Snorkels

[Belzelbub]

In the past 10 years or so, I've worn a snorkel on exactly 4 dives. Those dives were my daughter's OW checkout dives. I figured it would be best on those dives to wear the gear required by the school. On one occasion, my daughter's snorkel got caught on the regulator hose of the kid next to her. Minor situation, and the instructor caught it and fixed quickly, but goes to show that they can pose an entanglement risk.

That said, there are some uses for them. I just picked up a rollup snorkel to use for scalloping. I'll probably roll it up and stuff in my BC pocket in the future.

 

[Sam Miller III]

A snorkel is like a parachute

"an annoyance.." but when you need one there is nothing like a well packed parachute or a convenient snorkel .

SDM

 

[Frackingawesome]

Bottom line, it's really your judgement, whether to carry on mask, in pocket or not at all. I don't think there's any wrong answer for ocean divers

The wrong answer is to see what others are doing and copy them because it is what is currently popular or whatever. The right answer do enough dives to get the experience to know when the right time to have one and not have one for you personally is. if you cant answer that question then at lease have a pocket one that you CAN use IF you feel you NEED it.

@ChavodelBen i dont think you are wrong. please dont think i was saying that. i think we are saying the same thing, i just wanted to put a finer point on it.

 

[tkaelin]

I use my snorkel on just about every dive. When a dive master told my kids on a dive boat that they didn't need to bother with a snorkel I made sure I said it loud enough for him to hear that was not good advice and to attach your snorkel. I guess it is like everything else - a personal choice but 42 years of dive experience has taught me that it is a valuable piece of equipment. If you feel otherwise more power to you. I did give up my large dive knife a long time ago but not the snorkel.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I use my snorkel on just about every dive. When a dive master told my kids on a dive boat that they didn't need to bother with a snorkel I made sure I said it loud enough for him to hear that was not good advice and to attach your snorkel. I guess it is like everything else - a personal choice but 42 years of dive experience has taught me that it is a valuable piece of equipment. If you feel otherwise more power to you. I did give up my large dive knife a long time ago but not the snorkel.

I'm supposed to give up my large dive knife? I need it to fight off the big yellow fish with all the teeth!

 

[Rhone Man]

Snorkels are key to sex appeal when diving.

 

[2airishuman]

This may be a silly question but I am curious about use of snorkels. I am getting back into Scuba and I noticed that I am the only only one diving with a snorkel. Are they not popular anymore? I was taught to use it on the surface. I guess they are not necessary but they are handy at times. Thanks.

The culture has shifted somewhat over the years, I think.

I have one in my bag almost all the time. They're great for snorkeling, and in my overall style of interaction with the water, there are many situations where snorkeling makes more sense than scuba diving.

I rarely bring one while on SCUBA.

 

[EastEndDiver]

I will again quote Yoda:

"Snorkel......Hmmmmm....use ,don't use the choice is yours."

 

[Chavodel8en]

The wrong answer is to see what others are doing and copy them because it is what is currently popular or whatever. The right answer do enough dives to get the experience to know when the right time to have one and not have one for you personally is. if you cant answer that question then at lease have a pocket one that you CAN use IF you feel you NEED it.

@ChavodelBen i dont think you are wrong. please dont think i was saying that. i think we are saying the same thing, i just wanted to put a finer point on it.

I agree we are saying the same thing. The OP does have 100+ dives, so he's probably got enough experience to make his judgment about whether to carry a snorkel for his dives. If he were a newbie, Id probably be a bit more insistent on at least carrying a pocket snorkel, which is, in my judgment, a smart precaution.

 

[stuartv]

Do things how you were trained until such time as you have enough experience to choose to do something different without needing to ask anyone else if it's okay.