Hi, I'm trying to figure out how to use a snorkel comfortably, preferably without a nose clip (because the noseclips keep falling off me). I use a Finis snorkel and either get water up my nose or have small bits of water accumulate in the snorkel. It's a little better when I exhale through my nose, but either way, water accumulates in places that make it uncomfortable to swim more than a 25. Even when I don't suck in little bits of water, it's really hard to get enough air, and I can feel myself panicking. After each lengths, I stop and empty little bits of water from my snorkel, and catch my breath. (I am an experienced competitive swimmer in good health, so I'm very comfortable in the water without a snorkel.) Even with a noseclip, it's uncomfortable.
My son is just beginning winter swim team, and they will be using snorkels too. The coach advised for them not to use a noseclip, that they will get used to swimming without it. So I'm looking for advice for both myself and for my son, so we can use the snorkels comfortably. Any advice on breathing easier with snorkels would be much appreciated!
I've loved using a snorkel ever since my coach recommended them when I was in high school, and it's been my favorite piece of gear ever since. Some thoughts.
Accept that there's going to be a learning curve. It took me a couple weeks to be comfortable swimming with one in high school when I first learned to use one, and when I got back into swimming recently it again took a week or so of using one before I reacclimated.
Learn to keep positive air pressure in your nose while breathing in through your mouth. I breathe both in and out through my mouth when using one, except occasionally breathing out through my nose to "reset" the air pressure or on turns obviously.
Learn to clear the snorkel. This basically consists of forcefully blowing a burst of air out of your mouth, which will clear any water in the snorkel. This is obviously used after turns since the snorkel will fill, but you should also use it to clear the small amounts of water that get in while swimming.
Don't panic if there's a little water in the snorkel. There will often be some water in there, but it won't impede your breathing. If there's more than a little, just breathe in slowly until you have enough air to clear the snorkel.
I've used the finis snorkel and the speedo bullet snorkel, and I much prefer the latter. The design means much less wobbling, but I've also found that I prefer snorkels without a purge valve. The main purpose of a purge valve is that it lets water drain when you lift your head out of the water, but while swimming I don't find that they do much and they're just another possible point of failure. I find that it's easier to get a good clear without the purge valve, and when you stop at the wall just pull the snorkel out of your mouth for a second to let any residual water drain.
This depends on the snorkel and your breathing pattern, but I find that even without a cap you do get less overall air when using a snorkel than you do breathing regularly. Being out of breath is a feature of using a snorkel, not a bug.
Flip turns take some getting used to. Before you flip, take a deep breath and hold it. Then do a normal flip turn, exhaling out of your nose as usual. Then during your streamline, just after the tip of your snorkel breaks the surface (you'll learn the timing), clear the snorkel with a big burst of air. This process is fairly air-intensive (hence the breath before), but once you get the timing right it's surprisingly easy to clear out the snorkel before/as you breakout.
I've loved using a snorkel ever since my coach recommended them when I was in high school, and it's been my favorite piece of gear ever since. Some thoughts.
Accept that there's going to be a learning curve. It took me a couple weeks to be comfortable swimming with one in high school when I first learned to use one, and when I got back into swimming recently it again took a week or so of using one before I reacclimated.
Learn to keep positive air pressure in your nose while breathing in through your mouth. I breathe both in and out through my mouth when using one, except occasionally breathing out through my nose to "reset" the air pressure or on turns obviously.
Learn to clear the snorkel. This basically consists of forcefully blowing a burst of air out of your mouth, which will clear any water in the snorkel. This is obviously used after turns since the snorkel will fill, but you should also use it to clear the small amounts of water that get in while swimming.
Don't panic if there's a little water in the snorkel. There will often be some water in there, but it won't impede your breathing. If there's more than a little, just breathe in slowly until you have enough air to clear the snorkel.
I've used the finis snorkel and the speedo bullet snorkel, and I much prefer the latter. The design means much less wobbling, but I've also found that I prefer snorkels without a purge valve. The main purpose of a purge valve is that it lets water drain when you lift your head out of the water, but while swimming I don't find that they do much and they're just another possible point of failure. I find that it's easier to get a good clear without the purge valve, and when you stop at the wall just pull the snorkel out of your mouth for a second to let any residual water drain.
This depends on the snorkel and your breathing pattern, but I find that even without a cap you do get less overall air when using a snorkel than you do breathing regularly. Being out of breath is a feature of using a snorkel, not a bug.
Flip turns take some getting used to. Before you flip, take a deep breath and hold it. Then do a normal flip turn, exhaling out of your nose as usual. Then during your streamline, just after the tip of your snorkel breaks the surface (you'll learn the timing), clear the snorkel with a big burst of air. This process is fairly air-intensive (hence the breath before), but once you get the timing right it's surprisingly easy to clear out the snorkel before/as you breakout.
