The Escape Semi-Dry is a top all-around snorkel for beginner and experienced snorkelers alike. The mouthpiece is soft and comfortable, enabling long snorkel sessions without worrying about jaw fatigue. If you get a flexible snorkel with a purge valve, you simply exhale to clear the water out of the tube. If you don’t have the purge valve, then you will have to blast out the air just like you do with the J snorkels. The next type of snorkel is the semi-dry model. Unlike the classic and flexible snorkels, the semi-dry type is designed to keep water out of the tube. Perhaps even more important than gear and technique is knowing about rips, tides, and ocean currents.

A purge valve flushes excess water out of the snorkel, so breathing is easier. Those who like J-shaped snorkels without these features tend to be free divers and spear fishers. Next, you upgrade your skills. Learning how to snorkel underwater will improve your experience. The closer you can get to those cheeky crayfish the better, right? Oceanic designed the Ultra Dry 2 Snorkel to be the one and only snorkel you need for almost any water adventure. From adjustability to an innovative mouthpiece, this is the best dry snorkel for you diving and snorkeling veterans. The Aqualung Impulse 3 is another awesome semi-dry snorkel that makes getting rid of excess water a walk in the park (and avoids the hassle of a complex seal mechanism). Okay, so now we know what all of those terms mean. But how do you know which features you need (or don’t need) in a snorkel. Well, it all comes down to purpose really!

Pro tip: Using mask defogger (yes, your spit does count as mask defogger!) at the beginning of a dive will help prevent your mask from getting cloudy as you dive. 3. Practise Somewhere Calm Of all the types that we’ve gone over today, the full-face mask snorkel is the easiest to use.You just put it on, make sure that the mask is sealed on your face, and breathe normally. This makes it perfect for beginners. If you love reading this review of the best snorkels, then you'll likely love reading some of our other snorkeling and diving content: But as the ocean is want to do, it’s got you needing more. You’re here wishing you might be reborn as a fish so you can just cruise all day in the water. Or maybe you’ve got the sneaky idea that you might want to become like the barracuda and become a predator of the reef and learn to spearfish. Aqua Lung’s Impulse snorkel is an excellent option in many respects, but its mouthpiece truly sets this dry snorkel apart. The Comfo-Bite mouthpiece is designed to stay secure in your mouth even when your jaw relaxes. This eliminates jaw fatigue and pain and makes for a much more comfortable aquatic experience.

Once you’ve got some good gear, it’s time to get your technique down pat. Good technique will mean you can stay in the water longer and feel stronger as you do it. Up there with other unusual species that you might be able to see snorkelling here are marine iguanas and penguins! This is alongside the 450+ tropical fish that inhabit the Galapagos Islands. The legendary land life of the Galapagos also makes the trip out here extra special. Effective dry snorkels don’t have to be significantly more expensive than standard snorkels, as Phantom Aquatics has proven with this product. The dry snorkel does an excellent job of preventing any water intrusion and includes a self-draining water reservoir to collect any incidental water buildup.Now, this doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy the most expensive, top of the line stuff. In fact, most of my snorkelling and dive gear is second hand. But the most important thing is that the gear fits. ScubaPro’s contribution to the world of dry snorkels takes shape as the Phoenix 2. Many scuba divers often notice that their snorkel will get in the way when transitioning to their regulator. Not so with the Phoenix 2!

Almost nothing is worse than getting a mouthful of water while snorkeling. Your delightful water adventure is suddenly paused as you rise to the surface sputtering and coughing. But that’s why we have dry snorkels, to protect your snorkel against any water intrusion. These snorkels include a water-sensitive mechanism at the top – where the air comes in – which will seal the snorkel tube as soon as you dive underwater or your snorkel top is submerged by a wave. However, dry snorkels seem to be a-dime-a-dozen, and finding the best one can be difficult. Don’t worry about it, we’ve compiled the best dry snorkels right here for you to find the perfect fit for your next aquatic escapade. A snorkel. This is the bit that allows you, the air-breathing mammal, to still breathe with your face in the water. Paying a little extra and getting a silicolne snorkel that fits well in your mouth is well worth it. One with a purge valve that helps keep saltwater out of your mouth is a good bonus too – though I still think a good fit is key. J tubes are also popular with people who are swim training in the pool. They are fast in the water without much resistance, so people training for triathlons often use them.The Scubapro Apnea is a classic J-shaped snorkel designed primarily for freediving – but that’s not all it’s good for!