Poll: Do you dive with or without a snorkel?

[friscuba]

It seems like someone says this every time, and again my answer is...

If you are doing a long surface swim, go on your back, if the water is too rough on your way out, don't go. If it is too rough on your way back in, use your regulator. I never saw a wave drop into a reg. That is what that extra gas in your tank is for.

I know of a couple instances where people have nearly killed themselves relying on their regulator on the surface. It usually requires a diver who's breaking lots of protocol... coming up with two hundred PSI, not inflating their BCDs, diving with the currents at the start of the dive, etc.

A tank can only hold a finite amount of air. Conditions can change during a dive. Having at least a stow away snorkel can make a big difference on some occasions.

 

[boljakool]

I guess this is a case to case basis. When I started diving, I always wore a snorkel to dive. Now, it just stays on the boat with the SI snacks...just in case we'd go snorkeling during the SI.

 

[Nemrod]

I don't need no stink'n snorkel! I swim on my back on the surface with my mask on my forehead, a relaxing way to get along on the surface while everyone else is fussing with snorkels and running out of air and flopping about, I remain calm and collected amid the chaos. N

 

[DivnSapper]

So far, all but two of my dives have been shore dives... so the snorkel is pretty much a requirement... I like to use it when at the surface to save air... as I am a huge air hog. I bought the Aeris Barracuda UltraDry snorkel and love it. So yeah it hangs on the side of my head but I think it is a great piece of equipment to have... if you need it. Just my $.02!

 

[LI Diver]

I'm with the snorkel in pocket crew. I bought one of the collapsible ones and keep it in my bc pocket. The right tool for the right job however. I have had dives where there was a considerable surface swim with interesting underwater sights and the snorkel was just the ticket!

 

[miketsp]

Here's over 200 ready made replies to get you started:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=118560

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=102199

Joe

Why stop there, here are a few more....

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=127302
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=60795
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=117553
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=117651
and the super duper one now locked
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=89179
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=83405
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=89757
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=70172
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=54021
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=32868
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=24594
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=17022
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=11142
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=7788
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=4460
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=1926

Quite a few of these are polls.

I fully support the words of Uncle Ricky in thread 89179 above

That's it!
Everything that can be said on the subject has been said. Over and over and over and over and over and over.
Thread closed.
Rick

 

[tedtim]

Why stop there, here are a few more....

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=117651
and the super duper one now locked
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=89179
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=83405
Quite a few of these are polls.

I fully support the words of Uncle Ricky in thread 89179 above

Rick, perhaps you could close this thread too before it starts looking like the MOF/NMOF thread.

 

[Lonefox]

Still being fairly new to diving, I prefer to dive with my snorkel, particularly on choppy shore dives. I like to save my air until I get to my descent location. The one occassion I chose to swim back from a shore dive on my back, without my snorkel in, could have been disasterous. Had it not been for the shouts from my snorkelling buddy, I would have swum cylinder first into a shallow area of densely populated reef.
Ever since then I've chosen to pay more attention to where I'm going, and that requires I keep an eye on what's going on below the surface.

 

[whatdecostop?]

Aaaarghhh, in the words of the immortal Bard,"To snorkel or not to snorkel, that be the question!"
I guess you'll only know when you need one and don't have it OR you have one and it causes "entanglement".

 

[NYPI]

For myself I keep a foldaway in my pocket.

On another note I was told by my Rescue instructor that you may have a problem with collecting on insurance if you don't carry one. His words were and I quote “insurance requires that you always have a snorkel on your person when diving but does not specify were on your person it must be"
He also carried one in his pocket.

Anybody ever heard of this?

Mike