Snorkel: Left or right?

[TMHeimer]

When they say "I can't scuba because I hate snorkelling, water always chokes me",
You say "Yeah me too, I tried to scuba with a snorkel once. All I got was a mouthful of water and I choked"!

When I did my rescue class, my buddy and I had to do a required air share. It was his turn to be the donor so I gave him the signal and he gave me his primary. Then as he went to fetch his Air2, he grabbed his snorkel instead and got a throat full of water, which sent him bolting to the surface, which in turn ripped his reg out of my mouth and left me sitting there (hypothetically) with no air. I calmly recovered my own reg then went up to see what all the fuss was about. He was on the surface coughing and sputtering. The next words out of his mouth were "Snorkels don't work under water very well!"
We agreed it was probably not a good idea to be wearing a snorkel and have an air 2 on the same side, or to have a snorkel on while scuba diving period.
One less thing to get confused about, but hey, we were green too.

I do wear a snorkel on occasion now on some beach dives when there is thick kelp to contend with. I find it easier to crawl over it and maneuver through and around it face down so my tank valve is out of the water. I wear it on the left. I only use a simple straight J tube freediving snorkel if I use one at all.

Some of the best scuba divers I know were freedivers first. Freediving/skindiving is excellent pre scuba training.

I think over the years I've descended twice with snorkel in mouth (once in pool, once in ocean, I think). I would imagine a lot more divers have actually done this than will admit to it. First time I heard of it underwater or in a Rescue course though. I've never used Spare Air/Air 2--wouldn't he notice there's no bottle there if he grabs his snorkel?

 

[Chugwhump]

Der schnorkels konverzashun/deezkusxion thing that surfaces once in a while always makes me laugh.
It is the "absolutists" that I find most entertaining.
I think the snorkel haters are the most vocal.
And I cannot relate.
I understand that there are some parts of the world where snorkels are worthless.
I get that.
If I show up and chain saw a hole in the center of a frozen lake, I am thinking my snorkel will stay in the bag.
If I am walking off a beach ANYWHERE and the surface of the water is not hard,
I will have a snorkel on my mask, on the left side of my head.

Chug
Typically,
Does as the Romans do.
Even outside of Rome.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I think over the years I've descended twice with snorkel in mouth (once in pool, once in ocean, I think). I would imagine a lot more divers have actually done this than will admit to it. First time I heard of it underwater or in a Rescue course though. I've never used Spare Air/Air 2--wouldn't he notice there's no bottle there if he grabs his snorkel?

There was no bottle, it was an Air2 - 2 in 1 /alternate air source/BC inflator.
I honestly don't know what he was thinking, he just reached to his left side and grabbed whatever his hand touched first figuring it was his Air 2 and tried to suck in air. Maybe it had something to do with being on automatic and trusting muscle memory to find something to breathe off? We never discussed that, he was too embarrassed, but he did make a comment about how he wasn't used to diving with a snorkel and was cursing the PADI instructor under his breath for making him put one on for the class...that was after he stopped coughing and could talk.
But Larry was known for doing goofy stuff even though he was an experienced diver. Probably something to do with all the pharma he encountered during the 60's.
Just to be clear, I wasn't using an Air2 then, I went back to a regular octo shortly after AOW. I didn't like the Air2.

 

[tridacna]

Everyone please say SCHHHNORKEL. Let's prononounce it right if we have to wear it left. SCHHHHNORKEL.

 

[cannga]

Whoo. I started this almost nine years ago. Have the snorkel 'rules' changed since then? Does anyone really care?

LOL did I revive the monster thread from the dead? Great that you're still here and catch the thread's revival. The snorkel's "rule" hasn't changed (left side for divers); the main point is that the snorkel's DESIGN also influences the answer.

The confusion is in the inconsistency: some snorkels could be worn on either-side, and some are left-only. BTW, the bend for the left-side-only snorkel is subtle, at least for my Cressi. Since this part is made of soft malleable silicone I could see how someone could miss the asymmetrical design, "survives" the error easily, and never notices anything amiss.

 

[tridacna]

Dang. I work in a dive shop. Seen a lot of snorkels in my time. Never seen one made for the RHS. We teach and advise to use on the left. Is this not standard practice?

 

[cannga]

Dang. I work in a dive shop. Seen a lot of snorkels in my time. Never seen one made for the RHS. We teach and advise to use on the left. Is this not standard practice?

AFAIK *no* snorkel is made for Right side only. It's either:

1. Left only (asymmetrical mouth piece that points towards mouth only when worn on left side)
2. Left or Right (neutral mouth piece). This does not mean that it should be worn on the right, only that if for whatever reason you *do* wear it on the right, it would still fit and function properly.

 

[agilis]

Everyone please say SCHHHNORKEL. Let's prononounce it right if we have to wear it left. SCHHHHNORKEL.

Yes, but only if it's spelled schnorchel. All mine are simple but well designed curved devices with nothing extra but a mouth piece. These free diving style snorkels are the best, especially if, like me, you spend as much time breath holding under the water as you do floating. I wear mine on the left side of the mask.

It was the Italian navy that designed the first successful submarine snorkel device, and the Dutch navy that had them installed on two of their subs before WW2. The Germans captured these boats, giving them a technical edge.

I began breath hold goggle diving when I was 6 years old, but it was not until I was almost 9 that I got my hands on a snorkel and a real mask. I think it is a mistake to regard snorkeling only as as a step leading to scuba. I don't really distinguish between the two types of diving overmuch; they are variants, each with its own advantages and charms.

When I'm in the tropics I'll often spend 8 or 10 uninterrupted hours in the water solo diving, first scuba from a remote beach, then, after stowing my scuba gear in my rental car, reveling in the lightness and freedom of snorkeling for hours and hours, coming ashore for water and short rests.

When extreme old age makes scuba too difficult I expect to keep snorkeling, coming full circle as so many things seem to do.

 

[Bob DBF]

Snorkels are used on the left side so they are not confused with a single hose reg which is usually routed in from the right, although any configuration may be used for your personal convince.

I have also found myself at 20 or 30 feet with a snorkel in my mouth after a long surface swim, however I never found it an issue to shift to the reg. I note that I may be tired in not noticing, if I didn't make the dive to check out something I've seen and did not want to take the time to shift to the reg on the surface.


Bob

 

[Nemrod]

So how many people you see with their snorkels hooked up on the wrong side before a dive? And....do you ever tell them to correct this?

You know, it used to be taught, air supply right, including snorkel. In any case, I rarely use a snorkel for SCUBA but whether free diving or SCUBA, if I am actually wearing it then it goes right. I use a roll up snorkel for some SCUBA missions where I might need to surface swim face down (prefer on my back, no snorkel for surface swimming except when using a dh regulator).

And I will not change to suit whatever is in fashion now. Right is right.

N