The Best Freediving Snorkel
Snorkels come in many different sizes, shapes and price levels. From very expensive and complex snorkels (which we don’t sell) up to very simple and easy to use and often very cheap snorkels. And this last category is exactly the snorkel we highly recommend for freedivers.
We believe that the best freediving snorkel is a simple one that’s easy to use and easy to clean – yes, you need to clean your snorkel. The freediving snorkel is one of those items that usually only gets a quick rinse after the dive session, but this is not enough. All snorkels are susceptive to mould, and if you don’t clean your snorkel, you’ll see the build-up of mould in the snorkel pipe within a few months. In our dive center in Panglao, we clean our student snorkels thoroughly after each use.
Although we sell quite a few snorkels like the Scubapro snorkel, we believe those are more suited for snorkelling than for freediving. The best freediving snorkel that we recommend is a soft silicone snorkel without a purge valve. The freediving snorkel needs to be soft so it won’t hurt the temple when holding the snorkel under the mask strap, and we don’t recommend a purge valve since it obstructs the airflow.
We recommend buying the cheaper silicone freediving snorkel combined with a snorkel cleaning brush to keep your snorkel nice and clean.