If you want to really enjoy the great snorkeling experience, you need to be able to breathe while floating on the water and not have to lift your face to take a breath of air. That's where the snorkel comes into play. If we had our noses and mouths on the back of our heads we would not need snorkels, but since we do not we need snorkels; unless you want to swim around on your back.
When we submerge to get a closer look at the marine life, the majority of the snorkels will fill up with water and we need to keep some air in our lungs to blow out the water or clear the snorkel when we surface so we can continue snorkeling.
A snorkel is basically a "J" shaped plastic tube with preferably a silicone mouth piece, with a hard non-flexible barrel and a snorkel keeper. That is the definition of a basic snorkel. But there is a wide variation of the basic snorkel out there.
If you add a purge valve at or around the area of the mouth piece will help us to clear the snorkel of water. Some snorkels will bring an extra purge valve half way up the tube; this should make it even easier to clear. There are some that will bring a splash guard at the top, to protect the snorkel from a wave, or from splashing around. These are known as Semi-Dry snorkels. But what if we had a snorkel that would not fill with water when we submerge? Guess what, there are a variety of snorkels that do just that.
They are known Dry Snorkels. These have a valve at the upper tip that while letting you breath, when submerged the valve will close and stop the water from filling the tube. That means that with the same amount of air that you intake when you submerge, you can spent a little more time under water, since you don't need to save that extra air to clear the Snorkel.
A snorkel must fit comfortably in your mouth, allow you to blow or purge water out of the mouthpiece and tube quickly and help you to swim efficiently. But, the most important characteristics to remember when choosing a snorkel are its length and the diameter of its barrel. They should not be too long or too short. Also the diameter be approximately three-quarters of an inch so you can breathe comfortably.
In conclusion, all snorkels will basically do the job. Depending on how serious you are about snorkeling, how much you like to submerge and your budget will affect your choice of what snorkel you will add to your snorkel gear.
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Juan A. Soto is a professional diver for http://bestsnorkelingset.com/ your snorkel gear store. To find the best snorkeling set for your next snorkeling trip, go to http://bestsnorkelingset.com/
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