Snorkels and scuba.

[LCF]

ocnb12, although I don't use a snorkel in my own diving, I agree with you. The experience of having your face in the water and breathing through the snorkel is a great introduction to what you are going to do in diving -- plus, if you can tolerate the increased dead space of a snorkel, you're unlikely to panic during your first experiences with a regulator. And you can practice mask skills (which are a big stressor for dive students) with a snorkel.

My experiences snorkeling definitely helped prepare me for diving. I just don't think a snorkel is much use once you have a regulator at hand.

[gcbryan]

I still don't think I've ever heard of where a snorkel was actually really needed nor can I think of an example.

The only possible example that I can think of would be that you are stranded at sea for so long that keeping your head out of the water is tiring and you just rest it and breath with the snorkel.

The interesting thing to me was that in my OW class it never occurred to me that one could do surface swims on ones back!

We all had to follow our instructor out to a buoy, faces in the water, snorkeling, weightbelt pressing on the spine while the suit pressed back in the other direction...very uncomfortable!

At that stage hardly anyone was able to swim in a straight line in that manner as well.

[Celt5494]

"The only possible example that I can think of would be that you are stranded at sea for so long that keeping your head out of the water is tiring and you just rest it and breath with the snorkel."

HAHAHHHAHA, yer killin me man! Great post it gave us a good laugh here this morning.

[Hollywoodivers]

"The only possible example that I can think of would be that you are stranded at sea for so long that keeping your head out of the water is tiring and you just rest it and breath with the snorkel."

HAHAHHHAHA, yer killin me man! Great post it gave us a good laugh here this morning.

I don't wear it on the mask but keep it in my pocket when I am fun diving. The reason ? Once as I was finishing a dive in Redondo and only had a couple hundred psi left, I saw about 20 juvi bat rays in the shallow water. Rather than breathe the tank to zero I snapped it on and stayed for another 30 minutes following this school of rays up and down the beach. The snorkel worked great for that.

[Celt5494]

Well that's about the best reason for having a snorkel I've yet heard as to why anyone would dive with one. Just when you think you have it all figured out?

[Eric Sedletzky]

I use a snorkel on some beach dives when I have to do a long surface swim and there is kelp to crawl over. I would rather go through kelp on my belly rather than roll over and have my tank valve catch all the kelp. No sense using tank air just to do the kelp crawl.
I use a very simple J snorkel without any bells or whistles.
If someone is using a long hose wrapped behind their neck a snorkel can get in the way for deployment, but since I don't use a long hose configuration anymore there is no problem. I know I'm a freak around here and just the mere mention of not using a long hose is considered blasphemy, oh well.

On boat dives I never use a snorkel.

[TobinGeorge]

but since I don't use a long hose configuration

Burn him! he's a witch!

Tobin

[Celt5494]

Burn him! he's a witch!

Tobin

Heh Heh Heh.....

[ScubaVideoServices]

Well, well, well, that is an interesting post!
For my part I'm wearing a snorkel on any ow dive I do, recreational I forgot to say!
For many reasons, but mainly because I think its a usefull piece of equipement and with proper training, and I insist on 'proper training' the use of it becomes second nature. Its true, in warmwater reef dive, while waiting for the boat if low on air, although this should not happen (low air) when 'proper training' is applied. Once the boat is there, as its being done where I work, the divers pass their gear to the boat crew and, end up with nothing but mask and... snorkel! So there again its useful.
I'd like to remember for the divers who exit the water byt the ladder with all their gear still on, that they switch back to regulator while doing so in case they fall back in the water!
So its true, one may find the snorkel cumbersom or useless but of those divers, most of them could do with a 're-training' of the principle of 'Airway' control, as thaught in the OW course, as in back to the basics!
But this brings out the real reason why some divers may not like the 'shnorkel'... Wouldn't it be just to defferenciate the newbbie from the more experienced diver, some think that after 2 dozens dives they are experienced!!
I am a tec and cave diver, I dive caves on a more regular basis than OW. Why is that, because I live in Akumal, Mexico, lucky me! Do I stow my Evil snorkel when I go do an OW dive? No. Why? Because, as an educator, dive instructor or staff bitch (call it what u want) I am still a role model and mainly for the recreational divers with little or no experience.
To reply to the main post, yes a snorkel is a good piece of equipement, yes it is usefull...as long as you are not embarrassed to use it because maybe you haven't been thaught to use it and thats ok to say too.
The 'Long hose' divers are caught up into an ego battle great than they can see and giving the Tec community a image of 'danger' inaccessibilty or even better, I AM A TEC AND YOU ARE NOT...!!!
Good luck with it.

Cheers

ps: maybe some of us will cary a snorkel when it looks like this: