I've been away from the forums for a while, but I haven't been away from swimming...until recently, that is.
A few weeks ago I started having issues with my neck (herniated disc - degenerative disc disease - wah) and it affects my ability to look right and left. I can swim fly and *** with no problem, but I can't swim free without turning my whole body as a unit to breathe and I can't swim back without doing the same. It's kind of a drag.
This may get better in time or it may not. While I wait to find out if this is just an "episode" or the beginning of a major issue, I'd like to use one of those finis snorkels so I can do some free without the agony of turning my head.
Anyone ever used one of these swimming snorkels and want to weigh in on whether the "freestyle" model (with an angled pipe) or the regular straight model is the better way to go?
What about the cap feature that keeps the tube from filling with water when submerged. Worth the money?
Thanks, Forum!
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Former Member
I use the regular pipe. I like the purge value on it, which is something missing on the freestyle snorkel.
I have suffered through some issues upper back/neck issues the last few years due to nerve damage. The only way I could swim long repeats or multiple repeats of freestyle is with a snorkel.
Anything more than a few hundred yards of freestyle, required me to use a snorkel because of the pain that comes with turning the head to breath. Flip turns would make the issue worse with the slight jarring that comes from the wall.
When I started using a snorkel, the majority of my issues went away. As others have said, once you get comfortable with the flipturn and snorkel, you can swim freestyle pretty close to your non-snorkel times.
Reply
Former Member
I use the regular pipe. I like the purge value on it, which is something missing on the freestyle snorkel.
I have suffered through some issues upper back/neck issues the last few years due to nerve damage. The only way I could swim long repeats or multiple repeats of freestyle is with a snorkel.
Anything more than a few hundred yards of freestyle, required me to use a snorkel because of the pain that comes with turning the head to breath. Flip turns would make the issue worse with the slight jarring that comes from the wall.
When I started using a snorkel, the majority of my issues went away. As others have said, once you get comfortable with the flipturn and snorkel, you can swim freestyle pretty close to your non-snorkel times.
