Purpose : A snorkel lets you breathe with your face in the water, and to breathe more easily when waves are splashing about, without wasting air from your scuba tank. It’s especially useful when your cylinder is nearly empty and you have a long wait or swim to the boat or shore. The snorkel was also know as a schnorkel.
Required features
Comfortable mouthpiece – Avoids jaw fatigue and chafing.
Proper fit and location – Secures to mask strap so it’s readily available when you need it, yet out of the way when not used.
Desirable features
Self drain – Valve below mouthpiece that assists clearing water from the snorkel.
Large bore – A wide diameter allows for easier air flow and more comfortable breathing.
Smooth curves – Gentle bends reduce breathing resistance.
Optional features
Flex design – Allows snorkel to swing out of the way when not in use.
Quick connect – Allows you to easily attach and detached your snorkel from your mask strap, which is convenient for travel and storage.
How to choose a snorkel
A snorkel should fit comfortably in your mouth with the tip at the crown of your head. The vast majority of snorkels will do this easily with adjustment, so your primary selection considerations are mouthpiece comfort and features. Snorkels come in handy on all dives so make a habit of having yours with you even on dives where you think you won’t need it.
Learn to snorkel and skin dive!
Explore the underwater world from the surface.
The PADI Skin Diver certification helps you get – and keep - your fins wet. While snorkeling is limited to peering down from the surface, skin divers generally venture further than snorkelers, making frequent surface dives to interact with aquatic life, up close and personal.
What You Learn
The course provides basic information on skin diving equipment, dive science, the environment, problem management and safe skin diving practices.
Inwater training includes various techniques for donning and adjusting equipment, entering the water, checking buoyancy, surface swimming, clearing water from your snorkel and performing effortless surface dives.
Prerequisites
To enroll in the PADI Skin Diver course, you must be
The Fun Part
The best part is learning to use your mask, fins and snorkel so you don’t miss a moment of underwater action. Whether you’re looking at your local freshwater lake or the big blue ocean, you’ll have a new perspective on just about every body of water. You can use your new aquatic skills to explore a brand new world during an optional open water dive. And, when you’ve finished the course, you’ll get a PADI Skin Diver certification card for your efforts and be ready for your next adventure.
The Gear You Use
The PADI Skin Diver course teaches you to use basic snorkeling equipment including a mask, snorkel , fins , buoyancy control device (BCD), exposure protection like a wet suit and dive weights as needed.
Ask your local PADI dive shop what equipment you’ll use in the course. They’ll have everything you need readily available.
The Learning Materials You Need
The PADI Skin Diver course doesn’t have any required materials, but you’ll enjoy the PADI Discover the Underwater World video. The video covers all of the great reasons to jump in and includes tips that will come in handy once you hit the water. A companion piece is The Snorkeler’s Field Guide. This handy booklet illustrattesvarious underwater environments along with their common aquatic life.
To purchase these products, contact your local PADI Instructor, dive shop or resort.
