7 foot hose and Snorkel problems

[beanojones]

I did my DM pool work with a primary donate system, but with a 40" hose routed under my arm. It kept my reflexes the same, but avoided the snorkel problem.

2 Questions about that:

1. Did you use a swivel (if so which kind)?

2. How did you handle the extra dangle when walking around on land? (I have had several people jump from standard gear to 36"/40"/42" underarm hose to extra long hose (5 ft), because the 36"/40"/42" hose ends up not sitting nicely in the way a 5 footer does when walking on land.)

Personally the five footer with a swivel (90 or 70 degree) is the nice balance of a lot of things, but one nice side effect is that the neck loop just keeps the reg in place on land without thought. Which of course translate to never actually have to recover the reg in the water either since it is always just sitting there.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I use a folding snorkel in my pocket, which I can mount if the exercise or dive I am assiting with in an instructional setting requires it. DM's have distinct roles. One is assisting with instruction. The other is leadig certified divers on dives. When you are teaching I personally think it is important to were the gear your students wear, including a snorkel. When leading certified divers, you only have to follow the rule your boss imposes- they write the checks.
DIvemasterDennis

 

[g1138]

I think it's cute how no one here has done a 1000yd swim through kelp before......
Some sites are worth the swim for those of us who can't afford a boat.

Some sites require a San Diego entry. 50 yd duck dive swim under rolling waves with your BC fully deflated. Snorkel use in that situation is so much more comfortable when you're being hit by pressure waves.

It's a little ironic that the board by large preaches an emphasis on diver skill yet no one talks about Skin Diving skills, the very original basis of S.C.U.B.A. diving.
Still very relevant once you master those "archaic" base set of skills. Surf entries become easier, surface swims become more of a sight-see, and yes even the long hose predicament can be looked at as a skill issue and not an equipment problem.

Tech diving excluded let's talk recreational; is a snorkel on a mask that big of a headache?

 

[beanojones]

Absolutely.

Most mask problems underwater are caused by snorkels (Look at the "AI getting their mask pulled off by the snorkel" story from this very thread.). Most panicking underwater is due to flooded mask/loss of mask. (actually most mask problems underwater nowadays are caused by people trying to get bubbles into place to make dolphin rings)

Snorkels don't belong on scuba divers. A short surface swim is far better done on scuba, safer, more stress free even on the surface. A long surface swim is lake conditons is exceptional enough to be just that, an exception. 　And an entry through surge makes one long for the old S/P Air1 with the reversed purge button, as does any heavy current. But surge on entry means waves and snorkels are not ideal in breaking waves. Scuba is though.

Snorkels simply become unusable in many surface conditions, and they are a downright hazard (and nothing else) underwater.

So useless in many surface conditions, unnecessary in any condition, and an actual hazard underwater. Sounds like a CO2 cartridge to me, and we got rid of those on basically the same reasoning.

Does not mean people cannot choose to use them, but they are never the best option.

The dogmatic attachment to snorkels in fact is the reason we are getting even more useless crap attached to the diver. Now it's the folding snorkel which is an utterly useless piece of crap of a snorkel, functionless in anything other than a a stationary position in a indoor pool.

So to meet the dogmatic, unreasoned rule of "must have snorkel" we are using added another (often dangling) functionless piece of poop.

!Yay!

 

[James R]

I have a DMC with that setup...snorkel is in his drysuit pocket. He meets the standards, while applying appropriate common sense.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I wouldn't say never ... but in most cases I think having a snorkel on your mask is superfluous and unnecessary.

If the dive environment is such that it provides benefit, then by all means use one. If not, then why have it? Having a snorkel attached to your mask simply because that's what they did in OW class often means you're opting for more drawbacks than benefits. It's like any other scuba equipment related decision ... consider why you're doing it, consider the benefit/drawback ratio, and choose accordingly ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I show my students snorkel use and skin diving skills. Have to before they go on scuba. Once they do I don't keep the snorkel on the mask. They can if they want to, but what they see is me taking it off as soon as I put the reg in my mouth and stowing it somewhere. And it stays there until we are actually out of the water. A snorkel will never be as good as a functioning reg should a diver fall back off the ladder, get knocked over by a wave, or need to do a long swim in chop.

 

[Nemrod]

Snorkels were once important for SCUBA divers pre-BC(D) and with double hose regulators. This allowed surface swimming face down. A double hose reg will free flow if swimming on the back. Long shore/beach dive surface swims, if done on the SCUBA, left the diver with depleted air for the actual dive (and you know we had a J valve and no SPG!). But for most open water divers today, folding snorkel should be enough and I much prefer, regardless, doing any (long) surface swims on my back, my wing partially inflated, GPS on my tummy and my head swiveling for power boats (sharks, aircraft carriers, what have you). I use the Luis designed PMDSV (Poor Man's Dive Surface valve) with my double hose regs to prevent free flowing until VDH gets the new double hose DSV mouthpiece perfected. Snorkels generally attached to the mask are a PITA and serve no purpose other than causing flooded/lost masks, tangled equipment and general annoyance. No wonder so many people think having a MOFH is a possible lost mask. Get rid of the snorkel and the issue goes away.

 

[TMHeimer]

I wouldn't say never ... but in most cases I think having a snorkel on your mask is superfluous and unnecessary.

If the dive environment is such that it provides benefit, then by all means use one. If not, then why have it? Having a snorkel attached to your mask simply because that's what they did in OW class often means you're opting for more drawbacks than benefits. It's like any other scuba equipment related decision ... consider why you're doing it, consider the benefit/drawback ratio, and choose accordingly ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

This says it exactly. I must admit that I was a "snorkel on mask" guy until 2-3 years ago, then became a "J" (pocket) snorkel guy. Now I decide whether I will have any need for it (is there serious current, waves I COULD be caught in and get swept somewhere nasty at the same time as using up all my tank air?). Must say that on maybe half the dives I do now I don't bother with it, as it's just one more thing to rinse. This has progressed to the usual "snorkel--good or bad" thread. Bob's post should end the tangent.

 

[halocline]

I used to have a snorkel, but it got stolen at a dive site. Someone pulled it out of my dive bag, bypassing my spare fins, a nice regulator, and my car keys. It was an ugly pink snorkel that I think I had paid $5 for, and is the only piece of dive gear I've ever had stolen. Go figure!

Anyhow, not really a relevant post, but I thought followers of this thread might enjoy a snorkel anecdote.