Snorkels: What's the difference?

[garymills1990]

Helo everyone.I was thinking whats the difference between snorkals that have got purge valves and those that dont.witch one would be better for spearfishing.whould it make a difference with the hunting and what makes would you recomend.

thanks

[cubapnea]

hi gary... if you are looking to get a snorkel for spearing I would recommend you to go for a simple snorkel ,stay away from purge valves and other types of inventions like drysnorkels.

purge valves will mean more drag and they don;t last as much as regular snorks. dry snorkels build up too much co2 so my advice is you go for a hunting snorkel of your favorite brand with comfy mouth piece and you'll be just fine

[Bill McIntyre]

My favorite is the Riffe Stable. Its not a true dry snorkel, but the top is hooded on the front with the opening to the rear, and that keeps out a lot of water swimming into a chop.

I know a lot of people will differ, but I also like the accordion mouthpiece. I remove my snorkel every time I dive, and with the simple J snorkels such as the popular Omer Zoom, I tend to twist the mouthpiece where it joins the barrel. Then when I put the mouthpiece back in my mouth, the barrel is sitting crosswise across my head. With the Stable, I simply let it drop out of my mouth and dangle.

The photo shows it orange, but it doesn't come that way. However, I'm absolutely queer for orange or lime green snorkel tips because I know how much easier it is to see them when I'm trying to spot divers in rough water, so I spray painted it.

[cubapnea]

that riffe snorkel sure come in handy on chopped water and very true what u said about the mouth piece... I myself take out my snorkel just after the duck dive ( I tend to equalize more efficiently when doing so)

my current is an omer prosoft... would like to own one of those riffe as well

[sgnips]

i take out my snorkel EVERY TIME, just before the duck dive
it might be very dangerous not to remove it, because it keeps your mouth OPEN and if something bad happens while diving (and something that scares you in any way might be enough), you can suck water from the snorkel and inhale

not to mention what happens later...

[salibandy]

Originally Posted by sgnips

i take out my snorkel EVERY TIME, just before the duck dive
it might be very dangerous not to remove it, because it keeps your mouth OPEN and if something bad happens while diving (and something that scares you in any way might be enough), you can suck water from the snorkel and inhale

not to mention what happens later...

I second this, for all the same reasons stated above. I was taught this way, but sometimes I forget.

[sgnips]

good teaching... bad application...

repeat and repeat, until it comes automatically, and you don't have to think about it
i sometimes dive and, after a few meters, i ask myself "where did i put the snorkel?"
i always find it in my hand

[Mr. X]

I leave the snorkel in. I dive alone, so I don't go real deep (usually less 10m) nor do I push my dive times/breath hold (my aim is to avoid Shallow Water Blackout). It works well for me, it is automatic for me now.

It was just the way I learnt, probably from one of that little old how-to books on sports for kids - although we had a scout leader that was a qualified BSAC SCUBA instructor, so I might also have picked it up from him too. I think that was just the way it was taught back then. It was mainly aimed at recreational snorkelling on holiday and as a safety back-up device for SCUBA divers.

I never heard of removing the snorkel till I came upon this forum. It is probably an optimization that came out of the sport of apnea - chasing deeper & longer dive times, smoother more efficient technique. Some spearos also say it produces less bubbles/noise. I think Italian spearo Georgio Darparin leaves his snorkel in for short dives but takes it out for longer/deeper dives. So it might equally have come from the advanced spearos.

I suspect newbies will find it easier & more natural to take the snorkel out. It took quite a long time to get used to leaving the snorkel in & retaining enough breath to blast it clear. I tried removing the snorkel when I started diving again a few years ago but it didn't work well for me. Probably just takes getting used to but I really didn't want to carry my snorkel & couldn't see any real benefit in it for me. I'd probably drop the snorkel at some point.

Re. snorkels, my first snorkel was a "dry top" (kids snorkel with float closure) but I followed the prevalent advice of the time & learnt to use a simple open-J when I started snorkelling properly. I dabbled with a valve snorkel when I started snorkelling again a few years ago. It was ok but really only worked really well for surface snorkelling. Once you dive, the simple J clears more quickly & completely - at least it did for me. So I have 3 simple J's now & passed my valve snorkel on to a novice surface snorkeller who loves it. In choppy conditions, or when periodic swells come in, something special could be handy. I think OMD actually extended his simple J snorkel a couple of inches (novel!), a semi-dry might help but a fully dry snorkel would probably be better. I like Bill's Riffe snorkel above, I've seen a collapsible snorkel (intended for emergency use by SCUBA divers) in a store and on eBay - I might get one sometime (about £9) but I think it might be just a bit too floppy for regular snorkelling (although I prefer flexible pipes as they give against rocks & lines rather than jolting the snorkel from your mouth). I think it would deal with most of the worst chop conditions I have encountered while clearing more like a simple-J - although a wave coming from behind would still get you!

[garymills1990]

thanks for all the info,so the simple j shaped snorkal would be the best one to get.

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by garymills1990

thanks for all the info,so the simple j shaped snorkal would be the best one to get.

It's probably a good place to start.

The Omer Zoom snorkels seem to be universally well regarded (with Bill's comments above being the caveat).

I use a Beuchat Activa Tubair, it seems to be well regarded and usually quite a bit cheaper than the Omer Zooms. I like the idea of clear snorkels (ultimate camo?) but I value flexibility more, so my simple-Js are black, camo or black painted camo. I often seem to get a few drops of water caught in the J of my Tubair which rattles and annoys the heck out of me, other users claim not to - so perhaps something to do with the way it fits me?

If I ever buy another snorkel, it will likely be a clear, flexible Omer Zoom when they finally get round to producing one (Zooms currently come in blue camo, green camo, brown camo, black, black flexible & clear). I suspect the Zoom's unusual shape prevents retention of water droplets (but I might be wrong).

I also have an Seacsub Combat snorkel, very nice and, although flexible, not quite flexible enough for me, esp. in our cold water - and it has a black tape instead of orange on the tip (see Bill's comment on safety/visibility above). I also have an old but good Typhoon snorkel with has a solid pipe but a soft silicone flexible J & mouthpiece. The J might be a tad too soft & the pipe too stiff but it works fine.

I believe Picasso do a couple of interesting snorkels that some people really like. One is bendable & I believe they have smaller mouth pieces than normal. I don't have a great feeling about Picasso gear for some reason though. One reviewer bit the two chew areas right off - not sure if that says more about the snorkel or the reviewer though.

I got a really nice youth snorkel for a real bargain price new from Procella on ebay, before they went bust (the taxman cometh? ). It is black with a clear mouthpiece & J. It is a little narrower diameter & shorter than usual which means I can clear it with half the breath of a regular snorkel -- the reduced diameter did not seem to impede breathing but I only used it in the pool. Its just a tad too short for me to use in the sea though - water lapped in a little too easily. Saving it for an appropriate youth/female to use.

[Bill McIntyre]

A couple of comments on removing the snorkel when you dive.

It is almost universally done in Southern California, even on shallow dives, because it is widely believed that any bubbles scare white sea bass. Many divers even do a warmup dive and open cuffs and hood to let any trapped air out of the wetsuit, and others punch tiny holes in the top of the hood for the same purpose.

But the other reason is safety. If you black out with the snorkel in your mouth, then you are letting the water have a straight path into your airway. I have not been through the course, but I'm told that Performance Freediving teaches that 90% of blackouts occur after reaching the surface and exhaling before the first inhalation, so they say that the snorkel should not be replaced until after you surface. I'll confess that I do replace my snorkel in the last few feet before reaching the surface so that I am ready to clear it, but I guess that is a bad habit. I tell myself that I don't push my limits, so I'm not in much danger of blacking out, but there is always the danger that something may cause me to push my limits, so I should have the correct habit pattern.

[sgnips]

i'm not a spearo, but i know some of them keep the snorkel in to reduce shaking and vibrating durig descent
also, it is meant to produce less bubbles this way (?? i guess what happens if air comes from your mouth?? LOT of bubbles...)
actually, i don't think it is a real issue, i would take it out anyway, spearing or not

[spaghetti]

Snorkel kept in mouth makes more noise and scares the fish. It's a fact.
Many mediterranean spearos have the habit to remove the snorkel from the mask just before the duck dive, and placing it on the belt or keeping it in one hand. This is meant to prevent vibration, and also to prevent your snorkel being stuck into holes and crevices if you hunt holed up fish.
Back to the initial question, valves or no valves? Me I have tried a snorkel with one of those purge valves near the mouthpiece (they clear the water out from under the mouth) and did NOT like it: too much noise, it doesn't work. Upper hood to prevent from choppy water, as suggested by Bill, is a good idea in choppy water, but I think it has its downsides too: less ventilation and more effort to spit the water up due to a narrower hole...
A simple J snorkel with no valves or hoods of any kind,, preferably flexible and with a soft silicone mouthpiece, is the kind I do prefer.

[sgnips]

bill, you posted while i was writing and defending my pc from my son...

I'll confess that I do replace my snorkel in the last few feet before reaching the surface so that I am ready to clear it, but I guess that is a bad habit.

you're right, it is a bad habit because even if you're not pushing to the limit, any inconvenient that may occur pushes you there and you may not realize it: i guess you'll replace your snorkel either if you feel close to the limit or not, because you used to do so

but i want to focus on this: when you reach the surface with snorkel in, you will probably blow hard through it, this causing a great effort and your O2pp to fall, just in the moment you more need energy and O2
with the snorkel in you also can't breath correctly after your dive and re-establish normal O2pp in your lungs

[sgnips]

ciao, spaghetti, mi hai anticipato... sto ancora lottando con il pupo