I bought this to help me speed up my swim training by allowing me to work my muscles more without running out of breath. It works great, and is really letting my get in better workouts. I have only two minor complaints. It should come with a nose clip, as it is nearly impossible to inhale without getting at least a little water up your nose, I suggest buying one with the snorkel. Also, the plastic of the snorkel becomes pretty soft if exposed to heat, which can cause the snorkel to bend. Make sure you don't leave the snorkel in your car on any warm day, or it will almost definitely be twisted or curved, and is very difficult to get back to its original shape. FINIS Swimmer's Snorkel (Yellow)
SUMMARY: BUY this Swimmer Snorkel (a.k.a. Center Mount) and DO NOT buy the FREESTYLE version!
I first bought the FINIS Swimmer Snorkel (I will now refer to this as the Center Mount)from Amazon. I left it at the YMCA on accident and it disappeared. I accidently bought the FREESTYLE version as a replacement. Here is what I learned...
1. You DO NOT Need a nose plug with either style, contrary to other reviews.
2. The Center Mount has a purge valve in which any excess water falls below the breathing apparatus and is pushed out on the exhale. The Freestyle DOES NOT have a purge valve.
3. Both snorkels work best with your head straight down. You shouldn't be turning your head with your body when you swim anyways, so this is nothing new.
4. NEITHER worked well with flips or diving under water. Clearing these snorkels with a strong exhale didn't seem to work comfortably or
5. BEGINNER swimmer...you can focus on technique without having to worry about self-preservation. Once you have a good balance/body roll, catch & release, and comfort level. You can slowly focus on swimming without the snorkel and maintaining a steady breathing pattern.
6. Great tool for kicking. You can kick while face down and arms to your side, reducing back injury from overextending on a kick board. This alone sold me.
CONS: The FREESTYLE swimmer continuously flooded with water and was very unpleasant. I believe it will work with A LOT of effort such as Holding your breathe to increase buoyancy instead of exhaling at will. You will have to try a head straight down or slightly forward approach to find the right head placement. It is my opinion that this snorkel is way too tough to work with and should consider utilizing a purge valve and increased length. It may work well for a professional accustomed to this snorkel at fast speeds, but for 95% of people you will not like the FREESTYLE product.
First, let me say, swimming with a snorkel is absolutely addictive. 5 months ago I fell and seriously damaged my knee. So much so that I was bed ridden for almost three of those months and lost nearly all of my muscle and respiratory fitness. I went from biking 60 miles a weeks to complete inactivity gaining 40 lbs in the process. Once I COULD walk, the ONLY aerobic exercise I was capable of... was swimming. Even though I use to swim competitively when I was young, I was so out of shape, I could hardly swim a lap without gasping for air. So I decided to try the Finis Snorkel. WOW what a difference! I went from barely swimming 20 laps in a workout to swimming almost 200 in just under 2 months. I've lost 20 lbs swimming 2 hrs 3-4 times a week. The snorkel is the only main reason. Since the snorkel allowed me to swim much longer and much harder than I would otherwise, my knee recover was likely cut in half... (my surgeon was amazed).
I like the facing forward design and have had no trouble with the "on the forehead" strap. The mouth piece is comfortable even during a two hour swim. BUT! (and yes this is a big BUT), the purge valve leaks forcing you to clear the water almost every lap. The speed at which you swim does effect the leakage rate as does the how hard you are breathing. You have to swim exactly at the optimum speed to keep the leakage to manageable minimum. Originally, I thought maybe I just got a lemon, so I went out and bought a second one. Same problem. Having to constantly clear the snorkel, really does interrupt my work out.
Again, snorkel swimming truly has been a life changing experience for me, and I can't imagine swimming without one, but the purge valve problem has forced me to give this product only 2 stars. I'm back on the market looking for an alternative, probably one without a purge valve. GREAT in concept, just falls short with respect to design and/or construction. Hope they can correct it.
I have fibromyalgia and arthritis of the neck. The FINIS snorkel works great. It allows me to extend my time in the pool and be pain free during and afterwards. Takes a little time to adjust to breathing thru the device. It allows me to focus on being long in the pool and on my stroke mechanics. Don't know how I lived without it. Ordered thru Amazon w. free shipping and it arrived 4 days later.
I was told to use a snorkel for my laps following disc replacement surgery in my neck. Wasn't looking forward to it. I was happy to learn there is something better for lap swimming than the bulky snorkel my husband has used to look at marine life.
I love that I can wear normal swimming goggles and not cover my nose with a typical snorkeling mask. It took a little getting used to. I couldn't remember whether I was supposed to breathe out through the mouth or nose but it worked both ways. I did have some problems with water in the nose. I tried the nose clips but they only served to keep water in the nose, not keep it out. So now I swim without a nose clip and once or twice during each length of the pool I exhale through the nose. This seems to keep things in check. The rest of the time I exhale through the mouth.
Sometimes a little water will get in the snorkel, maybe from a splash. I don't believe the purge valve is leaking. I haven't been successful at using the purge valve while swimming. I find that I have to stop, put my hand over the top of the snorkel and blow hard to get rid of it. But it's not a frequent problem.
I was worried about my teeth since I have crowns on both front teeth. That hasn't proven to be an issue. I hold it very loosely in my mouth and don't even bite down on the place provided for that, which is on the sides. As long as the mouth flap is covered by your lips there is no problem.
The headband is hard plastic and feels uncomfortable against the forehead. I wear a lycra cap and simply pull it down low, underneath the headband. That relieved all the discomfort in my case. I'm sure a silicone cap would work just as well. You just need a little padding between the hard headband and your forehead. Stand in front of a mirror and practice getting it in the right position for breathing and for comfort so that you can do it easily at the pool. In my case the headband is right above my eyebrows and the strap is pulled low around the back of my head.
This product makes swimming almost too easy. For anyone wanting or needing more air I think you would really like it. I always liked the heart pounding breathlessness of it. So when I first started using the snorkel I felt like I wasn't even exercising. In fact I would look to the side to see if I was actually moving. There is an accessory available, the cardio cap, that I might try later on. This restricts the available air to some degree.
This product seems very well made and does what I needed it to do. I am thrilled to be able to continue swimming following neck surgery. Just give yourself 3 or 4 swims to get totally accustomed to it.
As usual, Amazon did a great job delivering it. I used the free shipping and had it in a matter of days.'
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