I'm about to start a new field season of fish surveys in small streams and I'm looking to replace my snorkel. Here are my requirements, in order:
* Low profile below my mouth: This work is often in very shallow water and I don't like the way the long purge valve on my current snorkel knocks against the cobble on bottom.
* Rigid elbow: I do a fair amount of lifting my head out of the water to talk and when the current is high, it's nice if the mouthpiece stays put.
* Replaceable bite tabs: Between talking through the snorkel and dealing with the current, I've gone through several mouthpieces. I'd just as soon not replace my entire snorkel when this happens.
* A purge valve: if only because I often have a field assistant standing above me and don't want to spray them when I purge.
I had an old (circa 1985) TUSA (I think) model that was near perfect, except for the bite tabs: when they went, I found it pretty difficult to use. It had a large purge valve in the axis of the tube, where the '>" is in the diagram below:
._. ||
>====/
Purging this one required a slight tilt of the head to the left, but it worked very well. The elbow swiveled a little, but did not flex.
I've been googling around for snorkels but I can't find anything that looks exactly right. That said, it's been a long time since I bought any equipment online, so I may just be looking in the wrong places. Does anyone have a recommendation of a snorkel model that might fit this description, or even a shop with a wide selection?
Thanks,
Duncan
* Low profile below my mouth: This work is often in very shallow water and I don't like the way the long purge valve on my current snorkel knocks against the cobble on bottom.
* Rigid elbow: I do a fair amount of lifting my head out of the water to talk and when the current is high, it's nice if the mouthpiece stays put.
* Replaceable bite tabs: Between talking through the snorkel and dealing with the current, I've gone through several mouthpieces. I'd just as soon not replace my entire snorkel when this happens.
* A purge valve: if only because I often have a field assistant standing above me and don't want to spray them when I purge.
I had an old (circa 1985) TUSA (I think) model that was near perfect, except for the bite tabs: when they went, I found it pretty difficult to use. It had a large purge valve in the axis of the tube, where the '>" is in the diagram below:
._. ||
>====/
Purging this one required a slight tilt of the head to the left, but it worked very well. The elbow swiveled a little, but did not flex.
I've been googling around for snorkels but I can't find anything that looks exactly right. That said, it's been a long time since I bought any equipment online, so I may just be looking in the wrong places. Does anyone have a recommendation of a snorkel model that might fit this description, or even a shop with a wide selection?
Thanks,
Duncan
