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Snorkel


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12 replies to this topic

#1 SassyLilCutie

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Posted 12 April 2014 - 09:43 PM

I wanna get people's opinion on snorkels. I was required to have one for my Open Water Certification, but it gunked up after one use and I had to return it to the store.

I've been told that they are handy and often used when swimming on the surface out to the dive site, but honestly swimming on the surface in the open water and looking like a sharks meal on top of the water scares the bu-jesus out of me! Posted Image

I've also been told that a snorkel isn't needed and is rarely ever used when scuba diving. It just gets in the way and annoys the diver. I know personally from experience that it just wraps around my hair and leaves me with much shorter strands... YAY! Posted Image So it never seemed handy but I also haven't been on many dives.


So, what does everyone else think? and for those that like using a snorkel, what kind do you use (open top snorkel, dry snorkel, compact foldable snorkel)?
Posted Image

#2 TabeaK

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 01:54 AM

Foldable snorkel, in the bc pocket, just in case. I use this one: Oceanic Pro Pocket Snorkel. It comes with a super-easy snorkel lock that you just have to attach to your mask. They made me do my OW with the snorkel too. Hated it. That thing always got in the way, hy hair entangled with it...:banghead:/>...Thankfully, for the AOWD, I wasn't required to use it anymore.

#3 MNJoe

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 04:12 AM

I wore my snorkel for at least a year after my OW class, used it for a surface swim once, but I have done surface swims since then and just do them on my back. Now I only wear my snorkel when snorkeling, I leave it on the boat when I am SCUBA diving.

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#4 Diver Phil

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 05:07 AM

I have a dry snorkel and a foldable snorkel. I bought the foldable later, after I realized I was just leaving my dry snorkel on the shore/dive boat. I now carry the foldable in a BC pocket in the case I need it. Sure you can float on your back, but what if I don't want to? Also, if you need to perform a in water rescue, but don't want to take your BC in the water.. then take a snorkel. I think it is good to have in the event you may need it, but kept out of the way.

#5 TabeaK

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 05:22 AM

Hi Phil!

Seems we are almost neighbors! Are you at the US amry base in Kaiserslautern?

#6 Racer184

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 07:02 AM

Training agencies require instructors and students to have schnorkels while in class.

The same concept as requiring you to have a buggywhip when taking driving lessons.

#7 Cajun Diver

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 12:59 PM

I use the pocket snorkel too and it's there in my bc pocket if I need it for surface swims or while waiting on the surface and the waves pick up.

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#8 WreckWench

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 01:23 PM

I hated snorkels...for all the reasons stated and a few extras. (Once I discovered a dry snorkel the experience was bearable...but like Phil I found I always left it on the boat.)

As many know I have really good air consumption so saving air by using a snorkel has never been a need for me... (maybe THAT is why I have such good air consumption) but either way...i hated snokels and never used them.

Then one day I and my buddy were swept away from the boat in big open water nearly 2 miles away where we could no longer see the boat. Fortunately we did not end up a statistic or a miracle story about how two divers drifted for days waiting for rescue. But on that dive on that day I swore I would NEVER be without a snorkel again.

I have a foldable one in my pocket for emergencies. I have a dry snorkel on the boat for those cool dives with whalesharks like a couple of weeks ago in the Maldives or a dolphin pod that came up the back of the boat last summer n NC or for my trip this summer on Best of Mexico for the whalesharks again!

Get one for when you need to snorkel... suggest a dry snorkel. And have one in your bc pocket for emergencies. Kamala

p.s. swimming on the top of the water does not make you shark fodder. However floating at the surface drifting away from your boat without being able to put your head in the water to see what is below you...well THAT is a different story! :evilgrin:

And NO that is not meant to scare you...its just a fact as to why you should have a snorkel just in case!

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#9 jesterdiver

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 03:03 PM

I also carry a small foldable snorkel. the one I use is called the Avid, it's great and folds to the size of about 2.5" x 5". It's actually a pretty ingenious design!

Is it a great snorkel, no! It's a great in a pinch like having a long surface swim and need to keep my head in the water since I'm navigating using bottom terrain features, waves are getting choppy, or just want to keep an eye on the sharks gathering underneath Posted Image!

I also always keep a dry snorkel in my boat bag in case Kamala needs a snorkel to swim with the Whale Sharks in the Maldives. Oh wait was I supposed to say that?! Posted Image

So the simple answer is yes, snorkels do come in handy, but NOT when scuba diving. On the surface a small pocket snorkel is enough at most, and having a real dry snorkel for when you are going snorkeling with Whale Sharks, dolphins, or Kamala Posted Image Love Ya WW!!

#10 scubaclint

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 04:03 PM

A snorkel is an unimportant pain in the butt... until you need one. As my OW instructor used to say.

#11 Diesel

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Posted 14 April 2014 - 06:31 AM

My instructor has always said better to have it with you. I usually carry mine unless I am doing a short beach dive. The couple beach dives where I have swam out to about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile I actually had it with me. I even used it because I want to see what was in the water below out to the dive site. I actually got to see a 6 foot or so nurse shark. I do think snorkels are a big pain in the butt though. I just leave mine attached to my mask and I don't worry about it at all.

#12 SassyLilCutie

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Posted 14 April 2014 - 10:59 AM

Great replies and they all seem to be saying the same thing. Posted Image

So, it looks like I'll be getting myself a foldable pocket snorkel as well as a dry snorkel. Thanks again for all of the feedback! You guys Rock! Posted Image
Posted Image

#13 ChumShiver

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Posted 22 June 2015 - 07:25 PM

Diving in Australia, the operators require you to have a snorkel with you at all times. On the mask or in a pocket, doesn't matter so long as you have one. Just a heads up.






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