both ways and I can go faster with less effort on my back instead of using a snorkel. And if you're riding a scooter on the surface, you can just turn your head to the left occasionally to breathe.

Complete rubbish talk. The drag of swimming on your back in scuba at the angle to keep your mouth out of the water means you’re going nowhere in any kind of a sea. Don’t get separated from the boat or shore you won’t make it in poor conditions if you run out of gas.

 

[dmaziuk]

Complete rubbish talk. The drag of swimming on your back in scuba at the angle to keep your mouth out of the water means you’re going nowhere in any kind of a sea. Don’t get separated from the boat or shore you won’t make it in poor conditions if you run out of gas.

If I lost the boat beyond all hope and have to swim for a distant shore, I'm ditching the entire kit and am doing the actual swimming. Including the fins -- but that's just because I'm better at breaststroke than at crawls. If I just need to float waiting for the pickup, then I seem to be intelligent enough to not inhale when submerged. YMM, of course, V.

 

[Nick_Radov]

Complete rubbish talk. The drag of swimming on your back in scuba at the angle to keep your mouth out of the water means you’re going nowhere in any kind of a sea. Don’t get separated from the boat or shore you won’t make it in poor conditions if you run out of gas.

I have surface swam on my back in rough conditions. Not a problem as long as you are properly weighted.

 

[Celt]

If I lost the boat beyond all hope and have to swim for a distant shore, I'm ditching the entire kit and am doing the actual swimming. Including the fins -- but that's just because I'm better at breaststroke than at crawls. If I just need to float waiting for the pickup, then I seem to be intelligent enough to not inhale when submerged. YMM, of course, V.

Is that in answer to my post you quoted or just something you wanted to say. Because it definitely didn’t answer the question about the most effective way to surface swim with scuba gear.

 

[Celt]

I have surface swam on my back in rough conditions. Not a problem as long as you are properly weighted.

Not a problem if you’re 50 feet from the boat or shore. But you’re going to exhaust yourself if you have any distance to cover.

 

[Nick_Radov]

Not a problem if you’re 50 feet from the boat or shore. But you’re going to exhaust yourself if you have any distance to cover.

Nope. That's just not how it works in real diving, and I've certainly covered more than 50 ft in rough surface conditions on multiple occasions. I can't imagine where you've come up with such mistaken notions. If divers are getting exhausted swimming on their backs, then they're doing something wrong like bending at the waist too much or failing to inflate the wing or using garbage fins. Or they're just unfit. Using a snorkel isn't going to address that problem: rather the opposite.
Anyway, I'll leave it there. If you want to make diving unnecessarily difficult go ahead.