Is a snorkel necessary for Scuba Diving ?

Is a snorkel necessary for Scuba Diving ?

Whether a Snorkel is really necessary for Scuba Diving is a question that gets asked rather frequently by divers. Most of us have been wearing a snorkel while diving simply because we were taught to do so early on in our Open Water courses, without ever weighing out the pros and cons or asking our instructors the reason for needing one. Some of us have used a snorkel frequently, and others have never found the need. So why do we need a snorkel?

Cons

• A snorkel is obviously a great way to swim on the surface without using up air from your scuba tank. However, once underwater, it creates drag, causing masks to leak, which many divers could live without. There is also the possibility of getting the snorkel entangled especially while diving wrecks where it could be considered an entanglement hazard.
• Many divers also feel that snorkels aren’t desirable, unless you’re shore diving, as you will rarely encounter a long surface swim. Others just don’t feel like wearing something you don’t need, hanging from your head. As a result, there are those who feel a snorkel isn’t really necessary in most situations.

Pros

• Having a snorkel attached to your mask is more than a comfort issue – it is a safety issue. A snorkel is needed for safety in recreational diving, It makes it easier to breathe on the surface without lifting your head out of the water and to conserve energy when at the surface. This is important because in rough conditions, with your weight belt on and exhausted after a long dive, a diver can breathe using the snorkel and avoid getting lungfuls of water in at every breath. The snorkel can allow you to rest and swim using the snorkel while exiting or while waiting to be picked up by the dive boat.
• Scuba divers use a snorkel not only as a safety device to float for extended periods of time while locating, or being located by, a boat; it is also used to swim to diving sites without using up precious air from the scuba tank.

Still, people don’t always agree…it seems they would rather be more comfortable than safe (kind of like riding a motorcycle without a helmet).  Wouldn’t you rather have that lightweight tube of plastic handy rather than be caught up in a situation where you are left needing one?