Snorkel a necessity on open water dives?

[MXGratefulDiver]

So I'm wondering how many people here go with or without a snorkel during dives? Drift diving, or anchor diving. Beach entry dives I always wear mine. Rough surf. Do some of you believe that it's a safety matter, and you should always dive with a snorkel no matter what? I can see getting abandoned during a dive, then it would definitely be nice to have one. Maybe I could stuff one in my BCD pocket for safe keeping? What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance for any help. Stay wet!

I only ever wear a snorkel when I'm teaching OW classes ... because teaching snorkeling skills is part of the class. Outside of the class, I haven't worn a snorkel for scuba diving since I switched to a long hose configuration ... more than 3000 dives ago. Since then I've dived all over the world, in all sorts of conditions, and have yet to wish I had one.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:32 AM ----------

I was on a dive charter (can't remember where) and heard the captain say he pays more attention to the divers with snorkels (inferring they are typically new divers)

I see it more as a matter of personal preference than an indicator of experience ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:35 AM ----------

Just spend two weeks diving where the operator required all to have snorkels. In the water customers were expected to have either the reg or snorkel in mouth. One customer complained - they were given their money back and told to find another operator to die with.

That's a boat I would prefer not to spend two weeks on. Boat operators who enforce silly rules are usually control freaks who are generally unpleasant to be around. I'd consider it a kindness to know in advance who they are ... so I can avoid them. If a boat operator told me that, I'd want off his boat out of general principle ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:37 AM ----------

If while sitting on the boat there’s ever a need to assist another diver in an emergency (or watch dolphins, thanks Lorenzoid) I can enter the water more quickly than having to kit up with scuba, or root around for a snorkel.

That's a good reason to keep one in your dive bag ... and I generally do when I travel. For local diving, however, there's just not much need for a snorkel ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:40 AM ----------

This is a very old debate...I've used one since dive #1 & am on something over 1500, who counts 'em after #50...What is the excuse for not wearing one----"ouch that pulled my hair..."

I still log dives at over 3300 ... my excuse for not wearing a snorkel is that I don't need one ... and I ain't got any hair ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:44 AM ----------

What you gunna do if you miss the tag line--in fairly heavy seas ---or the boat has had to move due to current & you've deployed your SMB---with a 30+ minute wait in store till they pick you up.......This is what the captain warned us might happen as part of a predive briefing.......You think that 300+ lbs you surface with will last forever, or do you want to just keep bobbing that head in & out of the water catching breaths of air....Oh, btw, you & the boat are sitting 125 miles offshore......

If I'm diving in heavy seas ... with current ... or offshore ... I'm surfacing with more than 300 psi in my tank. Surfacing with that little reserve under any of those circumstances is just cutting your margins too thin, and indicates a deficient ability to make good decisions ... and relying on a plastic tube to help you out of that situation is just plain silly. No thanks ... I'm going to have enough air in reserve to keep my reg in my mouth while I resolve the difficulty.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:50 AM ----------

This is the main reason why I'm so undecided wearing one or not. As I see it, if I get into that situation, I just pull my snorkel out of my BCD's pocket and volia! Best of both worlds correct?

That's one of those things that looks good in theory ... in the safety and comfort of your office while conversing on the internet. In real life, the chances are pretty good that you'll be so concerned about staying afloat that deploying a snorkel you're carrying in your pocket may never occur to you ... even if it would do you any good. Have you ever practiced breathing from one while waves were crashing over your head? It's not as easy as it sounds. My first thought would be to keep my reg in my mouth, dump my weights to make myself as buoyant as possible, and deploy a surface marker (which I would certainly have if I anticipated those conditions) to make myself as visible as possible.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:53 AM ----------

I would NEVER drop my tank. That's bouyancy when empty ...

... only if it's an aluminum cylinder. Steel cylinders are almost all negatively buoyant, even when completely empty. That said, I'd keep the tank ... it's also stability if I'm trying to float on my back, which I certainly would be doing under those conditions ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:57 AM ----------

Snorkels are for surface use, compressed air/gas is for using while submerged. Waste good gas at the surface, no way! At the surface waiting for a buddy I'm not wasting gas, a long surface swim out to the site, I use my snorkel. I figure after all these years diving if the snorkel was useless I'd have found out by now but, just the opposite, I use it on almost every dive.

Some divers post about snorkel like it is an affront to their manhood of something.

If you like it, use it ... personally I've never found myself in a situation where I could say "gee, I wish I had a snorkel". In fact, I own several ... mostly they're ones I've found on the bottom (often connected to a mask).

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 08:00 AM ----------

And a snorkel is indeed so you can breath while swimming, swimming in the most efficient and least tiring manner. Not a big deal if you're swimming a few hundred feet, but a very big deal if you are swimming a mile or two.

Actually when you're wearing a scuba rig the most efficient and least tiring manner is to be on your back ... laying back on your inflated BCD ... and kicking. Long surface swims are normal where I live, and that's generally how they're done. Most folks don't use their snorkel when swimming like that ... even if they're wearing one ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[iamrushman]

i don't wear a snorkel due to the fact that i got it caught and tangled on some fishing line on a deep wreck a long time ago and haven't wore one since... but i have found five or six on beach dives.. so i guess i'm not the only one not wearing one. i guess some snorkelers don't wear them either. (grin)

 

[fnfalman]

The only time I wear a snorkel when SCUBA diving is when I'm in a class because it's standard equipment for the class. Otherwise it stays in my dive bag.

 

[Hawkwood]

...
I see it more as a matter of personal preference than an indicator of experience ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
(Grateful Diver)

So many great comments in that post Bob.

 

[lilkittydiver]

Not really. To be honest, I would only use one if my air source was low/off and I wanted to either continue looking underwater or was too tired. Yet again, your always supposed to dive with a buddy. If you are too tired to swim, you can rest, or your buddy can do the tired diver tow. For me, the snorkel is in the way and pulls my hair out. So I never use one. Isn't like you can do anything with it below 1 foot anyway. ;D

 

[Edward3c]

For such a small bit of kit, don't we get all hot and bothered about it.

For me it isn't about saving gas the little I use on the surface isn't going to have much, if any, impact on the dive. I just find it more comfortable to use a snorkel on the surface.

Kind regards

 

[agilis]

I only ever wear a snorkel when I'm teaching OW classes ... because teaching snorkeling skills is part of the class. Outside of the class, I haven't worn a snorkel for scuba diving since I switched to a long hose configuration ... more than 3000 dives ago. Since then I've dived all over the world, in all sorts of conditions, and have yet to wish I had one.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:32 AM ----------



I see it more as a matter of personal preference than an indicator of experience ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:35 AM ----------



That's a boat I would prefer not to spend two weeks on. Boat operators who enforce silly rules are usually control freaks who are generally unpleasant to be around. I'd consider it a kindness to know in advance who they are ... so I can avoid them. If a boat operator told me that, I'd want off his boat out of general principle ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:37 AM ----------



That's a good reason to keep one in your dive bag ... and I generally do when I travel. For local diving, however, there's just not much need for a snorkel ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:40 AM ----------




I still log dives at over 3300 ... my excuse for not wearing a snorkel is that I don't need one ... and I ain't got any hair ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:44 AM ----------



If I'm diving in heavy seas ... with current ... or offshore ... I'm surfacing with more than 300 psi in my tank. Surfacing with that little reserve under any of those circumstances is just cutting your margins too thin, and indicates a deficient ability to make good decisions ... and relying on a plastic tube to help you out of that situation is just plain silly. No thanks ... I'm going to have enough air in reserve to keep my reg in my mouth while I resolve the difficulty.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:50 AM ----------



That's one of those things that looks good in theory ... in the safety and comfort of your office while conversing on the internet. In real life, the chances are pretty good that you'll be so concerned about staying afloat that deploying a snorkel you're carrying in your pocket may never occur to you ... even if it would do you any good. Have you ever practiced breathing from one while waves were crashing over your head? It's not as easy as it sounds. My first thought would be to keep my reg in my mouth, dump my weights to make myself as buoyant as possible, and deploy a surface marker (which I would certainly have if I anticipated those conditions) to make myself as visible as possible.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:53 AM ----------



... only if it's an aluminum cylinder. Steel cylinders are almost all negatively buoyant, even when completely empty. That said, I'd keep the tank ... it's also stability if I'm trying to float on my back, which I certainly would be doing under those conditions ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 07:57 AM ----------



If you like it, use it ... personally I've never found myself in a situation where I could say "gee, I wish I had a snorkel". In fact, I own several ... mostly they're ones I've found on the bottom (often connected to a mask).

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added May 12th, 2014 at 08:00 AM ----------



Actually when you're wearing a scuba rig the most efficient and least tiring manner is to be on your back ... laying back on your inflated BCD ... and kicking. Long surface swims are normal where I live, and that's generally how they're done. Most folks don't use their snorkel when swimming like that ... even if they're wearing one ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Actually, if you are swimming a very long distance, swimming on your back is not the best way to do it. In my post I made it clear that when faced with a swim of well over a mile I removed my BC/tank, inflated the BC so it became a small raft, and pushed it in front of me as I swam using my snorkel. I've had to do this twice. I highly recommend it. If you have the air you can keep the reg's second stage in your mouth. I found it easier to use the snorkel in fairly calm Caribbean seas. There was quite a heave, but no breaking water. Rather pleasant, and at the top of each roll you look up and correct course.

 

[Redshift]

Actually, if you are swimming a very long distance, swimming on your back is not the best way to do it. In my post I made it clear that when faced with a swim of well over a mile I removed my BC/tank, inflated the BC so it became a small raft, and pushed it in front of me as I swam using my snorkel. I've had to do this twice. I highly recommend it. If you have the air you can keep the reg's second stage in your mouth. I found it easier to use the snorkel in fairly calm Caribbean seas. There was quite a heave, but no breaking water. Rather pleasant, and at the top of each roll you look up and correct course.

I've done that and found it more comfortable even to have my head out of the water. Breathing is easier and I can see where I'm going at all times. Can even chat with buddy
But the best is to dive with operators who don't make the divers swim.

 

[scagrotto]

I think that when people offer their opinions they often do so as if everybody else dives the same way they do, whether it's already needing a lot of gear, diving in environments with an increased risk of entanglement, etc. Of course that's an observation that's not limited to this thread, or even to diving; if we didn't think we had reached the right conclusions we wouldn't still be doing what we're doing.

I'm guessing that anybody who really wants an opinion from us on bringing a snorkel is probably relatively new and/or only doing relatively easy recreational dives. A snorkel might be an occasional annoyance, but I think that if it's really a (potential) problem then either the diver didn't get the training they should have for the dives they're doing or they've already been exposed to the debate. That applies whether they're doing advanced dives, or simple recreational dives with conditions that aren't necessarily present elsewhere, such as sea lions or kelp.

For most of those who ask, I'm inclined to think it's mostly a matter of personal preference. There's only a very small chance that carrying it will have much significance in either a positive or negative way.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Actually, if you are swimming a very long distance, swimming on your back is not the best way to do it. In my post I made it clear that when faced with a swim of well over a mile I removed my BC/tank, inflated the BC so it became a small raft, and pushed it in front of me as I swam using my snorkel. I've had to do this twice. I highly recommend it. If you have the air you can keep the reg's second stage in your mouth. I found it easier to use the snorkel in fairly calm Caribbean seas. There was quite a heave, but no breaking water. Rather pleasant, and at the top of each roll you look up and correct course.

A lot of these differences boil down to familiarity ... I'll stick with what's familiar. In an open sea, I'll want as much of me out of the water as possible ... not only helps me see what's going on around me, but it makes me more visible to any potential rescuer ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)