Should I wear a snorkel or not
- Thread starter Happyladydiver
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Its great to have when you see divers on the surface in OOA in a swell.
So much for that breathing from the regulator then. Good thing we don't do snorkel sharing.
I like having my snorkel with me, never had a hose entanglement or other issue. Do as you please.
At 1 atmosphere you have gas for a long time, even with the 500 PSI or so you surface with.
Is the snorkel is a gear solution for the skills problem of surfacing OOA?
Cdncoldwater
Contributor
Normally no snorkel for me; if I dive where there are swells or I might wait for a boat then I stow a collapsible one in my pocket.
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Even if I surface with 50 bar left in my tank (about 500 surface liters, or 25-30 minutes of breathing at 1 bar ambient pressure), I'd appreciate being able not to deplete my reserve. After all, the amount of gas available from the nice, huge topside tank is virtually unlimited. The amount of gas left in my personal tank isn't. Sometimes, it may take some time before you can be picked up, and sometimes the sea might be a mite choppy. At least if you're ocean diving.
As I've said already, bringing a snorkel in my drysuit pocket costs me exactly zero. No matter how low the benefit is, the cost/benefit ratio looks pretty good to me.
Chavodel8en
Contributor
Whether you wear a snorkel on your mask is almost entirely a matter of personal preference.
I mainly shore dive. On the long surface swims, many of my buddies like to snorkel, so they can see what's below during the dive.
Me, I prefer not even wearing a mask during the surface swim, and I swim on my back. (Maybe if I was tropical shore diving, with better viz, I would wear a snorkel). The snorkel I recall as mildly annoying flopping around on the mask, sometimes snags on kelp, and I sometimes momentarily mistook it for the inflator hose. So I dont wear one on my mask. I have a foldable snorkel. Have yet to use it in 100+ dives, but good to have.
Note that I view the snorkel as a mild annoyance -- not in any way a "hazard" in my recreational diving.
Think about your diving, and decide if you want a snorkel on your mask or not.
I mainly shore dive. On the long surface swims, many of my buddies like to snorkel, so they can see what's below during the dive.
Me, I prefer not even wearing a mask during the surface swim, and I swim on my back. (Maybe if I was tropical shore diving, with better viz, I would wear a snorkel). The snorkel I recall as mildly annoying flopping around on the mask, sometimes snags on kelp, and I sometimes momentarily mistook it for the inflator hose. So I dont wear one on my mask. I have a foldable snorkel. Have yet to use it in 100+ dives, but good to have.
Note that I view the snorkel as a mild annoyance -- not in any way a "hazard" in my recreational diving.
Think about your diving, and decide if you want a snorkel on your mask or not.
jonhall
Contributor
Agree with what you're getting at.......for the most part. As I described, several pages back, the diver on a trip to Aruba diving with a one-man-show dive op and with only ~20 dives under his belt - it was me - was at least prepared by having a snorkel on the dive I described on an earlier post. So no one has to go back, if you dive with Clive in Aruba, he is the boat captain and DM - stays down about 20 minutes with divers and then goes back to boat leaving divers to drift the rest of the dive and surface on their own, where he will pick you up once he sees you. So on this particular dive, in which my buddy and I were the only 2 divers, I surfaced with no air - although I knew I was extremely low, we had kept our heads down and continued kicking. When we did pop up the boat wasn't close, so had to wait.
To your point, I believe, the skill is to watch your air and surface when you're supposed to and so the boat captain can see you better (maybe inflate a SMB or DSMB in advance), thus not putting yourself in a situation.
Since that didn't happen, the snorkel could become an important piece of gear. Be prepared for any situation. I don't remember if I used my snorkel or floated. Whatever it was, I did the next dive and came up with 800 psi. I don't take a snorkel diving now, but have learned quite a bit through time and diving - and still learning - as to how I should prepare for a trip.
As for this thread, I have a question. Keeping in mind, this thread is for a new diver, what do instructors recommend for the new diver? Divers obviously have their thoughts and reasons for doing what they do - of which many have been shared and which are informative for any diver - but what direction do instructors have their students leave their OW course with regarding the snorkel?
Sorry, there were more replies as I typed this but posted anyway.
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And I was debating just that point.
You don't have to mess up and surface OOG for a snorkel to be a good idea. Math added to enforce the argument.
@Happyladydiver , I don't know what to say except that Tom is one of the nicest people I have met on SB. He may have had a bad day in the cold North or perhaps he is irritated by the numerous troll threads on this subject and others and thought you were one of them. He is a super nice guy and I don't think that he meant any disrespect or to attack you. I hope that you both work it out and get past it.
Signed: Burhan the peace and love maker!!
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