Snorkel a necessity on open water dives?

[agilis]

I think you missed the invisible [sarcasm] [/sarcasm] tags.

I thought it was reasonably clear that this thread had transmuted into an essentially comic mode a few dozen posts ago. I apologize to anyone who began wearing a land snorkel.

 

[TSandM]

Sometimes they are useful:

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

... indeed ... sometimes it's useful to have two ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Teller]

I wear mine when teaching OW. If I am teaching anything else its folded up in my pocket. If I am diving for fun its on the beach/boat.

 

[DaleC]

Waste air? As my dive buddy points out - there is no refund for bringing back a full tank...

Well, not all people dive off boats and return to the surface to be picked up again by one. My goal is to get the most diving I can out of a tank.

If I am surface swimming out to a point, or have to return by swimming in, that air must be accounted for in my gas plan. The air I allot for that, can't be used for diving. In a St72 that might be significant.
Older style diving often involves more "swimming" than modern diving, as there isn't a BCD to float around on. For the most part I try to do the swimming UW but sometimes that doesn't work out. For those occasions I'd rather snorkel out and save my gas. It also means I can stay down longer, knowing I don't need that reserve of gas to surface swim back with.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I have a like dislike affair with snorkels, at times they are very usefull at other times they are PITA.
PADI says you have to have one. All the instructors I have seen wear one when teaching classes.
If you dive a long hose a snorkel is almost impossible to use.

Not entirely true. But you do need to practice donating the long hose a few times to see if there is a potential to "snag" the snorkel. This will depend on the snorkel shape and how it is worn. The Riffe freediving snorkel I currently use does not snag the hose as it passes over my head during donation. The hose brushes right past it, and I don't even notice it.

I dive long hose (6'), and almost always have a snorkel on my mask.

The reason I use a snorkel is because as a shore diver here in Hawaii there can be long, shallow swims over reef. If you swim on your back you risk hitting shallow coral with your tank or fins; your fins generally are a bit lower in the water when you swim on your back because you have lifted your head to breathe. In these areas it is easier to swim face down, with either your regulator or snorkel in your mouth.

But I do see using a snorkel in open water as "optional". I choose to use one because the pro's outweigh the con's... but it is not 100% necessary.

Best wishes.