Human kind has always been intrigued with the underwater world, its beauty grace and serenity has had humankind finding ways to prolong their underwater viewing pleasure. Aside from the mask, the greatest piece of snorkeling equipment created was the snorkel. The snorkel allows the face to be in the water for an almost unlimited amount of time by allowing you to breathe through a tube which extends above the water line.

Snorkels sound like a simple thing but believe it or not, they have been Darwinian in their own evolution. The first snorkeler quite possibly could have been breathing through a hollow reed. What seems like a simple piece of snorkeling equipment is actually governed by a complex set of rules and guidelines as to a snorkel's form, function and use.

A snorkel is basically composed of a tube (called a barrel) and a mouthpiece. The tube end sticks out of the water while the mouthpiece goes, well, err ...in the mouth. With that said, one might think that all snorkels are alike. Such thinking would be contrary to actual fact. Snorkels are different. Knowing these differences will help you decide which snorkel is best suited for your needs and your snorkeling gear.

The first thing that one needs to know about a snorkel is that there is a difference between a snorkel for an adult and a snorkel for a child. Adults traditionally have a larger lung capacity than children. Snorkels for adults have larger bored barrels than the child's snorkel. Since the snorkel's main function is to allow the user to get fresh air on the inhalation and to exhale the bad air out, the size of the barrel is important. A child can breathe using an adult snorkel and an adult can also breathe using a child's snorkel. The problem is that they can not breathe efficiently through them. An adult using a smaller bored snorkel will find that it is almost like drinking a coke using a coffee stirrer. It takes longer to get a lungful of air using a smaller bored snorkel as opposed to a larger bored snorkel. A child using a larger bored snorkel will find it very easy to breathe through it but their lung capacity is not capable of getting rid of enough of the exhalation through the larger bore. They are essentially rebreathing what they just exhaled. As far as design, form and function a child's snorkel still follows all the rules and guidelines of an adult snorkel but on a smaller scale.

Certain features and benefits can be found among all three classes of snorkels. All three classes can be found in rubber or silicone. They can come with or without a purge valve, the lower portion of the snorkel can be a fixed position or flexible tube design. The mouthpiece can be replaceable or fixed, the upper portion can be straight or curved. It's enough to set your head spinning, but knowing these differences and similarities will help you to make an informed decision on what you want your snorkel to be able to do for you.

Rubber versus Silicone: Black rubber is traditionally less expensive than the more popular silicone. Silicone is more resistant to the elements such as ultra violet rays, and chlorine. Black rubber has a tendency to develop cracks as it ages from dry rot. Silicone is not subject to dry rot but exposure to air for a prolonged period of time will cause the clear silicone to take on a yellow tinge. The color change is cosmetic and does not affect the performance of the silicone. Those who don't like the yellowing still have an option though as there is also black silicone out there. Photo A is a black silicone snorkel.

Purge Valve: The purge valve is a simplistic one way valve at the base of the snorkel which actually makes clearing a snorkel that is full of water almost effortless. (see photo B, #4)

Fixed versus Flex: The lower portion of the snorkel can be a fixed position or have a silicone flexible portion that allows the snorkel to fall away from the mouth when not in use. This is a great feature for snorkelers who are also divers. (photo A, #3 is a fixed snorkel and photo B, #3 shows a flexed snorkel.)

Curved versus Straight tube: Snorkel manufacturers have opted mostly to have the top portion of the snorkel curve which seems to be more ergonomic in design in that it is more streamlined and reduces the wobble that straight tubes can have when used.

Replaceable mouthpiece versus fixed mouthpiece: You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you gnaw through a non replaceable mouthpiece you have to buy a new snorkel. (photo A, #2 shows a fixed non-replaceable mouthpiece and photo B, #2 is a replaceable mouthpiece.)

If you have made it this far then you probably have a better grasp of what you might like in the basic snorkel design. Let's now look at the differences in the 3 classes of snorkels.

Basic: The basic tube snorkel is by far the most inexpensive. Simple in design form and function. The only drawback to the basic style is that the bore opening is defenseless with regard to keeping water out of it. This is especially true should you accidentally let the top of the snorkel fall below the waterline. (photo A, #1 shows a simple basic style bore.)

Semi Dry snorkel: The semi dry snorkel is designed to make it harder for water from splashing to find it's way into the bore opening. This is usually done using some sort of deflector that will divert the larger bulk water away from the bore opening. Some earlier designs actually had an adapter that could fit onto an existing basic snorkel. Because these adapter had to be nested into the bore of the snorkel, they had a tendency to restrict the orifice enough to make breathing more difficult. The semi dry snorkel still fills with water when it is submerged below the waterline.

Total-Dry Snorkel: Total-dry snorkels had their beginnings long ago. Those that remember a snorkel that had what looked like a ping pong ball in a birdcage perched at the top of the snorkel already understand the concept of the total dry snorkel. When the snorkeler submerged, the ball would float up and close off the bore opening. That design disappeared long ago as it was found that if the snorkeler went deep enough the pressure would compress the ball to the point of no return. Dry snorkels were thought to be a lost cause but due to the tenacity of some engineers they have re-emerged. Better than ever. The total-dry snorkel is designed to close off the air flow totally should the snorkel fall below the water line while in use. This is far better than gargling with saltwater. (photo B, #1 shows the latest snorkeling gear design, the total-dry snorkel.)

The industry is constantly tweaking the design of the total-dry snorkel making it less clunky and extremely user friendly. Is this author of the best piece of snorkeling gear partial? You betcha!