Do you dive with or without your snorkel attached and why?

[TwoTanks]

I always bring a snorkel but I almost never use it. With back inflation, any surface swims I make, are on my back with my head up and I don't do really rough shore entries.
I do wear a snorkel whenever I work with students. It's a shop requirement.

TT

 

[dlndavid]

I wear mine all the time. It's kind of a PADI fashion statement, and gives you all something to argue about.

 

[MSilvia]

It strikes me as funny that there seems to be a persistant belief that back inflate or BP/Wing will "flip you face down on the surface" when most of us who use them surface swim on our backs. No, I don't usually wear a snorkle either unless I'm snorkelling.

 

[mossym]

have a pocket snorkel, but don't usually bring it, as has been mentioned if i need air on the surface and can't breathe normally i'll use my reg, course if your air consumption is really bad that may not be an option

 

[String]

My snorkel stays in the car. Ive got no need for it on my person during any circumstance on any dive and i most definately dont want it stuck on my mast.

My snorkel goes snorkelling, my dive gear goes diving. The snorkel is not part of my dive gear.

 

[pilot fish]

Hi there Pilot Fish -

I normally don't use one as most dives I do are boat dives - so surface activity is usually limited to floating around over relatively deep water, with nothing to see below, while waiting for a pick up. There’s not a lot of surface swimming involved - and indeed if I have to swim a long distance on the surface I use a fairly relaxed backstroke to save energy. Snorkels just plain suck while poking around in wreaks and can even become a bit of a entanglement hazard, and the drag they produce in ripping currents, such as on drift dives, can get annoying.

If I'm doing a shore dive and swimming out over shallow water I'll wear one though...

Cheers,
Rohan.

That makes sense to me, Rohan. I just figure on a drift boat dive it adds a safety factor. I do find it gettng in my way though. Just not sure what to do. It seems the pocket snorkel is the answer.

 

[pete340]

have a pocket snorkel, but don't usually bring it, as has been mentioned if i need air on the surface and can't breathe normally i'll use my reg, course if your air consumption is really bad that may not be an option

Or if you're doing something strenuous, that may not be a workable option. In my Rescue course we did a tired diver tow, once around the boat. I had 500 psi in my tank when I started. There was a fairly stiff current, so progress was slow. I ran out of air before I got to the bow. A snorkel wouldn't have been any better, though, because the surface was so rough.

 

[Ian T]

Never dive without it... some of the best (largest) fishes I've seen was while snorkling at the surface after the dive...ten 6-foot barracudas and three 5-foot kingfish..well..that's worth carrying the snorkel...

not use it underwater?..well I wouldn't use my pocket mask uw either, but would i dive without it?....well..
just my .98 cents worth ( to make even change for that dollar...)

 

[Moogyboy]

I've always carried my snorkel with me. Yes, I have grabbed it instead of my inflator on more than one occasion. Yes, it did get swept off, swish!, one time striding into a quarry (and a local rescue diver from the fire department who was minding his own business retrieved it). Yes, it's bulky and sometimes awkward. I see it as a piece of standby equipment; it's always there if I need it, and I do frequently use it rather than breathe off my reg at the surface. For me it's fine. For others, maybe not.

As to this whole issue of whether a snorkel makes one look like a newbie or whatever, well, afaic that has next to nothing to do with diving per se, and diving isn't (or shouldn't be) a popularity contest. The image thing really doesn't carry a lot of currency with me. JMO.

cheers

Billy S.

 

[stoiclown]

I use an Aqualung Pocket Snorkel, it folds up to about the size of a hockey puck. I keep it in my pocket, w/ the connector attached to my mask. That way if I need it, it is readily available, & easy to attach. I also like it because as I am going through rescue class, it is another option for providing rescue breathing. The reason I dont wear mine is for the reasons mentioned by others, plus though minimal I don't like the pull on my neck. It just bugs me.