Why dont many SCUBA divers use a snorkel?

[MikeMeagher]

Ok.. I'm prepared for the "bashing" that such an online forum can bring.. but seriously.. I'm really wondering why now a days.. I observe that many scuba divers decide to not wear a snorkel while SCUBA diving.

I'm curious to what the "logic" to this trend is.

You'd think that the dive shop instructors would "push" the idea of using a snorkel.. if all else to sell snorkels.

I'm from the old school and have made 1000's of dives in various locals.. and can understand the desire to not wear a snorkel when doing perhaps a wreck or cave penetration. That reason makes sense.

But for the "routine" normal open water dive, be it from a boat or beach.. I see much more potential and benefit of having a snorkel than going without.

Personally I dont believe that the snorkel contributes any significant amount of "drag"... if it does my guess is that it is miniscule when compared to my drysuit, wings, tanks, camera, etc.. and all the other garb that I wear. I have never had any issues with entanglement with kelp or fishing line while wearing a snorkel.

Some examples of why I wear a snorkel:

It allows me to much easier swim face down in the water, it allows the natural bouyancy of the water to support my head in the water instead of my trying to hold my head out of the water to breath.

It allows me to conserve air while swimming off a beach dive site to an offshore decent point. I can swim a bit of the traverse on the surface, get to deeper water then decend instead of decending immediately near the shore.

I use it when waiting for my buddy(s) after jumping in from a dive boat... I simply put the snorkel in the mouth.. and patiently wait.

For those rare times when diving from dive boats and at the end of the dive while waiting to get picked up by a "live boat"... when the seas are choppy.. I find its much easier and comfortable to keep water out of the mouth using a snorkel. When diving from an anchored boat, I've seen many many times when myself or other divers surface low on air, down current, and will have to snorkel back to the anchored boat against a current. This can be a lot of work. Often, the divers without snorkels attempt this swim face up on their back.. and many times will stray off course... I find it easier to keep an eye on the boat if I'm facing it and face down in the water.

Do they even teach snorkel use and skills any more in basic scuba courses?

I'm not trying to be a smarty pants here.. but looking for some well explained reasons for this trend. Thanks.

 

[Paladin]

Whether or not one uses a snorkel for SCUBA diving boils down to a matter of personal preference, much like the choice between paddle or split fins.

 

[MuddyRubberDuck]

Well we drift dive where I am so the boat picks us up. We don't have to swim back to it. I just have no need for one since when I leave the boat I descend and when I come up the boat comes to me.

Don't get me wrong though. They are key if I am going snorkling.

 

[Blue982]

I don't wear a snorkel for two reasons:
- It's a gigantic hassle when deploying/stowing a long hose over your head
- I prefer to swim on my back and have since I regularly wore a snorkel
- It drifts into my field of view underwater and makes a minor nuisance of itself (for something I very rarely use)

Sometimes I will wear it if I have an exceptionally long surface swim, the seas are choppy or some combination of the two. In the future, I intend to get a roll-up to stow in a pocket. I usually carry it with my dive gear in case I decide to freedive instead, in which case it's very useful. Once

 

[Teamcasa]

It snags on the kelp out here and is simply not worth the trouble.

 

[fire_diver]

Some divers still do use one. Some people like them for shore entries with surface swims. Personally, I haven't used one since OW training (unless I was snorkeling), but people have a use for them.

 

[tkdgodess]

Snorkel use is still taught in Padi OW. Snorkel reg exchange, snorkel clearing, snorkel swimming w/scuba unit. We are required to "have a snorkel on us" when teaching, but it doesn't mean we have to wear it on our masks. Lots of people like you like to swim face down wearing scuba so sure wear your snorkel. I have a mask with a snorkel attached, and one without - depends on my mood.

I'm indifferent to snorkel use for regular ow diving. I don't need it. I can control my airway fine without it, and I swim on my back, not face down. If I'm waiting for the boat to pick me up, I've usually surfaced with at least 500 psi so if I need to breath from my reg for whatever reason 500 psi on the surface is more than enough air.

IMO Alot of people like to look like tech divers (65 lbs wings on single tanks) with a plain black mask, I think it's a bit of the "cool" factor.

 

[highdesert]

Whether or not one uses a snorkel for SCUBA diving boils down to a matter of personal preference, much like the choice between paddle or split fins.

Wait ... you mean there's a difference between paddle and split fins?

 

[skydiver30960]

Whether or not one uses a snorkel for SCUBA diving boils down to a matter of personal preference, much like the choice between paddle or split fins.

To me, a snorkel is both a convenience and a piece of safety equipment that, while I may not go so far as to say it could actually save your life, could legitimately make a difficult situation a little easier (such as breathing in really choppy water).

Whether or not you use one is the same decision as whether or not you use any particular piece of safety equipment. Assess your habits and environment and choose the equipment that makes the most sense for you and your dive. If we all carried EVERY piece of equipment we could possibly ever consider needing, we'd never get anywhere and would look like a floating dive shop.

My personal bang for the buck calculation says that a snorkel is a good call on all dives. If nothing else, it's good for "accidentally" chucking water at my wife when she's not ready for it.

Ike aka "full-time snorkel wearer"

 

[Dhboner]

I keep a foldable snorkel in my BC pocket. It's there if I need it for a long surface swim but doesn't get in the way at other times.