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Snorkel Equipment

Snorkeling equipment is fairly simple, and for good reason. Snorkeling is the first type of underwater exploration in recorded history. During the time of king Xerxes I, the Persians and Greeks were at war. Xerxes brought an armada to destroy the Greek fleet. During preparations for the surprise attack, a Greek named Scyllis was captured by the Persians and taken onboard the flagship of the Persian armada. When Scyllis learned of their intentions, he jumped overboard to escape. The Persians could not find his body. Legend has it that Scyllis used a reed as a breathing device and used a knife to cut the Persian armada loose from their anchors. And that is the first example in history of snorkeling.

Surprisingly, snorkeling equipment has not changed all that much since that story. Sure we use plastic breathing tubes instead of reeds, and we also use a mask, fins, and a flotation vest today. But the principles of snorkeling are exactly the same as the ones in the Greek legend. A short tube is extended from a swimmer’s mouth up above the surface to allow them to breathe while underwater.

This tube is the mainstay around which snorkeling equipment revolves. Today the tubes are available in different gauges to allow greater airflow than in years past. This may seem like a trivial modification until you think about how uncomfortable being constantly out of breath is. A tube that doesn’t allow sufficient air flow into your lungs will make you feel like you’re sucking air through a straw, and never quite getting enough. Needless to say, this will make your snorkeling experience less comfortable.

 The other main pieces of snorkeling equipment; the mask, vest, and fins, are all meant for comfort while snorkeling. A mask allows you to see underwater with less distortion than would otherwise be possible. Water naturally refracts light much more readily than air does. This causes distortion in anything viewed underwater. The distortion can be mitigated by proper curvature of the snorkel mask, and many masks sport multiple lenses to accomplish this task. A mask also allows a small cushion of air between your eyes and the water, which anyone who has held their eyes open underwater can tell you is a blessing.

Your vest is designed to help you stay afloat while snorkeling, without having to exert constant energy to do so. Snorkeling vests differ from a life vest in several ways. Firstly, the life vest is designed to keep a body upright in the water, and keep a wearer’s head out of the water. Snorkeling on the other hand is done with the head under water and the body horizontal to the surface. A snorkeling vest offers a different balance of buoyancy to fill the role. It also adjusts the level of flotation it gives via air sacks that can be inflated or deflated to suit the wearer. This is necessary because while snorkeling you don’t want to be floating out of the water, but rather just below the surface. So there can be such a thing as too much floatation, and hence the vests are adjustable.

Your snorkeling fins are the piece of equipment that allows you to move around with ease while you’re snorkeling. They amplify the effects of your kicks and give you much greater thrust. This means you will exert less energy moving, which gives you a longer stay in the water.  Combined with a properly inflated vest, fins will make it so that you are a economical as possible while snorkeling.

 

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