snorkel recommendation

[Greg Jensen]

My wife really hates snorkeling, mainly because she (understandably) hates inhaling water. Her snorkel is one of the simple old ones that is just a tube- no purges, etc.
The problem she has (and me too, just doesn't bother me as much) is that when she's in a face-down position in the water, her snorkel is sticking at a 30-45 degree angle in front instead up straight up. If there's any chop, she catching it in her snorkel. All the keepers seem oriented to hold the snorkel at a right angle to the mask strap, when it should be parallel or almost parallel to the strap.
Any suggestions?

[banjofish]

Snorkling does take practice and you have to work at it for awhile to get it down without getting water down the wind pipe. I prefer the simple one with no purges or water baffles on top. But Im an old guy kinda set in my ways. My son uses one of the new ones with baffles at the top and it works great for him. Keeps the water out when a wave breaks over it .My advice is work on your breathing. You cant breath normally like you would watching tv.. You have to skip breath..Take a breath..hold it and then exhale quickly thus clearing the snorkle of any water than came in. Then take a breath again and repeat...(this is however NOT the way you breath on scuba) You have to work on relaxing and getting your heart beat down to a resting rate..That way when you are going to dive under water you can hold your breath longer..Its kinda like a meditation to me.very relaxing..when you get to this point you will begin to feel if water has entered you snorkle..and thus blow it out when you take your next breath..Theres alot to it...it looks simple..buts it takes practice. so dont get discouraged..Skin diving is the best way to get comfortable in the water and thus become a much better scuba diver...I encourage everyone to skin dive as much as possible before you learn to scuba......cam

[Greg Jensen]

I know exactly what you mean- I was a snorkeler for many years before I took scuba lessons, and just learned to alter my breathing so that I instinctively deal with it. I don't think my technique is quite the same as you describe...more like not fully exhaling and instinctively stopping inhalation if I feel the resistance caused by water in the snorkel- if I feel it, I've got plenty of air in my lungs to clear. Or something like that.
Not so for my wife. I'll try to devise a snorkel keeper for her that holds it in more of an upright position, as I haven't found anything yet that fits the bill.

[fmerkel]

I've used something like this for years in the tropics, not around here. US Divers Dry Snorkel
http://www.surfoutlet.com/ProductDetail ... ck=2774510

Purge on the bottom and a baffle on top. I'm not a major snorkeler and seldom dive on snorkel so can't speak to all the options but it works OK for when I do use it, even in waves.
There are a myriad of variations on this type. Mine sits in a box 95% of the time and you are welcome to take it for an extended test. Even have some similar found ones you can have. LMK.

[Greg Jensen]

Thanks for the offer. I ordered something like this last night, so hopefully it'll help.

[finnegankp]

Greg,

This is what you need to get your wife. She won't inhale any water, will have great visibility, and it's a great conversation piece:

http://www.tribord.com/en/brand/innovat ... eling-mask

[sitkadiver]

Greg,

This is what you need to get your wife. She won't inhale any water, will have great visibility, and it's a great conversation piece:

http://www.tribord.com/en/brand/innovat ... eling-mask

Wow, that's one of those products that I wish I had thought of. Looks awesome.

As far as traditional snorkels, I have a scubapro Shotgun II that I love. I never thought I'd be a proponent of high-end snorkels, but I think it's been well worth the extra capital. I admit, that I usually only swim in the pool with it, but it's been a good snorkel for side stroke, free stroke etc.

When I used to snorkel often(in California) I found that wearing my mask strap a little lower on my head helped out a bit. Not below my ears, but tightened below the bulge on the back of the hood. Might be worth having your wife sit in front of a large mirror, put the mask and snorkel on and just play with adjustments of the mask strap, keeper and mouthpiece angle.

Another old technique for not inhaling water was to put my tongue on the roof of my mouth right behind the teeth when inhaling after a longer dive, or after thinking I took a big wave into the snorkel. If the sorkel is full of water, this won't help, but it helps keeps water droplets from causing a coughing fit.