Why a snorkel?

[Slonda828]

I would have to agree with others that it is a matter of choice, but I always carry one unless I'm diving in springs or other very calm water. I have a stowable snorkel that doesn't have any fancy features. I keep in in the thigh pocket of my dive shorts. If I surface and the boat is far away or the chops are bad, then I have a snorkel. Furthermore, if you get stranded at sea a snorkel is advantageous to have while waiting for pickup. Plus for ocean diving, you can snorkel out with your SCUBA gear on to your dive site and enjoy the swim versus swimming on your back, which for me as a swimmer is not a natural way for me to swim. It's pretty cheap insurance, it costs about 12 dollars for a simple one, and I like them. Also for pool swimming lots of swim coaches use them for improving swim technique, trim, and stroke all whilst controlling breathing through an apparatus that requires breathing approximating that of a regulator to allow air exchange in dead spaces to occur.

The short answer is many well educated and worldly divers use them.

 

[300bar]

The snorkel question also point to the schizophrenia of the training agencies. On one hand they insist that divers be so equipped, yet they expose divers to the danger of embolism by having them go under the surf with a regulator and having them do entries with a regulator in their mouth. When asked why, the candid response is that the student don't learn how to use snorkels and thus are at less risk when using a regulator.

Well ... if they didn't try to complete training in 18 hours or less ...

what you're saying here is that a normal/healthy person could get an embolism,by jumping in with his/her regulator in the mouth.
I have been doing OW training like this since 1994 and NEVER seen a embolism,due to this.

Heck I've never seen a embolism with my divers EVER.

Or do I miss the point here.

 

[rstofer]

I don't know why it couldn't happen. Given a large enough surf it would be possible to change depth by a huge amount in essentially zero time - in both directions.

I don't have enough experience nor have I read enough to know if it has ever happened but, physically, it should be possible. Personally, I wouldn't do a beach entry through a huge surf. Given free choice, I prefer boat dives!

Richard

 

[Thalassamania]

what you're saying here is that a normal/healthy person could get an embolism,by jumping in with his/her regulator in the mouth.
I have been doing OW training like this since 1994 and NEVER seen a embolism,due to this.

Heck I've never seen a embolism with my divers EVER.

Or do I miss the point here.

I don't know if you miss the point or not, but both those types of accidents have occurred at least once and are, I believe, identified in the National Underwater Accident Data Center reports.

I don't know what the "Heck I've never seen a embolism with my divers EVER." is about, I've never seen one either, but we all do know that AGEs do occur.

 

[wedivebc]

Snorkel? Never used one except when snorkeling, in which case I don't wear dive gear.
The fact that it is required equipment for OW by most scuba agencies shows just how out of touch they are with the realities of diving different environments.

 

[John_B]

Here's my boy with his mask and snorkel (which are the same as mine) Farallon Snorkel (a dash older than the Tekna) and Tekna Mask. This is what we dive everyday, it not some "retro-diving" thing. He is demonstrating the proper mounting of a snorkel.

You have to at least admit that the Key West Divers mask strap is retro.

 

[Pseudocyber]

I'm a newbie diver - so take this with a grain of salt ... but in my limited experience ...

I was diving for a week on live aboard with my wife. We got about 20 dives in. I found that she was outbreathing me by about 15 minutes. However, she had problems descending due to problems clearing her ears. She would get down to about 20 feet and be fine after that, but it would take her about 10 minutes to go down 20 feet.

So, I found I could hang out on the surface with my snorkel watching her descend below me. That would be 10 minutes of air I didn't waste waiting for her from below.

I also used my snorkel for a few occasions where I had a long surface swim and I was low on air - and also to get around the boat to the mooring line to descend and save air.

I found it useful - I thought it does keep water out while on the surface, I didn't want to "waste" my air, so why not?

 

[Nemrod]

Got a properly stupid question why would a diver with a air tank want a snorkel when diving. Also how do you keep the water out i guest why would it matter since your underwater with air

Because somebody decided arbitrarily that you need one so they (LDS retail store) can sell you one at 50 bucks for what should cost about 2 bucks max and make 48 dollars profit off of you.

N

 

[Thalassamania]

You have to at least admit that the Key West Divers mask strap is retro.

Maybe, but I was an instructor in Billy's operation ... it's more of a keepsake.

 

[Mike Campbell]

I'd say snorkels and their use are analogous to handguns. If you don't know how to use one you're better off never getting into a situation where you might need one. I respect anyone who's skill level is such in either endeavor to impress me. It's a tool that can be used as needed and I teach my students how to do such. We'd do well in the instructional field to do more training in the basics. I always find definitive statements about anything just mean you ain't been in the situation yet that will change your mind.
Learn to use the snorkel and let common sense be your guide.
Mike