Ode to the lowly snorkel

[DaleC]

I think we should define what that homogeneous dive that the world is doing looks like to see if snorkels really have no place in it. I'll start. It's diving alone with a single reg, no octo; also no BC, using either my drysuit or the neutral buoyancy of my wetsuit to keep me on the surface. There I like a snorkel both for surface swimming and orienting myself before descending. Those naysayers are welcome to join me (then I won't be alone) and do that sort of dive without a snorkel - should be fun to watch.

 

[g1138]

I'm not looking for a standard J-snorkel. I want a bare bones, big bore contoured barrel, silicone flex, snorkel. No purges or top blocking gizmos. Some come close but all have some kind of gizmo on it. Thanks anyway.

Like these? The clips and snorkel keepers come off.

<- The only big bore one I know of. Cressi America. They also make a Gringo model which doesn't have the top curve.


- Cressi Corsica
- Riffe Standard J-snorkel

- Omer Snorkel

 

[DennisS]

If you have a snorkel on your mask, while swimming on your back, your snorkel will be underwater. Snorkels are for snorkeling, or while instructing. When I am doing Scuba for fun, I just wear Scuba Gear.

how the heck can you comfortably do that? its just unnatural for a snorkel to be used that way

You are not really on your back, you are at about a 45 degree angle, doing a slow bicycle kick. It raises your air intake about 6 inches. You are moving backwards. I use mine on shore dives if there is any chop. I'm a WWW and frequently dive with just t shirt and shorts.

 

[CT-Rich]

I have to say that I have never used the octopus on my regulator for anything other than practice, nor the emergency whistle or the quick or my back up dive knife. I still have them though and accept the anticipated necessity of having them. My snorkel has been there on plenty of swims, most of them planned that way. Shore diving in RI I plan on where I am going down and don't struggle on the surface to get my bearings. I lift my head 6 inches take a look and continue. Do you need a snorkel for diving? I suppose not, but I am used to it, it saves air, reduces exertion on the surface and is yet to get in my way (I use an old style j-shaped like the Cressi America above. of all the stuff I bring into the water, my snorkel would not first I get rid of, but faced with a long unintended swim, I would rather have it than swim on my back at a 45 degree angle.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Like these? The clips and snorkel keepers come off.

View attachment 129149<- The only big bore one I know of. Cressi America. They also make a Gringo model which doesn't have the top curve.


View attachment 129146- Cressi Corsica
View attachment 129147 - Riffe Standard J-snorkel

View attachment 129148- Omer Snorkel

Every one of those would work great. How did you make the pictures come up?
If you can, would you put up a picture of the Cressi California?
That's about the most classic style I've been able to find short of making one from scratch which I may try some day.

---------- Post Merged at 08:04 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:00 PM ----------

I have to say that I have never used the octopus on my regulator for anything other than practice, nor the emergency whistle or the quick or my back up dive knife. I still have them though and accept the anticipated necessity of having them. My snorkel has been there on plenty of swims, most of them planned that way. Shore diving in RI I plan on where I am going down and don't struggle on the surface to get my bearings. I lift my head 6 inches take a look and continue. Do you need a snorkel for diving? I suppose not, but I am used to it, it saves air, reduces exertion on the surface and is yet to get in my way (I use an old style j-shaped like the Cressi America above. of all the stuff I bring into the water, my snorkel would not first I get rid of, but faced with a long unintended swim, I would rather have it than swim on my back at a 45 degree angle.

Not only that, but surface swimming face down is more efficient since the front of you is slicker and more streamlined than the back with a tank hanging down.
All these efficiency experts around here that piss on snorkels seem to forget that.
And to add to the orientation comment, all I have to do is pop my head up half mask to see where I'm going, or I take a compass reading then snorkel away and look at the compass on my wrist. All you navigation experts should know that. It beats back swimming and craning my head around and rolling to see where I'm going just to realize I just swam right into a big patch of kelp and my got my tank valve all wrapped up.

 

[ermaclob]

i started diving with a snorkel thinking it was standard gear that you should have. i like having one for beach dives and anytime i want to swim one the surface. however now that i have dived more i see that it has its disadvantages. it in many situations is not needed at all and only takes up space. Also when i started diving the long hose i quickly learned that the snorkel had to go. if i need to used the hose, it has a very high chance of garbing the snorkel and dialoging my mask.

i currently only use the snorkel on beach dives there i know i need to swim on the surface. one any other dive its is in side my pocket as a peace of emergency equipment in the event that i need to do a unexpected surface swim in the ocean.

 

[TSandM]

Not only that, but surface swimming face down is more efficient since the front of you is slicker and more streamlined than the back with a tank hanging down.​

Actually, I find swimming on my back, with the negative tank hanging down where it's stable, to be much more comfortable than trying to swim on my stomach with a big steel tank sticking up in the air. But that's me. I do admit freely that if you are swimming on your back in kelp, it's not optimal. But then again, the gas management strategies I use mean I always have enough gas to do some surface swimming on a regulator if I have to. And I don't very often get to dive in kelp.

 

[ferris213]

The horror stories described in the OP are down to an unskilled diver. It's not like having a snorkel on her head would have improved her situation any. (if you can't get enough air through a top of the range reg, you won't get enough through a snorkel either.)

A snorkel after the dive? Why not use the air you have left? If I fall backward off the ladder I want a reg in my mouth.

Before a dive I can see the point, but how much air are you really going to use getting to the anchor line and waiting? (all at 1ATA)

If I were doing long surface swims I would be on my back (without a snorkel in my mouth) I guess kelp is different but have no experience with it.

Having said all that, if people want to dive with one, great. If you want to dive without one , great. It's not the life and death issue the OP seemed to make it out to be.

 

[OldNSalty]

I think TSandM's tag line sums up the argument pretty well. For the diving I do, where I do it, having a snorkle works well. I have tried it both ways, several times (I like to experiment). In my case what is recommended down here makes sense. If I were diving in a quarry with no waves/current or penetrating a cave I could see where what was recommended would not make sense, so I would do something else (In this case what is recommended by those who dive those places)

 

[nimoh]

I don't think it is necessary to be at a 45 degree angle to surface swim on your back. I am generally pretty horizontal, and my kicks come fairly close to breaching the surface. I will admit, that on some surface swims, it would be nice to have a snorkel to look at things in the water, but for me, I don't see this as a big deal since I will just take a deep breath and roll over for a minute or so.

I also disagree with the thinking that you are more streamlined on your front because of the tank. I think your buoyancy will be the same whether on your front or back, meaning that either way the same mass will be below the water as above the water (roughly). However, for single tanks, the tank is narrower than my body, making me a little bit more streamlined.

I won't argue with those that want to use snorkels (i.e. I won't tell people that they should ditch their snorkels), I think it is just a trade off. Personally, I am willing to deal with not having a snorkel, when it would be convenient to have one, while others are willing to deal with having a snorkel on their head when they don't need it during the dive so that they have it before and after the dive.