Advice on snorkel to prevent jaw ache when snorkelling

[pazmataz]

Hi All
First post here so hope I'm not making by mistakes by posting something as frequently asked as advice on equipment but having searched the forums I can't find anything similar:
Basically I love to spend ages (like an hour in water then hour out, then hour in etc) snorkelling in coral reefs and am going to Sumatra in a couple of weeks to snorkel and dive. However, in the past I end up with bad jaw ache due to the biting on the snorkel, currently using a fairly cheap Speedo snorkel which is probably not as flexible as it should be so it's always trying to straighten out.

I am open to any suggestions on what you would recommend in terms of snorkels that are extremely comfortable to use for long periods. I've heard that most snorkels are scuba focussed and so are not J shaped. Problem with J shaped snokel is lack of purge and this might get annoying in long, extended snorkels?

I am looking at the following at the moment:
- Atomic SV1 or SV2 snorkel - apparently specifically designed to reduce jaw ache with extremely soft materials and specially designed mouthpiece...but pricey at around £45!! Many good reviews from users. http://www.bluewatersports.eu/the-best-snorkel-in-the-world-probably-atomic-aquatics-sv2-1665-p.asp

- Alternatively this J-shaped snorkel seems to be designed for comfort and has anti splash but NO purge. Looks good but can find any reviews; does anyone know of it? Mares Pro Flex snorkel, around £17 http://www.mares.com/product_detail.php?id=535&region=USA

I will be diving also but can put up with the inconvenience of a J shaped snorkel hitting my face if it allows ache free snorkelling!

Many thanks!

[DRW]

I'm a vintage equipment snorkeller, so I can't comment on the snorkel models about which you are asking advice.

There has been a thread on the snorkelling forum about easing pain when biting the snorkel mouthpiece. Not quite the same issue, I know, but the thread may contain some useful advice:

http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=6013

[Matt-75]

Once upon a time when i did snorkel, i had a liking for those old school snorkels where the mouthpiece and lower section used corrugated rubber instead of using the now standard solid piece of plastic that hardly ever fits correctly.

If you can find one of those maybe that would help. I always found them comfortable to use. The modern ones are pretty pants in comparison.

[DRW]

Once upon a time when i did snorkel, i had a liking for those old school snorkels where the mouthpiece and lower section used corrugated rubber instead of using the now standard solid piece of plastic that hardly ever fits correctly.

If you can find one of those maybe that would help. I always found them comfortable to use. The modern ones are pretty pants in comparison.

Totally agree. I regularly use just such a snorkel with a flexible corrugated rubber tube below the mouthpiece. It complements my equally old-school all-rubber full-foot fins and my rubber-skirted oval mask, the ensemble I use when I go vintage equipment snorkelling in the North Sea. One advantage of this snorkel design is that the snorkel remains straight at the side of the mask until the mouthpiece is inserted.

I've done a short Google search for the corrugated snorkel and found a "Seac Corrugated Old Style Snorkel" for £9.99 at

http://www.divingdirectshop.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1726&osssid=a3ada2fcbfe4098e228281a045ce8270

I have no idea whether this suggestion meets your needs, but sometimes you have to try out various options before you chance upon the one that satisfies all your requirements. Good luck!

[PeteM]

I have no idea whether this suggestion meets your needs, but sometimes you have to try out various options before you chance upon the one that satisfies all your requirements. Good luck!

These
http://www.divingdirectshop.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1034
http://www.divingdirectshop.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1377

work in basically the same way; i.e. flexible bottom section to put the mouth piece exactly where you want it, but have a purge as requested by the OP. I have the TUSA and it works fine for me

[ChristianG]

Sigh, here we go again. :p

Back some 50 years ago I was an avid snorkeller, well, spearo actually. At the time I used a Medusa full face mask with twin snorkels sprouting from the top of it, sealed with a ping pong balls no less and, unfortunately, I seem to have survived that stupidity. But we were allowed to do that kind of thing in those days given that no-one knew any better. Matter of fact I also survived, somehow, regular overbreathing.

Today I'm a SCUBA diver and I don't carry a snorkel. Having said that, I do have one and I "made" it myself. It consists of a hard plastic U tube of 15mm diameter (a tad too wide), there is no attachment for a mask (it goes underneath the mask strap), no silly thing like a purge, nothing at the end that sticks in the air and a really good, SCUBA quality, mouthpiece. Two things there are important:

1) the mouthpiece
2) the bore of the snorkel (slimmer is good)

The point?

• Many "store-bought" snorkels have lousy mouthpieces.
• Many "store-bought" snorkels are unnecessarily complicated, think purges, "dry" snorkels, the list goes on.
• Many "store-bought" snorkels are way too fat, why do you need a 30mm diameter snorkel? All it does is make expelling water that much more difficult. No way can you outbreathe even a 10mm diameter snorkel but when I was looking I couldn't get anything in 10 mm.
• Many "store-bought" snorkels, if not most, have nice soft snorkel tubes. Why? Think about it.

What's wrong with the KISS principle?

[DRW]

Back some 50 years ago I was an avid snorkeller, well, spearo actually. At the time I used a Medusa full face mask with twin snorkels sprouting from the top of it, sealed with a ping pong balls no less and, unfortunately, I seem to have survived that stupidity. But we were allowed to do that kind of thing in those days given that no-one knew any better.

The idea of combining single or twin snorkels with a diving mask was indeed popular with diving equipment companies half a century ago when I also started snorkelling. The "Medusa" was made by Cressi. In the early 1960s I was given a Typhoon "Super Star" mask as a birthday present and even after fifty years the still soft rubber skirt seals perfectly against my face. The "Super Star" came with a small protuberance on the top which could be pierced and a modified snorkel tube with an "all-position valve" inserted to allow wearers to breathe through their noses. The Historical Diving Society of Italy has an illustrated file about diving masks of the 1950s, some of them sporting single or twin snorkels:

http://www.hdsitalia.com/articoli/20_attrezzature.pdf

The combined mask and snorkel(s) hasn't vanished completely in the 2010s:

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh33/VivienVogel/GreekShow025m.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.medfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D6%26t%3D4185&usg=__IaNuUojodpfuSLs12grhgqFdUFw=&h=540&w=400&sz=181&hl=en&start=2&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=vKC-Jv5fNKnJcM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmedfish%2Beurobal%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den% 26tbs%3Disch:1

The Google Images picture at the top is of a double-snorkel mask made by Eurobal of Greece. The Medfish thread below shows another, single-snorkelled, mask made by Majorca Sub, also of Greece. Yes, diving manuals used to warn beginners about the perils of such masks, inferring that anybody using them risked instant death. However, I've read somewhere recently that these snorkel masks may still be useful for (a) people who gag when inserting a mouthpiece or (b) snorkellers who prefer to breathe through their nose and simply want to bask on the surface, looking downwards.

What's wrong with the KISS principle?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle, but unfortunately we live in an era of overfeaturing, overengineering and overpricing. TV keypads exemplify the craziness. Most have about fifty buttons which we're afraid to press in case at one stroke we tune out all the carefully tuned-in stations on our sets. The one button that isn't there is the "Undo" button. Returning to the matter of snorkels, the post-war developer of the first breathing tube was Bill Barada, who came up with a simple J-tube made of flexible rubber, valve-free and a simple mouthpiece. His successors came up with the ingenious added features, some of which worked, some of which didn't. I'm a strong believer in personal choice and it's up to the individual purchaser, not the manufacturer or the retailer, to decide what is best for him or her. The manufacturer and retailer's role is to provide a broad range of options, leaving the end-user to make the final selection.

[pazmataz]

Hi
Thanks all for your replies; Ive read them all carefully and have decided to go for the Oceanic Ultra Dry snorkel. Probably upsetting a lot of people due to the fact it has purge valve, dry top, over complicated mask attachment etc; totally NOT keeping it simple.
BUT, it does have a large number of very good reviews and seeing as I love diving down to closely examine things when snorkelling it seems perfect.
So thanks for all your help and I will keep you posted in a few weeks once I have thoroughly tested it in Indonesia!
P.

[DRW]

Only you can ultimately determine what gear is best for you, Pazmataz. Every new item involves something of a learning curve, not least because you'll soon find out for yourself what the limitations as well as the benefits are. Manufacturers and retailers always tell you about the pluses of their own gear and the minuses of their competitors' equipment. You have to start somewhere and you'll know more, through your own experience, if and when you come to buy your second snorkel. Do let us know how your new snorkel matches your expectations in practice.