Why dont many SCUBA divers use a snorkel?

[Mike Boswell]

A GOOD snorkel - a simple, opaque, rigid J-shaped tube with a mouthpiece - is a great thing to have, sometimes. Swimming half a mile from a tropical beach over a shallow coral reef to get to the outside dropoff, few would argue the point.

Unfortunately I have not been able to find a decent snorkel in any dive shop or catalog. I could make one for myself fairly easily out of rigid 3/4" PE tubing, but they just aren't needed where I dive now.

However, "modern" snorkels are another thing altogether. The glitzy, Rube-Goldbergian, Feature-Festooned, Consumer-Wet-Dream garbage hanging from most dive shop bling racks is a cynical marketing assault on divers' wallets and an affront to human intelligence.

 

[super7]

Egbert Snorkopolous.

Yes Very True! He actually invented it so he could sleep with his head under the covers at night. It wasn't until 1932 that Samuel Scubatate Saw the use in the invention for under water use

Hey! It's the ninjas breathing thru straws that invented the snorkel!
Don't you guys have TVs?

Kaza

 

[RU4SKUBA]

I personally hate the thing and keep the dusty piece of crap in my BCD pocket.

It hangs from the only piece of equipment that requires a delicate seal to function properly and guarantee our ability to see at depth, it serves no purpose sub-surface, and is an excellent entanglement hazard.

 

[MichiganScott]

Wait ... you mean there's a difference between paddle and split fins?

Fins???? are you talking about flippers?

 

[buleetu]

i personally hate them,i stick mine in the rubber strap around my tank just incase i need it, i had to borrow a mask the other day and the snorkle attached was getting caught in my inflator house when i lifted it up,i think there a pain and it should be trained into people to stick them in a pocket or a tank strap for surface swims and such

 

[brucet]

I rarely wear mine. Seems to just be a nuisance. Mostly do wreck and drift dives, so on the wreck, I am down the line and back up the line. Drift diving, the boat picks me up. No surface swims, and usually up with 500 psi, which will last plenty of time if I have to wait a few minutes for the boat.

 

[aquaregia]

Used my snorkel last night -- dive buddy lost her mask in three feet of water.

 

[Carlos Danger]

I use a snorkel for snorkeling, not for diving. For most of the diving I typically do there really is no constructive purpose served by carrying one along. In fact, I find wearing a snorkel to be an unnecessary distraction that takes away more than it would ever add in value to my dives; I think I actually feel less safe wearing one.

The only time I wished that I had had one already mounted on my mask was when a pod of dolphins showed up on a surface interval. Fortunately I was still able to document the moment, but having a snorkel might have helped improve the quality of my video footage. Now I always keep a snorkel in my bag, but I still prefer not to wear one when I'm diving.

 

[ameneon]

Around where I dive it is easy to spot new divers. It is the ones wearing a snorkel. That almost everyone that has more than 10 or so dives stops using one says alot about it...

 

[rongoodman]

I've never worn one outside of a PADI class, mainly because they interfere with donating the long hose. I take one along on warm water trips, but it's never left the gear bag.