Types of snorkels

[dmaziuk]

If you actually intend to use it, I'd recommend one with flexible section between the mouthpiece and vertical part of the tube: can be a little to a lot more comfortable. And a "quick release" clip for the mask strap.

Mine gets unhooked and stuck under the webbing clipped to a d-ring, when I actually take it with me.

 

[David Wilson]

I searched a thread with a type and description of the different kind of snorkels but I didn't find exactly what I need. I would like to see a list of different kind of snorkels, their different features and the purpose why should choose that type. And then perhaps some specific brand and model recommendations, that I can find anyway in other discussions
1) Traditional snorkel (tube + mouthpiece)

The traditional snorkel is often classified according to shape:

J-shaped

This simple design is bent at the bottom, giving the breathing tube a resemblance to the letter “J”. Such snorkels are generally in two parts: (a) U-shaped rubber elbow with a mouthpiece at one end and a straight plastic barrel attached to the other or (b) J-shaped plastic barrel with a straight rubber mouthpiece attached close to the bend.

L-shaped

This design is bent at the side, giving the breathing tube a resemblance to the letter “L”. The “L” configuration reduces tubing below head level for less drag, easy clearing and effortless breathing. Such snorkels are generally in two parts: (a) Right-angled rubber elbow with a mouthpiece at one end and a straight plastic barrel attached to the other or (b) L-shaped plastic barrel with a right-angled rubber mouthpiece attached close to the bend.

Flexible-hose

This design is generally in two parts: a flexible corrugated rubber hose with a mouthpiece at one end and a straight plastic barrel attached to the other. When not in use, the rubber mouthpiece is designed to spring out of the way, keeping the user’s hands free.

Contoured

This "wrap around" design fits the contour of the head and minimises water resistance.

Safety is a major consideration when choosing and using snorkels. National Standards for snorkels focus on barrel length and diameter in the interests of health and safety. Their dimensional requirements have changed over the decades as knowledge of repiratory physiology has improved:

6) Full face snorkeling mask

Modern full-face snorkelling masks are designed for surface use only, not for freediving. They enable the user to breathe while swimming or floating head downwards, observing the subaquatic environment. They are a particular boon to individuals who gag when they have a "foreign object", such as a mouthpiece, in their mouths and would otherwise have to refrain from snorkelling altogether, which is a highly undesirable outcome for any person who has special needs nowadays.

It is a matter of the utmost importance to understand both the benefits and the limitations of any item of underwater swimming equipment before using it.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Thank you David Wilson and thank you all this thread is very informative.
As for the traditional snorkel, I would like to use it for snorkeling only, and I wouldn’t bring it neither during scuba dives nor during apnea. Mostly I would be alone during apnea and I don’t like the idea, I consider it dangerous.
That said, which one of the traditional designs is best? Good old J-shaped? Short snorkels with limited diameters (mostly used for apnea I think) are also good for snorkeling?

 

[David Wilson]

which one of the traditional designs is best? Good old J-shaped? Short snorkels with limited diameters (mostly used for apnea I think) are also good for snorkeling?

Just as there is no ideal mask or fin, there is no such thing as a snorkel that is perfect for every person and for every activity. You just have to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each design, try each of them out in the water if you have the opportunity to do so, and find out which kind(s) work for you in whatever aquatic pursuit you participate in. This process is something of an odyssey and you may end up with more than one snorkel. As a lifelong snorkeller, I have amassed quite a collection of breathing tubes over the years:

1. Global Riviera snorkel (Made in USA). S-shaped plastic tube with ball valve, rubber mouthpiece (missing) and adjustable rubber head strap.
2. Heinke snorkel tube (Made in England). J-shaped anodised aluminium tube with black rubber mouthpiece.
3. Britmarine "Lloyd Bridges" black snorkel (Made in England for American market). J-shaped black plastic tube with keeper and black rubber mouthpiece.
4. Britmarine "Marina" snorkel (Made in England). J-shaped blue plastic tube with keeper and blue rubber mouthpiece.
5. Britmarine "Turtle" snorkel (Made in England). Blue plastic tube with combination U-bend and mouthpiece in blue rubber.
6. Nemrod snorkel (Made in Spain). Orange plastic tube with combination V-bend and mouthpiece in black rubber.
7. Yaroslavl snorkel (Made in Russia). L-shaped blue plastic tube with blue rubber offset rotatable mouthpiece.
8. Soviet snorkel (Made in the USSR). L-shaped aluminium tube with green rubber keeper and grey rubber offset mouthpiece.
9. Sommap Annelé snorkel (Made in France). Black plastic tube with keeper and combination corrugated flexible hose and mouthpiece in black rubber.
10. SEAC Corrugato Silner snorkel. Black plastic tube with keeper and combination corrugated flexible hose and mouthpiece in black EPDM.
11. AQA Jumbo snorkel (Made in Japan). Contoured black wide-bore plastic tube with keeper and rubber elbow with rotatable rubber mouthpiece.
12. Paragon SN2250 snorkel (Made in Taiwan). Contoured pink wide-bore plastic barrel with keeper, semi-dry top and silicone mouthpiece with purge valve.
13. Paragon SN2250 snorkel (Made in Taiwan). Contoured yellow wide-bore plastic barrel with keeper, semi-dry top and silicone mouthpiece with purge valve.

Snorkels 1-8 (with the possible exception of No 7) are no longer in production, while 9-13 are still available from online dealers. I prefer swimming with traditional snorkels, but that does not mean that anybody else should follow my example just because they are my choice.

 

[JamesBon92007]

As a traditional j-snorkel I considering buying this one
Amazon.it:Recensioni clienti: Cressi America Snorkel, Nero
The features that might change are rigid vs soft silicone snorkel, and snorkel length
This one for example is relatively short and the material is soft
In comments in Italian they say more or less what you already said below (others tend to leak, old fashioned is better, etc.) and that too rigid could hurt the face

Another, similar choice would be this one:

Cressi Spear Fishing America Black Snorkel

I bought one each for my son-in-law and grandson. They are interested in scuba and spearfishing. I have not given them to them yet but to me they appear to be as good as my old White Stag snorkel.

I also added their "traditional" snorkel holder because the one that comes with it does not appear to be secure.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Ok I just ordered one... next step will be to buy the one from the Soviet Union like David Wilson. The war is over and that’s too cool

 

[ams511]

Ok I just ordered one... next step will be to buy the one from the Soviet Union like David Wilson. The war is over and that’s too cool

When purchasing a snorkel the type you buy should be determined by your use. If you your purpose is to free dive then buy a free diving snorkel. If you want recommendations then go to Spearboard. There you will find very knowledgeable hard-core speros. If your purpose is to scuba then again what do you want to use it for? If you need it to surface swim out to dive sites offshore then I would recommend a semi-dry or a dry. With waves breaking over your head the last thing you want to do is to keep tilting your head and exhaling trying to keep the tube clear. If the valve leaks after 20 years then buy a new snorkel or replace the valve (some snorkels do have replaceable valves) or tape it shut. If you need a snorkel because the boat says you do then buy a roll-up one or a cheap J snorkel and stow it out of the way.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Indeed, and this is why I got:
1) roll up for scuba diving. Dry or semi dry could be better on the surface but also bothering during the dive. Perhaps I am wrong but a roll up could be uncomfortable but still usable also in the conditions you described
2) full face mask with snorkel (even though many consider it unsafe)
3) J-type for snorkeling again
4) I would like to get the Soviet one just as a gadget

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Sbiriguda,

There is more information on the snorkel masks, and I now assume that you have already bought one. Here is a study done by Head comparing their snorkel mask with competitors:

HEAD/MARES Comment On Recent Snorkeling Deaths In Hawaii – DeeperBlue.com

I, even as an industrial hygienist, could not make much sense out of the figures that they cite in their test. So, I did some calculations to get a better idea of whether there was an actual hazard. I needed to put this figure, which they reported in millibar (mbar) into parts per million. To do that, I needed to use their mbar readings in a ratio to total atmospheric pressure, and then correct that to get a calculation for ppm. What Head's calculations showed is that at high respiration rates, the CO2 buildup is lower. But at low respiratory rates, the CO2 buildup is higher. This is probably because of the diver breathing more deeply at high rates. But these were done via machine, and so not a real life situation. My calculations show that the CO2 levels at 62.5 liters per minute was between 220 and 390 ppm. At the lower breathing rate of 10 liters per minute, the ppm levels were between 1030 and 2360 ppm.

The American Council of Governmental Industrial Hygienists have what they call TLVs, or Threshold Limit Values. These are defined as the amount in the air that a worker can be exposed to 8-hours per day, five days a week for a working lifetime. The TLV for CO2 is 5000 ppm. They also have a "Short-Term Exposure Level," or STEL, which is the limit that a worker can be exposed to for 15 minutes without adverse effects. For CO2 that level is 30,000 ppm.

Now if we compare these with the Head study results, you can see that neither is very hazardous. However, these levels were not taken of a panicked snorkeler, hyperventilating and having a very high respiration rate with a very low respiratory volume. It is this situation that I feel could be very hazardous with the full-face snorkeling masks.

The Head study references the EN250 standard for full-face masks. I believe this is a diving standard, and that the masks cannot have more than 1970 ppm (from my calculations, 20 mbar). But this has to do with a full-face mask used in diving operations at depth, where the partial pressures take over and can induce CO2 toxicity at lower levels than on the surface.

What to do? Well, anyone using these full-face snorkeling masks should know the symptoms of CO2 toxicity (a feeling of anxiety, breathing faster, etc.), and stop, get the mask off, and breathe fresh air. Wear an inflatable PFD (snorkeling vest), and inflate it when the mask is off. Rest, relax, and then commence snorkeling with the mask when back to normal. Snorkel with a snorkeling buddy, as the buddy can always help in these situations.

SeaRat

John C. Ratliff, CSP(Retired), CIH(2006-2017),* MSPH
Phone: (503) 707-2568
*CSP = Certified Safety Professional; CIH = Certified Industrial Hygienist

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I have done recently a lot of snorkel evaluation, and posted some of these snorkel evals in the VSS website. I won't repeat here what is there, but the best snorkel for me is the Scubapro Shotgun snorkel, which I have been using continuously since the 1990s. The other I really like is the Aqualung Impulse snorkel. Neither of these snorkels are currently available, but they provide wave resistance without impairing breathing resistance. Baring that, I use the snorkels without purge valves a lot too. I find that clearing them is not a problem for me, as I started out on a "C" snorkel (yup, one with a pingpong ball), that I cut off into a J-snorkel. This was in the 1960s.

Here are some photos of the snorkels I evaluated:

This photo, which is an awful one of my face, shows the flexible Dacor snorkel from years ago, which I like a lot. Some flexible snorkels tended to fold over my chin in a high river current, cutting off the air supply, which for some reason got me to despise those snorkels. This one, while on a flex tube, will not fold over my chin.

This is a "L" snorkel, which has a mouthpiece which rotates to the desired position. I was hesitant to use it, and the first time I evaluated it did not like it because it was wet, even when I blew it hard. But what I determined was that this snorkel was designed to be on my right side, rather than on my left side of my face, because at the top the snorkel has a 90 degree turn. The first time I evaluated it, that 90 degree turn was pointed forward, toward the water, and would not clear the water correctly. When I wore it on my right side, it turned out to be a great snorkel. Although it is slightly smaller in diameter than my other snorkels, it did not seem to restrict my breathing.

The snorkel in my avitar is not my favorite. It has a non-return valve, which is nice, but also has restrictions on the end of the snorkel. You can see some of the snorkels and mask combinations I have evaluated below. The last three images are of the Aqualung snorkel, with its top removed. I found that it is just about an ideal height (top of my head) without the extension, and Aqualung has made it easy to remove this top too. While the top does prevent water from coming down, due to the two inclined planes inserted it the path of the water down the tube, with an outlet slit on the side, these noticeably increase the resistance to breathing, and I don't like it.

'Hope you enjoy these photos and my discussion of the snorkels. Please note that I carry a snorkel on my mask, or tucked away on my knife, on all dives. I don't have a folding snorkel, as I have all the snorkels I need. I get snorkels to evaluate from Goodwill, where they have a number of them very cheap (for those of you in the USA). Apparently, people buy these snorkels, then decide they are not into snorkeling after a trip to warm water, and give them away to Goodwill, where I can buy them for a few dollars.

SeaRat