AlmightyApkallu
Contributor
Hello all. Me and my girlfriend are about to take part in the OWD course here in about two weeks. We already have our fins, boots, masks, gloves, hoods and a few various little things like mouthpieces for the regulators. I've been involved in very complicated hobbies before, so gear, equipment and technology doesn't really freak me out. We'll be renting our gear for awhile before gradually saving up and collecting what we need, yet one thing has me stumped and beyond puzzled...
Snorkels!
I've read so many varying opinions for so many different situations that my head is swimming (no pun intended). Me and my girlfriend are located in Phoenix, AZ. We'll most likely be diving Lake Pleasant and some other surrounding lakes, but we will be going to Southern California a lot to do shore diving. For boat diving, it seems like not having a snorkel is as big of a deal, but for shore diving from lakes OR beaches, well... I'm more than a bit confused.
I first thought a really good dry snorkel was the way to go, but began reading about how the cons tend to outweigh the pros. The drag and puling on your mask and overall bulkiness seem annoying (small things like that tend to bug me, a LOT) if it isn't absolutely required. If I understand right, laying on your back and swimming like that out to your dive point seems to be what most people do, but I wonder... Isn't it easier when you can see underwater just where you're going? Also, in emergency situations I can see why one might be desirable. A folding snorkel seems to be the way to go. There in case of emergencies, there in case some one or some place requires them, but out of the way. The only thing is... These really simple little folding snorkels seem like they would be awful at keeping water out in ANY chop whatsoever, making them basically useless. If I came up in choppy conditions trying hard to get back to shore I'd hate to be choking so much with every breath I took. Might be counter intuitive, no? So for ultimate safety and ease of swimming out is it worth it to just get used to a good dry snorkel? I want me and my girlfriend to be very safe in what we do, but I also don't want us to be annoyed underwater with needless drag on our masks.
Again, I searched and read many topics on this and got a lot of good information but was hoping for a bit more, perhaps specific to what I'm asking and my situation. Thank you kindly for any help!
Snorkels!
I've read so many varying opinions for so many different situations that my head is swimming (no pun intended). Me and my girlfriend are located in Phoenix, AZ. We'll most likely be diving Lake Pleasant and some other surrounding lakes, but we will be going to Southern California a lot to do shore diving. For boat diving, it seems like not having a snorkel is as big of a deal, but for shore diving from lakes OR beaches, well... I'm more than a bit confused.
I first thought a really good dry snorkel was the way to go, but began reading about how the cons tend to outweigh the pros. The drag and puling on your mask and overall bulkiness seem annoying (small things like that tend to bug me, a LOT) if it isn't absolutely required. If I understand right, laying on your back and swimming like that out to your dive point seems to be what most people do, but I wonder... Isn't it easier when you can see underwater just where you're going? Also, in emergency situations I can see why one might be desirable. A folding snorkel seems to be the way to go. There in case of emergencies, there in case some one or some place requires them, but out of the way. The only thing is... These really simple little folding snorkels seem like they would be awful at keeping water out in ANY chop whatsoever, making them basically useless. If I came up in choppy conditions trying hard to get back to shore I'd hate to be choking so much with every breath I took. Might be counter intuitive, no? So for ultimate safety and ease of swimming out is it worth it to just get used to a good dry snorkel? I want me and my girlfriend to be very safe in what we do, but I also don't want us to be annoyed underwater with needless drag on our masks.
Again, I searched and read many topics on this and got a lot of good information but was hoping for a bit more, perhaps specific to what I'm asking and my situation. Thank you kindly for any help!