Mark Evans: Snorkels are one of those things that most of us junk off the side of our masks as soon as we have completed our first few dive courses.
Yes, I know there is an argument for having one on all the time in case you are on the surface and it is rough, and having a snorkel in your mouth is better than not, but how many times do you ever find yourself in that situation in reality?
I have been on the surface when it has been very rough conditions, but I just leave my regulator in.
It is down to personal preference, but from what I see, most people opt not to dive with one as soon as they can.
However, that doesn’t mean you should not carry one with you on your dive trips, as you never know when a pod of dolphins might rock up alongside the boat and you want to jump in and swim with them. Hence, I always have a snorkel in my dive bag, which then lives in my dive box for if/when I need it.
But how about having a snorkel that you can carry with you at all times, even while on a dive? This means if you did surface and were very low on air, thus unable to use your reg, you could simply deploy, tuck it up the side of your mask strap and – voila – you are snorkelling.
That’s where the Tidal Sports roll-up snorkel comes in. This is a simple snorkel made from a sturdy silicone material, which is lightweight and streamlined for less drag, and is ideal for diving, snorkelling and freediving.
However, it handily rolls up and clips into a storage shell when not in use, and this can be attached to your BCD or wing, or tucked into a pocket. There is a silicone snorkel keeper fitted for holding the snorkel on to your mask.
We took the Tidal Sports snorkel on a recent trip, and it happily lived in the pocket on my tech shorts until the day we went snorkelling with dolphins.
The snorkel mouthpiece is very soft and comfortable, and while there is undoubtedly more flex in the main snorkel itself than a traditional solid plastic snorkel, it did not affect its use and I could happily duck dive and swim with the dolphins with no issues.
We did, unfortunately, manage to break the plastic clip that is on the storage shell, but you could easily attach a karabiner or P-clip to this. The roll-up snorkel comes in four colourways – black, white, aqua and pink.
This article was originally published in Scuba Diver UK #76.
Subscribe digitally and read more great stories like this from anywhere in the world in a mobile-friendly format. Linked from Tidal Sports Roll-Up Snorkell
