This snorkel lives up to its "dry" title. I had waves washing over me repeatedly and no water came down the snorkel. The pivot valve at the top really works.
The upper valve allows you to close the top easily while swimming. Any water that might get in collects in the area below the mouthpiece. Closing the upper valve allows you to blow the trapped water out through the blow valve at the bottom.
The clip attaches securely to the left side of the mask's headband. Mouthpiece is comfortable. Mouthpiece and valves appear to be clear silicon rubber and should last many years.
I have a US Divers mask purchased ten years ago and stored in a very less-than-ideal hot attic. The flexible clear silicon still works fine. Excellent, durable material. U.S. Divers Island Dry Snorkel (Black)
TRUE TRUE TRUE The person above was right. I tried this, and LOVE it. Doesn't matter if there's kids splashing, other swimmers in the next lane, you won't swallow water. Even tested it by going all the way under water. It does close off, and it's true about 1 Way valve. Awesome Awesome Awesome
While it lasted, this was a great snorkel. I never got a single drop of seawater through the snorkel. BUT....
It is very heavy (for a snorkel) especially at the top end so has a tendency to flop around. But most annoying of all is that my snorkel is somewhere at the bottom of Davy Jones' locker. Normally a snorkel has a plastic loop moulded into the tube through which your mask strap goes, therefore it is impossible for the snorkel to fall off. However, this one has a clip which very easily clips onto your mask strap. And just as easily unclips. And sinks. In an ideal world of swimming along, never raising your head out of the water, this is a perfect piece of kit. But as soon as you start to move your head, it fails completely. Just for the sake of a few millimetres of plastic. A real shame. If you DO want a great snorkel, go ahead and buy this model, just make sure you use a cable tie or something similar to fasten it to your mask!
I bought this for a spare, and guests, and thought it would do a good job. The "dry valve" works well, but looked like it would loose it's seal over time. Also, the clip that attaches to the snorkel is easily pulled off. All this wouldn't have been a problem for casual guests, but the mouthpiece design was the real flaw.
The silicone mouthpiece attaches to the black hard plastic of the snorkel/blow valve by a simple "pop-in" method. There is no glue or seal otherwise and this is the flaw in the snorkel's design. It leaked for me and it will leak for you. And for those that still buy this, if you to clear the snorkel every 8-10 breaths and think it's the way you're using it, it's not - it's the snorkel!
I returned it for a prompt refund from Amazon. Amazon is awesome!!!!
Don't be discouraged by this -- This is a great snorkel if you don't get a defective unit.
I bought a pair of these for a trip to Mexico with my wife. I should have tested them at the local pool before we left. One was defective and slowly filled with water, and the other worked perfectly. Because they looked the same, it took me a while to figure it out. My wife is only 5'2", and I suspected that her mouth didn't seal in it well. When I figured out one had a leak, I tried various things to troubleshoot. The defect was in the area where the flexible tubing met the blue pipe. After about 45-90 seconds, the reservoir would fill enough that you could hear the air bubbling. 5 seconds after that, you'd be drinking ocean water.
As a dry snorkel, the functioning one worked wonderfully. Waves weren't any problem, and the purge valve worked as advertised. I could easily dive down below the water surface down to about 15ft for 30-45 seconds with no water leaking into the snorkel.
For reference, the point of failure wasn't the purge valve. I put the flat of my palm against it several times to seal it completely (and test if that was the source of the leakage). I suspect I could have fixed this if I'd had some electrical or duct tape with me.
Anyway, I'd have given this a 5-star if they both had worked. If you order a few weeks before a trip, and have a chance to test out your equipment (so you can exchange if you find a problem), I'd recommend these. They work wonderfully if you get one that isn't defective. I'd even consider buying another to try and replace our defective one.
This "Dry" Snorkel works. The top automatically keeps water out if you go under water or if splashed. The bottom has a purge that drains any water that may get in if you take it out of your mouth. The mouthpiece is comfortable and the tube bends to acomodate the wearer. ONLY thing keeping this from getting 5 stars is the keeper is garbage. I tried this on the US Diver Mask that matches it and it keeps falling off. I used it diving with another mask which has a thicker strap and it stayed on a little better, but would fall off at least once per day (luckily I noticed each time). The keeper is not cheap quality, but it is a poor design. Would have been better if it came with the standard two-loop rubber keeper found on cheaper snorkels. If you want a great functional Dry snorkel this one works perfect, but you need to purchase a seperate keeper.
I bought this for my 7-year-old who had been using a fairly cheap model that would always get water inside. This one does what it claims to do...stays very dry inside due to its valve design. It appears to be good quality too. I highly recommend it.
I don't usually give bad reviews but this snorkel was junk. I bought it to replace my 20 year old Aqualung Impulse that I swim laps with but it had a broken mouth piece. The U.S. Divers' (this one) valve that's supposed to keep the water out actually lets more water in. You'd be better off taping it shut. Plus I don't know if it was the water getting in or the tube being too small but I couldn't get enough air to breath. Plus any longer with the hard plastic mouthpiece and I may have needed gum surgery for the damage. I used this one for about 10 minutes and trashed it and when out to my car and got the broken Aqualung Impulse plus I ordered a new Aqualung. I can't understand were those other reviewers are coming from. - Us Divers - Snorkeling'
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