Basic gear from the mid-twentieth-century Federal Republic of Germany

[DDB]

So the EN standards and CMAS rules are for manufacturers of the equipment? For example; you can not breath thru a snorkel below a certain depth, so you can not manufacture a snorkel over a certain length?

 

[David Wilson]

So the EN standards and CMAS rules are for manufacturers of the equipment? For example; you can not breath thru a snorkel below a certain depth, so you can not manufacture a snorkel over a certain length?

In the case of the CMAS rules, it is the finswimming competitor who is bound by the regulations and (s)he cannot race using a snorkel diverging from the dimensions listed. As for the EN standard, a snorkel manufacturer is free to ignore the specified dimensions in the standard but cannot then claim that the product conforms to current norms. I would expect most manufacturers to construct their snorkels to match the dimensions within this international standard in the interest of health and safety and to avoid litigation arising from, say, pulmonary injury caused by use of overlong snorkel barrels.

 

[DDB]

Ok. Thanks

 

[David Wilson]

Today's series of Barakuda snorkels begins with the 703 model:

German: "Schnorchel 703. Starres Kunststoffrohr mit Mundstückbogen aus Gummi, blau. Best.-Nr. 3 829 00."
Rough translation: "703 snorkel. Rigid plastic barrel with one-piece rubber elbow and mouthpiece, blue. Order No. 3 829 00."

So a traditional J-shaped snorkel of the type featuring a straight rigid barrel fitted at the lower end with a flexible U-bend terminating in a mouthpiece. As such, the 703 resembles the 102 model on the same page of the 1973 Barakuda catalogue:

The Barakuda 301 model manufactured from 1962 to 1967 came with the same design:

 

[David Wilson]

And now the 705 Barakuda snorkel:

German: "Schnorchel 705. Schnorchel mit starrem Rohr und Faltenschlauch-Mundstück. DM 5,95. Best.-Nr. 3 830 00."
Rough translation: "705 snorkel. Snorkel with rigid barrel and corrugated-hose mouthpiece. DM 5.95. Order No. 3 830 00."

Another flexible-hose breathing tube, therefore, featuring a one-piece corrugated hose and mouthpiece to drop out of the way when not in use, which proved popular with certain scuba divers. The 705 was not the only model of this type among the 1973 Barakuda snorkel offerings:
105

305/805

 

[David Wilson]

Next up is the Barakuda 810:

German: "Schnorchel 810, schwarz. Faltenschlauch-Mundstück, starres Rohr, ohne Ventil. Best.-Nr. 3 810 00. Faltenschlauch-Mundstück, Best.-Nr. 3 810 95."
Rough translation: "810 snorkel, black. Corrugated-hose mouthpiece, rigid barrel, no valve. Order No. 3 810 00. Corrugated-hose mouthpiece. Order No. 3 810 95."

Yet another flexible-hose snorkel, this model featuring the top protector we have seen fitted to earlier models in the Barakuda range. So the 1973 Barakuda snorkel collection amounted to no fewer than 15 models, while 3 of them - 20% - came with flexible-hose mouthpieces. Both may be a world record for a diving equipment manufacturer.

 

[David Wilson]

Last snorkel of the day is the Barakuda 843:

German: "Schnorchel 843. Schnorchel mit Gummirohr und drehbarem Klarinettenmundstück. DM 8,75. Best.-Nr. 3 843 00."
Rough translation: "843 snorkel. Snorkel with rubber barrel and rotatable clarinet mouthpiece. DM 8.75. Order No. 3 843 00."

An all-rubber breathing tube of the L-shaped variety. The 1973 range included another model of this type, which we have already reviewed earlier in this thread:

The 801 came with a rigid tube, while the 843 was an all-rubber design like the contour-type Beuchat Tubair, which remains available nowadays:

I think that completes our review of the Barakuda 1973 snorkel range. There are later catalogues to review, with the bonus of colour images, and we'll cover those starting mid-week.

 

[David Wilson]

Using horseracing parlance, we now find ourselves on the final straight in the Barakuda snorkel stakes. Here is the snorkel page in the 1977 Barakuda catalogue:

We've already met the 105, described as "Snorkel with plastic barrel, rigid, rubber mouthpiece, V-shaped, orange colour" and now visible in colour:

We've also reviewed the 107, "Rubber snorkel with length-adjustable snorkel barrel (from 22 to 35 cm). Barrel cross-section 22 mm. The tube is flexible depending on the length selected. Soft rubber mouthpiece."

 

[David Wilson]

Here is the 1978 Barakuda snorkel page with an identical range of breathing tubes. Note the absence of product description other than a stock number.

Let's review the models that were new for 1977.

110

A typical contoured design for the decade, topped with a fluorescent band to alert other water users to the snorkeller's presence, as later required by the German Standard on snorkels: DIN 7878 of 1980 and 1981.

402

Another L-shaped design with a "clarinette" mouthpiece. We've recently reviewed two earlier Barakuda L-shaped models, coded 801 and 843.

404

Yet another flexible-hose design featuring a mouthpiece ready to drop out of the way when onot in use. Earlier Barakuda flexible-hose snorkels were coded 105, 305/805 and 810.

 

[David Wilson]

And here is the 1981 Barakuda snorkel page, which comes from the last catalogue of the company I have access to. There are fewer models than in 1977/1978.

414

Yet another contoured snorkel with a choice of barrel colours (orange/transparent) in 1977-1978 but just one version (transparent) in 1981.

807

Another Barakuda snorkel with a V-shaped mouthpiece to add to the previous 103, 307 and 309 models in the Barakuda range.

So that was the Barakuda line in snorkels between the 1950s and the 1980s. Numerous models, several changes in order number coding, but all representative of the four basic snorkel shapes: J-type, L-type, flexible-hose and contoured.

Next time we'll move on to the Barakuda snorkel-mask range. Stay tuned!