dry snorkel?

[raposarose]

Hello everyone,

I am new here and new to diving. I am in the process of buying my gear. Sorry if this is a repeat question. I liked the fit of the Ocean Master Z4 mask so I considered getting one of their snorkels. What do you think of their dry snorkel? The guy at the shop recommended it...the only drawback is that it looked a little bulky to me. Opinions?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Depends on what you want to use the snorkel for. A dry snorkel is GREAT for snorkeling but a royal PEST for a scuba diver because it spends most of its time just hanging there. You're correct, it is bulky and it will be whacking you in the head while you dive. If you aren't going to do a lot of snorkeling your best bet is to buy the least expensive snorkel you can find. The bore (tube) should be 12-15 inches long and 3/4 of an inch in diameter at the top. Take the money you save and spend it on more scuba gear

Welcome to scuba board! There's a TON of information to be found here, enjoy!
Ber

 

[Big-t-2538]

snorkels are for snorkelin....get a cheapo (20$) to get you through the class....if you decide in the future you want to spend some buck on the snorkel....go ahead....most likely your snorkel will be passed on to a future ow student though.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

The Ocean Master dry snorkels REALLY work. I purchased 2 of them - 1 for my wife and the other for my daughter who found water in their snorkels unnerving. Now, they snorkel like champs w/o the fear of inhaling water.

I don't use one for diving - just when snorkeling.

 

[diverbrian]

Dry Snorkels:

For use with scuba gear they are not recommended by me. They are big, bulky and if you need it, Mr. Murphy says that the sleeve that keeps it dry will stick and you will be sucking on a closed straw.

For class (the ONLY time that I wear a snorkel clipped to my mask) I wear a Sidedraft which I am real happy with when I am demonstrating snorkelling skills to students. The rest of the time, I keep a fold up snorkel in my BC pocket.

For actual snorkelling, I prefer my Sidedraft, but I can see where people like the dry snorkels. If you want a dry snorkel, I would recommend that you save it for snorkelling and go with a cheaper model the rest of the time. If you don't want one, I still wouldn't get fancy with a snorkel. You will most likely find it sitting at the bottom of your gear bag at some point in time anyways.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

Mr. Murphy says that the sleeve that keeps it dry will stick and you will be sucking on a closed straw.

Never once had a problem with ours in 2 years of use. IMO if that happens, they we 'thumb' the snorkeling session for the day.

 

[Barracuda2]

I bought one for my wife to snorkel in Mex. She really liked it. Everyone who responded to your question is correct---would never use this snorkel for Scuba diving. It's like top heavy and would be hitting you on the chin or create a real drag.

Barracuda2

 

[raposarose]

Thank you everyone for your input. I think for now I'll try to find a simpler, more streamlined snorkel that flexes for my scuba classes. I don't want to but two different ones at this point so it makes sense to go with the one that will work for scuba.

I would ask for more suggestions about which is good for scuba...but I suppose there are nearly as many opinions as snorkels. And I'll also look more carefully through this forum first since probably there is a thread about this already...

Cheers!
Raposa

 

[jbd]

is to buy one without any "bells and whistles" i.e. no dry or semi dry features and NO purge valves. A plain ol' snorkle with the dimensions given by Ber Rabbit will serve you quite well and is very easy to use. The nice thing about them is that if you make a free dive with one you won't need any lung "power" to have it clear upon reaching the surface.

 

[dadiver]

Just completed OW this weekend and I can tell you after getting hit in the chin and upside of the head for 2 days a DRY SNORKEL is for snorkeling. My wife and I purchased dry snorkels for diving with the intent of using then both diving and snorkeling. “NOT” Bigger is not always better.