Snorkeling death

[Vicko]

"Or was it a freak accident, even for a healthy 70-year-old who was at least somewhat familiar with Hawaii’s waters?"

I see so many snorkel tours using these because it's impossible to mess up by that i mean it's hard to drown when your airways can't sink below water. Co2 build up is possible I guess, but considering how many people are using this I highly doubt it that we would not have heard of more deaths.
It's a POS product designed for mass snorkeling tours for people who can barely swim but I highly doubt it's a death trap.

 

[doctormike]

It's a POS product designed for mass snorkeling tours for people who can barely swim but I highly doubt it's a death trap.

Do you object to mass snorkeling tours for people who can barely swim? Does this POS fill that need?

 

[tridacna]

I saw about 200 snorkelers using this at Apo Island in the Philippines yesterday and the day before. No drownings despite all the BS being spouted about CO2 retention on this thread by people who must have slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[dmaziuk]

I have looked at these masks for a while now and am considering getting him one just to see if he can use this to join his cousins on snorkel adventures. I hope it works.

I'd absolutely give it a try but have him practice clearing and ripping it off in an emergency: I suspect clearing it fully-flooded might take extra practice...

 

[Charles2]

I'd absolutely give it a try but have him practice clearing and ripping it off in an emergency: I suspect clearing it fully-flooded might take extra practice...

Thanks for the advice. We will certainly spend a lot of time in the shallow end of the pool before we try the ocean.

 

[Vicko]

Do you object to mass snorkeling tours for people who can barely swim? Does this POS fill that need?

Yes and yes.
I don't like any form of "cattle" tourism where a huge group of people are being let loose on a unsuspecting piece of nature or history, usually damaging for the thing that is being observed and not my thing.
And yes, I believe this is the perfect product for people who don't want to learn how to snorkel, it's a POS because it enables people who have 0 respect for the marine environment to walk (or swim I guess) all over it. I can see the product being useful for people with disability (cleft pallet being a excellent example).

 

[Blueringocto_73]

Wonder if an alternate design that had a mouthpiece in the mask like a traditional snorkel could guarantee that co2 was expelled on every breath. With the face/nose still giving the user a clear view.

It is probably a surface only design, being a high volume mask. More work getting the head to submerge with all that volume.

 

[John the Pom]

Well, if their innovation is to separate inhalation and exhalation pathways, that would deal with the dead space issue. That is, every breath you take in is fresh gas, unlike the older models that you are describing.

It's not that they can't master the mask and snorkel, it's that a lot of people don't like the sensation of having the nose closed and breathing through a mouthpiece. We tend to forget that because it's such second nature to us, but if this works I can see it really being a nicer way to look at the underwater world than with a conventional mask and snorkel for them. If it floods, I guess they will just sit up in the water and take it off - it's not for people who can't swim, just for people who don't like snorkeling gear. And the people who do vacation snorkeling as adults are almost never diving under the water. This isn't for free divers...

In my younger days I used to be one of those surf life savers in the silly hat, telling tourists at the beach to swim between the flags; so I accept that might have made me hyper-sensitive to gadgets that encourage people to get themselves into tricky situations in the ocean by creating a false sense of security.

Googling the sad drowning incident, the poor husband has made several posts where he seems particularly concerned about one type of design of full-face snorkel mask where the air-flow may not work as intended. This includes a negative review on Amazon for a snorkel mask which still seems to be a current model. In another negative review, the user complained that she felt very hot because her warm exhaled air built up in the mask, which again sounds like the separation of inhaled and exhaled air wasn't working properly.

I'm all in favour of encouraging people who want to experience the ocean, and if this lets people do that who otherwise couldn't, then it's a good thing; but maybe check out the design, and don't reply on the buoyancy of a full-face snorkel mask to keep an inexperienced vacation snorkeler afloat.

 

[doctormike]

Yes and yes.
I don't like any form of "cattle" tourism where a huge group of people are being let loose on a unsuspecting piece of nature or history, usually damaging for the thing that is being observed and not my thing.
And yes, I believe this is the perfect product for people who don't want to learn how to snorkel, it's a POS because it enables people who have 0 respect for the marine environment to walk (or swim I guess) all over it. I can see the product being useful for people with disability (cleft pallet being a excellent example).

Yeah, but those people would otherwise not be likely to see the underwater world at all. Not sure why not wanting to use conventional snorkel gear automatically means no respect for nature. I see plenty of scuba divers tearing up the reef.

Seriously, I think that a lot of the immediate negative opinions about this thing come from experienced divers who don't spend a lot of time thinking about people who can't bear the thought of even breathing through a mouthpiece or having their nose blocked.

 

[Hank49]

If there is an intake and exhaust "pipe" on these masks, how can you dive under water? Unless there's some type of pressure regulating release on the exhaust, won't the mask squeeze in? Your nose stops that after pressurizing on a regular mask. Am I missing something?
But I agree with the concept that if someone uses this because they're uncomfortable using a regular snorkel, they probably should get some water time and master a regular snorkel and mask.