Snorkel Tips?

[Thalassamania]

I've never had water pour in, the air pressure in your lungs and pharynx stays equal to the water outside so there is no problem. I think that dry snorkels are a complete waste of money and time and cause more problems than they solve. IMHO their only real use is for "snorkelers," that is to say folks who swim along the surface and never go up or down.

 

[cmburch]

Do a search on SpearBoard for what freedivers are doing. I tend to spit mine out. I do not suggest getting a dry snorkel. A regular J tube works well with practice and there are several excellent performing semi-dry snorkels out there that are easy to clear. LeisurePro has a large selection. The flex style tends to oscillate when surfacing and I do not like the feel of it, but it is easy to spit out and it is out of my way. It is probably best for a beginner to get an easy breathing semi-dry and keep it in your mouth. You will not need to block it when diving - water will only enter if you purposely suck it in. In choppy conditions, the semi-dry will divert any water breaking over your snorkel and the easy clear purge will get rid of any water in the tube. Mouthpiece comfort is a big deal when freediving or snorkeling for several hours. I like the TUSA mouthpiece - Platina/Imprex and AquaLung Comfobite Impulse 3. Low profile and flexibilty also may be important so it does not get hung up in kelp. Aqua Lung are monsters - not low profile, but they are large bore so if racing or in the need to go fast on the surface there is no resistance when sucking in a breath of fresh air. Riffe and Omer also make excellent snorkels for freediving.

 

[Oxy]

Thank you for this post, I too am new to this saltwater straw. I hated them as a kid and guess I will learn to hate them again. I heard the "dry" snorkels were sometimes more restrictive airflow wise. And yes more expensive, plus moving parts can pose a problem so I got a semi-dry with purge. I have not submerged with it yet probably because I'm still unsure of the purge valve/tube full of water, will it empty fully? I hate it issue.
The ole tongue in the hole is how I do it even on the surface but then I spit it out when I roll over to rest or travel.
I need to cut down on the amount of salt in my food cause i'm getting plenty in my surf. Which was nice today 65F not too rough (too bad I left the snork at home)

 

[uncleavi]

I hear a lot of good advice on this one.
For my two cents, I advise that you don't do a lot of talking on the surface and if it is wavy keep face down in the water. It is a wonderful world under the surface and we all welcome you to it.

 

[Oxy]

I hear a lot of good advice on this one.
For my two cents, I advise that you don't do a lot of talking on the surface and if it is wavy keep face down in the water. It is a wonderful world under the surface and we all welcome you to it.

sometimes the simplest ideas are just to hard to think of

 

[cmburch]

I tend to only get water in my mouth when checking on and talking to my buddy constantly while freediving in choppy/windy seas. If I dive for abalone and spearfish solo, I rarely get any water in my mouth with the semi-dry.

 

[cstephens13]

I spent a little extra on the dry snorkel, it is a wonderful thing. Mine has a purge valve at the bottom to get rid of any little bit of water that manages to leak in.

 

[CapnDan]

For starters I'll link to a previous post of mine:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3497325-post11.html

I should add that dry snorkels are absolutely terrible for freediving. When you dive, the negative pressure that forms in the tube will suck your tongue right out of your mouth! Plus, most dry snorkels block way too much airflow. When you burst back onto the surface after a long dive you need a lot of air quickly, and some major breathing has to take place before you can make your next dive. A big bore wide-open snorkel (e.g. a simple, rigid J-tube) is the way to go. It can have a purge valve if you like, but little else. Before you buy it, test it with some deep, heavy breaths to make sure it offers minimal airflow restriction.

For freediving, especially in choppy water, I recommend keeping the snorkel in your mouth pretty much all the time. (There's no need to block the opening with your tongue when you dive - it will take care of itself.) Also, when you're on the surface keep your face in the water so you can keep an eye on your buddy and the underwater situation in general. You're pretty much useless if your face is up out of the water to breathe and you're counting seagulls (or whatever) while one of your partners is down. The main reason to remove your snorkel is to talk on the surface when all divers are up.

It's important to use a rigid snorkel so your mouthpiece will stay in place with minimal intervention on your part. Flex-tube snorkels are best for scuba divers who need the ability to drop the snorkel mouthpiece out of the way when they insert their regulator. It's true that the majority of casual, slow-moving, light-breathing surface snorkelers can't tell the difference, but energetic snorkelers will quickly discover that most flex-tube snorkels tend to yank sideways at the mouthpiece when swimming fast, ascending fast or pushing through waves and chop. This is because the flex hose collapses against the face and changes the angle of the mouthpiece. This in turn forces the diver to bite down much harder than necessary in order to keep the mouthpiece from being yanked right out.

In contrast, with a properly fitted rigid snorkel you hardly have to bite at all - the mouthpiece remains aligned and stays right where it's needed.

 

[Laustimus]

After reading a ton of posts where people said their dry snorkels never worked for squat last November I thought I made a mistake when I got my Oceanic Ultradry...

I was so glad after 3 freedives in St Lucia that the plunger thing on the top actually worked on it. I don't know, probably some people still don't have good luck with them or maybe this thing is gonna break on me after some more dives. But those 3 I did in the sea it actually worked perfectly and the practice pool sessions I do with it at my local pool have been great and I never have to purge it.

But again, not to say it's for everyone like CapnDan's post has stated, I've just had good experiences with mine... so far

 

[A-J-WILLZ]

i usually just decend as normal with snorkel in mouth not really bothering with closing of the mouthpeice. then when acending, just before you reach the surface begin to blow out and then expell the rest at the surface. i suppose its whatever comes naturally. hope this helps.