ScubaPro Swivel Tip Jet Snorkel

[jadairiii]

Anyone remember these snorkels. They only appeared in the catalogs in 1977 and 1978. I had one and they worked great, especially when surface swimming with my atpac. Better yet, when free diving/Snorkeling in choppy water you could turn the tube and keep water out. Wish I could find another, dont know why they didn't sell better?

 

[John C. Ratliff]

They were replaced by the Scubapro Shotgun snorkel, which actually was a better snorkel.

SeaRat

 

[jadairiii]

They were replaced by the Scubapro Shotgun snorkel, which actually was a better snorkel.

SeaRat

What made that so unique was your ability to swivel it in any direction. Free diving in any condition it would stay dry and beach diving with the AtPac or any back mounted buoyancy pack you could swim on your back, swivel the tube forward facing and it was a dream, or face down swivel it 180. Any sea condition or head position it would be dry, without the necessity of a purge valve.

I hate to admit it, but I liked it better than my Farallon. If only the Jet had the same mouth bites as the Farallon it would have been perfect.

But in all fairness, I never liked snorkels with the purge diaphragm. I still dive my Farallon but I customized it by re-gluing the barrel so it is just off set facing back a bit, much dryer in the ocean, free diving or swimming with it.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I find this board to be fairly anti snorkel, but I find them very useful for the right conditions. I think the ones that diss snorkels are probably boat divers, quarry divers, lake divers, or those that dive in otherwise benign conditions where they can roll over on their backs and cruise along at leisure.
However, is some conditions such as beach diving in rocky areas containing a lot of seaweed and obstacles where it’s a better idea to surface swim on your belly keeping a lookout for hazards and picking a path to navigate through with your face down in the water and without using up precious tank air for surface swims, snorkels are unbeatable.
It just takes a bit getting used to having it on the side of your mask all the time. I trained that way so no big deal to me.
I love vintage style snorkels without any purge valves or hoopla. Basic straight tube J snorkels are always the best.

 

[agilis]

I always bring a snorkel with me on Caribbean trips. Spending hours on end floating in clear warm water, totally unencumbered by tanks or weights, slipping easily through the water, just a mask, snorkel, and fins, a small bright light for night snorkels, is as good as it gets. Thin nylon skins for sun protection when needed. More juvenile reef fish, seahorses and marine life in general than you will ever see on deeper reefs. I scuba dive most days when I'm in the tropics, but snorkel once or twice every day, usually dawn and dusk. Plain longer length vintage style snorkels are the way to go, no purge wanted. I've been doing this for decades, and if I had to give anything up snorkeling would be the last to go. I use frankinsnorkels, made from salvaged parts, to wind up with what works best. The long plastic tubes are decades old.