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

[k4sdi]

Personally, I cant stand to use a snorkle above or below! Usually I just strap one to the tank to make everyone happy.

Mark

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I don't take one because it isn't needed for the dives I do. It just gets in the way of good head movement and snags on hoses and such things.

 

[Diver0001]

Are you diving or snorkling??? Some people like them on long surface swims.........

I think if your surface swim is long enough that you think you need a snorkel then what you really needed was a boat.

R..

 

[RP Diver]

So, any snorkle-related problems I might have encountered when deploying a long hose while air-sharing in crappy conditions are figments of my imagination because after you breathe your tank to 100psi on a shallow vacation dive you want to be able to snorkle 1/4 mile back to the boat. Am I understanding that correctly?

No offence, but I'd have thought a divemaster would have better gas management habits.

My gas management is just fine, thanks for asking. We were shallow enough on that dive that 100 pounds was plenty of reserve. I have (intentionally and under controlled conditions) taken my SPG down to 50 psi and was still getting good air when we surfaced. It is not something I do as a habit, but I was testing it to see just how far I could take it (basically testing my SPG, I don't like surprises). I had a buddy with me with over 1500 psi and alternate at the ready.

On the dive in question we all agreed to stay as long as possible. The place where we were diving is rarely accessible, as it is on the windward side of the island (Los Islotes for anyone who's been there) and the jumbled rocks are usually pounded by surf and swept by a strong current. We hit it lucky and the divemaster suggested the spot for that reason. We were the only 4 divers of the 16 on the boat that chose to take him up on it as most didn't think that a 15 foot dive was worth all the money they were paying for the trip. We had such a great time interacting with these 3 sea lions that we chose to stretch our air farther than we would normally have done. The swim back, while long, was not particularly difficult, and having snorkels just made it more interesting as most of the way was still quite shallow.

 

[SeanQ]

I have a snorkle but it stays in my gear bag. The only time I have used a snorkle, and really needed it, was swimming over a kelp forest. In retrospect I could have used my regulator without any problems.

Swimming on you back renders the snorkle completely useless. If a wave comes, or if you tilt you head too far backwards you get a lungful of water. Since I swim on my back 99% of the time I don't use one.

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.

Since you're on your back during a tired diver tow the snorkle would have been pretty useless even in light seas. It's also easier to breath normally in strenuous conditions than throught a restricted tube.

 

[VinceDS]

Have a snorkle but keep it stowed. I prefer wreck diving and find it more of a hastle than a help. Only time I really use is on beach dives if swim is 200 yds or more. Even then before descent, I remove and pocket it.

 

[Buoyant1]

well dang...I was hoping for some better configuration ideas as opposed to why I should wear one, why I DON'T wear one...oh just get a pocket snorkel....

The reason I mistake it for the inflator is a). it's also a corrugated tube and b). it slips down and hangs about the same level...annoying, and no...NOT a training issue...

I DON'T want to get rid of it because it's handy. On my dives in November while waiting for newbies more "noobier" than me, I hung out at the line with another guy sucking the snorkel and checking out the reef below before giving the thumbs down.

LOVE my new BC and that since it's 90-95% back inflate (Aeris Atmos XT) have found that it IS very easy to swim on my back contrary to most of the popular beliefs, so the need for it for "swim outs" is not necessary, but I do think that the annoying blue tube with the clear corrugated part IS a handy thing to have (regardless of my training and/or experience)

So...what ideas do you have to make it LESS annoying, cumbersome, and similar in feel and placement than my inflator? (aka DE-flator)

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

I see a lot of divers without their snorkels, new divers tend to have them attached, and was wondering if the more experienced divers were not using them becsuse they didn't want to look like a newbie, or just don't see the need for them. How anybody would not wear one doing a drift dive is puzzling

Well I have not been with a snorkel for the past 100 dives or so. I vaguely think it is still in my gear bag some place. Very occasionly there have been schools of fish near the surface worth looking at, but not usally. So really the snorkel is worse than useless underwater (gets in the way), and of only of marginal use at the surface. So I go without, and have had nary a regret. Really if you are going to do a rough water entry near the surface best thing to do is keep your reg in your mouth.

 

[solo_diver]

I never realized that I was diving like a n00b. Yea I wear my snorkel, because I like it. I love to swim with my face in the water breathing through snorkel. I'm just weird like that i guess.

My plans are to buy the folding snorkel and give it a try. I am tired of the thing hanging on the side of my face. I just ticks me off sometimes to have it there. And for some darned reason the bottom section twists around in the water and when I go to use it it's in the wrong position <--- hard to explain this one.

 

[Diver0001]

....snip....

So...what ideas do you have to make it LESS annoying, cumbersome, and similar in feel and placement than my inflator? (aka DE-flator)

I sometimes need to take my snorkel when I'm helping divers in training but it's a bit of a hazard for me to use it under water because it gets in the way of deploying the longhose as I said before.

My solution is this. I have a kind of quick release on my snorkel. It's the type where you squeeze it gently and it flips open. That allows me to put the snorkel on and off my mask without removing my mask. I have a place to stow it while I'm under water so just before I decend I take it off and stow it (you could easily remove it underwater too if you forgot). If I need it on the surface again I take it out and put it back on the mask again.

Maybe that would work for you too.

R..