Who Wears A Snorkel When Diving ?

[mddolson]

Most of my diving is open water, shore or boat diving.
The snorkel is a small PIA, during the dive, but I like to have it on the surface.
I am a big guy, so my air consumption is higher than most.
I snorkel from the back of the dive boat to the down line and vise versa after surfacing to conserve air.
On shore dives I use my snorkel if there is long swim to the descent point. I wear a backplate and wing, fully inflated lifts my tank off my back (out of the water) this is the least drag/most comforatable position for me on the surface, but this puts my face in the water, so the snorkel is essential.

Mike D

 

[tx.lakerats]

I've always done it and have never even thought about not hooking it to my mask

 

[IceDiver1969]

I almost never use one.

Ice diving, they are of no use because you spend no time on the surface.

The remainder of my diving is done from shore in a location where there is a 20' swim before descent.

Having said all this, when I have a long surface swim ahead of me, I will wear one to avoid using the reg.

Although I've found myself even doing this less lately as most of my buddies burn more air than I do and saving air before the dive just means I have even more left in my tank at the end.

 

[jeffcali]

i always wear one. even this past week in coz the dm said we didn't need it. i did one dive without and all the rest with it. my purpose is that while i'm waiting for people to get back on the boat i can still stare down into the waters without using the very little remaining air in my tank. There were serveral instances where i surfaced after my safety stop with less than 200psi. so i'd just float around snorkeling till it was my turn to get back on the boat. i guess the rest of you aren't as hardcore as i am and once you surface you're done with the dive...me on the other hand...i love just starring down to the bottom and check'n things out. never know what you'll see...

i get back on the boat once they dm starts reaching for the gaffe

 

[dc4bs]

I used to not care one way or the other, but lately I've taken to hating the darn thing and don't wear it unless a boat captain or instructor insists. Then I think twice about wether I want to go on that boat again....

Issue #1: I keep grabbing the snorkle instead of the power inflator. This can get to be increadibly annoying after a while.

Issue #2: using the long hose makes the snorkel a real annoyance to work around.

My instructor insisted that I had to wear the snorkle during my rescue diver and any any other dive being credited towords a PADI cert because PADI requires one even though HE thinks snorkles are stupid too. Go figure. I ended up getting the flag line tangled in it.

IMHO: snorkles are for snorkleing...

 

[sdexcalibur]

I always keep it on. Just makes things easier than breathing off a reg. while going to a certain location.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Here is something some might find interesting. I had some prospective students who wanted to take an advanced class in full face masks. Obviously, you can't use a snorkel with one of those. I spoke with a PADI training consultant and they told me there was no problem doing the class with an alternative configuration without a snorkel. They did say that this would not be the case for an OW class.

In a rescue class a snorkel must be used because some of the exersizes require response with only mask snorkel and fins. However, I was told that this class also could be done with a full face mask.

 

[nicodaemos]

I thought it was just me that occasionally grabbed my snorkel instead of the bc inflator ... guess I'm not alone.

Even so, being a newbie I don't see going without a snorkel for quite some time.

 

[mndolphin]

I always do but, I am still a newbie. I can see why some don't though

 

[Genesis]

But I also don't shore dive.

Off a boat it has little or no purpose in my view. If I come up and have a long surface swim I'm gonna do it on my back anyway; your fins are in the water that way and your propulsion efficiency is better - and you don't need your reg.

If I was shore diving I'd probably use it.