High Sodium Diet- Snorkel Choice?

[jimqpublic]

On my first day freediving I used a large bore open top snorkel with a purge valve. I hated it because the only way to get all the water out of the bottom was to put my hand over the top and blow.

I found an abandoned SCUBA type snorkel with a purge and somewhat restrictive top so I tried it yesterday. I correctly assumed that it would be easier to purge. What I didn't expect is how horribly it messed up my breathing. Due to the resistance my inhales were slow and exhales were fast to purge the water. The opposite of my preferred breathe-up. There was a lot of chop in the water and it did keep drier than the first snorkel.

I think the next snorkel will be just a J tube. Either that or one of those dual cone dry tops that the kids use!

Back to the question- For a normally healthy person (low BP) is ingestion of sea water while diving a problem? Not that I'm drinking it but ... I do swallow some residual salt that's in my mouth. I've had a liter of fresh water after I got out each time to dilute any salt in my system.

Jim

[cdavis]

Residual salt should not be a problem for a normally healthy person, assuming they are not swallowing a lot of sea water. I use a very large bore snorkel (farrallon) and it does often retain a little water. I'm used to it. Going to a slightly smaller bore will give most people plenty of air with little resistance, and keeping it dry should not be any problem unless it doesn't fit your mouth well and leaks. My strong preference is open top and no purge for diving. I like a purge valve for pool workouts. That said, I know plenty of very good divers who use purge valves and baffles at the top.

Connor

[Fondueset]

I use an impulse 2 - great snork for choppy waters. Pretty much stays clear.
Otherwise I like the big barrel snorks with no valves - the Impulse 2 and Riffe Stable are the only valved snorks I've found remotely tolerable - with the Impulse 2 being the best.