What SCUBA accessories/gadgets for newbie divers?

[EireDiver606]

I started to practice with the long hose just a while ago and fully understand why they throw the snorkels away, it is quite impossible to dive with them both in place without getting annoyed and the snorkel going all over the place.
A foldable snorkel would of course be useful. But I am sure it is specifically because of the long hose that they don't like the snorkels at all. We have "tech" dive shops here which don't even sell snorkels at all because no one of their customers uses them

I don't however see any reason why one could or should not have a snorkel with him/her if doing normal ow diver with basic hose configuration. I also keep one with me when diving just in case

I dive 7ft hose and obviously I never have a snorkel on my mask underwater because that means I can’t do s drill.

In the ocean, they really should be regarded higher in a safety manner.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Valid point regarding snorkels. It's true most dispose of there's soon after certification, because they think "they look like a noob"

I was a guilty as any. When I became a Pro I had to start wearing one again for training, and I got used to carrying one.

I use the foldable, a nice simple tube with no complicated purge valves. I have never need to use it in the open ocean but I carry it all the same, and it has the added bonus of being able to administer rescue breaths (mouth to snorkel) in an emergency.

So yup big fan of foldable snorkels

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

Valid point regarding snorkels. It's true most dispose of there's soon after certification, because they think "they look like a noob"

I was a guilty as any. When I became a Pro I had to start wearing one again for training, and I got used to carrying one.

I use the foldable, a nice simple tube with no complicated purge valves. I have never need to use it in the open ocean but I carry it all the same, and it has the added bonus of being able to administer rescue breaths (mouth to snorkel) in an emergency.

So yup big fan of foldable snorkels

I also learned how to dive with a snorkel but ditched it very quickly after finishing basics, i never understood the point of it to be honest.

Not to mention that in my opinion in a panic situation it could be (relatively) easy to confuse your snorkel with your'e regulator and just shove it in your mouth , it always bothers me, its uncomfortable.

Do you get a chance to use it? i personally haven't came across a situation where i thought i could use my snorkel at the moment, but your dive conditions might be different so im curious.

 

[divinh]

The dive computer is the piece of equipment I wished I had gotten sooner rather than later. Besides logs (I have the download adapter), a few places I traveled to required dive computers and had I rented a random dive computer, I wouldn't necessarily know how to use it correctly. For the most part, the display is straight-forward to read, but it's when it's flashing something else that it becomes a problem.

Look up Alec Peirce's "Scuba Tech Tips" on YouTube. He has recommendations for newbies and explains features so you can determine which are worth paying for.

 

[JackD342]

If you are shopping for a first computer and a bit overwhelmed by the choices, I am attaching a very general guide I created to educate on the features and options when choosing a dive computer for recreational diving.

 

[Snoweman]

Y'all that ditched the snorkel... You were wearing it on the left side - correct? I'm not sure how it would interfere with a long hose or get confused with a reg. What am I missing?

 

[almostDIR]

Y'all that ditched the snorkel... You were wearing it on the left side - correct? I'm not sure how it would interfere with a long hose or get confused with a reg. What am I missing?

tried left and right and did not work for me either way. maybe some very specific snorkel model could be a little better but those are not sold here I'm afraid
you are diving with a long hose and can donate easily with a single move with the snorkel on? I always catch the snorkel very badly and it may even fall off or move my mask, snorkel seems to just be too "long and vertical".

confusing the snorkel for a regulator is a classic and I still keep doing that every now and then. There is no way one could make that mistake underwater but when descending from the surface it is too easy to forget that you are not breathing from a regulator when the mouthpiece is very similar type

snorkels ARE very useful on the surface if the visibility is good enough to see the bottom so that you can scout potential dive spots without using half of the tank then change to the reg and descend when you find something interesting worth checking for. I tend to do that on new dive sites, for example swim around the quarry with a snorkel first and only descend when I see an interesting spot. saves lots of air

 

[JackD342]

Roll up snorkel:
Cargo

Roll up with plastic case:
Nautilus Travel Snorkel

Either way, one more thing to rinse and dry out before you store it. Probably pretty gross if you just leave it rolled up in a BCD pocket without doing so.

 

[TMHeimer]

Sorry I mentioned the foldable snorkel. As I mentioned, I rarely even take mine these days, but there is the odd time. Those deaths mentioned due to no tank air and rough seas without a snorkel. I've been in some pretty rough water and never needed the snorkel -- Must've been a tropical storm or something.

 

[60plus]

You don't saw what OW course you are doing, if its PADI you have to have a snorkel. I would say my most important purchase was my mask (a Cressi Matrix). Up till then I had a variety of hire masks which were less than ideal and my old snorkeling mask (which was not so good for diving). My next best purchase was my BCD. (Aqualung Axiom) Again until I had my own I had worn a variety of hire BCDs none or which fitted particularly well, or perhaps I never wore any one long enough to get used to it. Far better once you have something that is a good fit and you are used to where all the bits are.