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However if it has a bird cage and ping pong ball just say no.
Pete
Hi, so I got certified a couple of months ago, and I'm slowly starting to buy my own gear, starting with mask/fin/snorkel. I recently went and bought an Oceanic Ultra Dry snorkel because I get a little anxious when it's pretty wavy on the surface, hoping that it'll make me a little more assured while waiting to go down or during the swim from shore. I haven't had a chance to test it in open seas yet, but I gave it a go in the pool and was a little disappointed by how difficult it was to purge after I purposely letting some water in. I noticed that when I did try to purge it, the water was more likely to try and shoot back up the tube rather than through the purge valve.
Is this common with snorkels with purge valves, or is it maybe the model? I've previously only used rental gear from dive shops and purging on those snorkels haven't been the greatest either, but I usually put that down to rental gear always being a little beat up. Could someone perhaps recommend a better option that would work well in wavy conditions too. The Oceanic doesn't seem like it'll give much protection to splash either which is a little annoying.
A.) Dry snorkel is an oxymoron (like "jumbo shrimp")
B.) Have you checked to see that the purge valve is functioning properly? Sometimes they stick when they are new. Try to cover tube end and blow.
C.) As others have mentioned, try to clear with short, but firm, puffs of air. This approach tends to blow the water "down and out" rather than forcing most of the air up the tube.
A) there is no such thing as a dry snorkel, yet.
Of course there is... the snorkel I leave in my basement has been bone-dry for years!