Everyone's favorite topic! Hate on the snorkel!
In all seriousness, I believe a snorkel is an important piece of equipment. We don't need to have it on our masks unless we are snorkeling, but say for example, you get left by the boat. This doesn't happen as infrequently as would be ideal, and if it does and the seas pick up and you run out of gas waiting on the surface for hours, a snorkel will be extremely useful extending your airway and helping keep water out of your mouth. I also think that the mouth to snorkel method is the best for performing rescue breaths for an apneic diver on the surface, while continuously towing.
For the past year or so I've carried a "fold up" snorkel in my pocket. Unfortunately, pocket space is at a premium and instead of having to slap on an oversized pouch, I'm thinking about putting a couple loops of bungee through my plate, and stowing the snorkel between the plate and wing on the left side (so as to not interfere with long hose deployment).
Wanted to bounce this idea off you guys and see what everyone thinks.
In all seriousness, I believe a snorkel is an important piece of equipment. We don't need to have it on our masks unless we are snorkeling, but say for example, you get left by the boat. This doesn't happen as infrequently as would be ideal, and if it does and the seas pick up and you run out of gas waiting on the surface for hours, a snorkel will be extremely useful extending your airway and helping keep water out of your mouth. I also think that the mouth to snorkel method is the best for performing rescue breaths for an apneic diver on the surface, while continuously towing.
For the past year or so I've carried a "fold up" snorkel in my pocket. Unfortunately, pocket space is at a premium and instead of having to slap on an oversized pouch, I'm thinking about putting a couple loops of bungee through my plate, and stowing the snorkel between the plate and wing on the left side (so as to not interfere with long hose deployment).
Wanted to bounce this idea off you guys and see what everyone thinks.