At its most basic level, the Swimmer's Snorkel allows athletes of any ability to swim at normal and much slower speeds with perfect stability and a full range of motion. These skills are the most critical aspect for novice level swimmers to master and for advanced swimmers to perfect.

The Swimmer's Snorkel places greater emphasis on proper body alignment as it is specifically designed to allow athletes to relax in the water and maintain a completely laid out, horizontal position. Swimming smart allows the athlete to adjust his or her stroke to the maximum efficiency.

What is the Swimmer's Snorkel?
The Swimmer's Snorkel is a patented front-mount snorkel designed specifically for swimmers and can be worn with any standard swimming goggle. At its most basic level, the SWIMMER'S SNORKEL allows a swimmer of any ability to relax in the water and maintain a completely laid out, horizontal position. The key benefit to this is the ability for the person to breathe naturally and rhythmically. This skill is the most critical aspect for novice level swimmers to master. The ability to be laid out, completely horizontal and relaxed is beneficial to all levels of swimmers, as it allows people to swim at normal or even slower speeds while maintaining a full range of motion.

A JR SNORKEL is also available, which is shorter in length to account for the possible underdeveloped lungs of swimmers under the age of 12.

"The Swimmer's Snorkel allows the swimmer concentrate on body balance, rotation and alignment by eliminating the complicated breathing motion."

- Richard Quick
Head Coach, Auburn University Swimming
Head Coach 1996, 2000 USA Women's Olympic Swim Team


Why do I need the Swimmer's Snorkel?
Many of the fastest swimmers in the world use the center-mount Swimmer's Snorkel in practice every day. For people with poor technique, the effect from using the snorkel can be dramatic - from a floppy, sloppy stroke to battleship stability in one lap!

It is a beneficial training tool for beginners, tri-athletes, masters and recreational swimmers. The Swimmer's Snorkel allows swimmers to concentrate on body balance, head position and stroke technique by eliminating the breathing cycle rotation. Greater emphasis and promotion of proper body alignment, complete axis rotation and arm stroke pattern are automatic once the Swimmer's Snorkel is incorporated into the swimmer's training regimen. Instantly, the swimmer will glide through the water without worrying about turning to breathe, enabling an improved and uniform stroke.

"In my opinion, the timing of the breath and twisting of the body while taking a breath is both distracting and disruptive when learning proper body balance and hip/hand timing. By using the front-mount snorkel during specific drills, the swimmer is free to focus on specific rehearsal points."

- Mike Bottom
Head Coach, University of Michigan Men's Swimming

Regular use of the snorkel during training also increases CO2 tolerance and VO2 max. When used with the FINIS CARDIO CAP accessory, the snorkel increases the conditioning and workload to the lungs by an additional 40%, providing benefits equivalent to those associated with altitude training.


How do I get started?
First, get familiar with swimming and breathing through the snorkel. A popular program is to incorporate the snorkel into every practice's warm up and warm down sessions. Try breathing naturally, but learn to inhale and exhale powerfully. To avoid water going up your nose, exhale mainly through your nose. If a lot of water gets in the snorkel, blow out hard until all water is clear.

Try these introductory drills with the snorkel:

* Balance Drill - Keep your arms at your sides and maintain a moderate, but steady kick. Swim 25 yards, exaggerating your chin way up. Next, swim 25 yards, exaggerating your chin way down. Finally, swim 25 yards where your chin falls to its natural position. This should help you find the correct head and body position that provides the greatest sensation of forward motion and balance.



* Shark Drill - Extend your arms out in front of you and maintain a moderate but steady kick. Begin to stroke with the left arm. Recover with a high elbow and delay in the shark fin position for six kicks on your side. Maintain positive alignment throughout rotation and six-kick delay. Resume the stroke and repeat the drill on your opposite side.

Every Day Use
Before every practice, warm up for 500 yards using the snorkel. This will help you to maintain proper alignment throughout your entire practice. After every practice, warm down for 500 yards using the snorkel. Using the snorkel when you are most fatigued will strengthen your muscle memory and improve your overall results.

Mike Bottom, Head Coach at the University of Michigan and former World Sprint Team Coach uses the Swimmer's Snorkel with all his top sprinters and estimates they use the snorkel during practice 25-30% of the time, every day.

"The Swimmer's Snorkel is required swim equipment within all our swimmer's gear bags."

- Dr. Dave Salo,
Head Swim Coach, University of Southern California Swimming
2003 USA Coach, World Championship Team

Quick Tips:

* It is possible to do a freestyle flip turn with the Swimmer's Snorkel, and the snorkel is designed to alert you to improper form during execution (it will rotate or wiggle to let you know that your streamline can be improved).

* Blow out hard to clear all water from the snorkel. If water persists in going up your nose, try a nose clip.

* A perfect freestyle swimmer is very well balanced and should have a similar rotation on both sides. Breathe through the snorkel, keeping your head in line with your spine. This position allows the swimmer to visually confirm that they are spending as much time on their right side of their body as their left.


Snorkel Purge Valve Care

The Purge Valve was incorporated into the Swimmer's Snorkel for several reasons including ease of clearing water from the mouthpiece as well as an increased cardiovascular workout. The purge valve can leak if food or debris becomes lodged between the silicone skirt and the hard plastic retainer of the purge valve. Below are instructions for Purge Valve care and how to clean a purge valve.

Occasionally customers complain that their Snorkel is leaking at the Swivel Ring, this is not possible. In this instance, check for debris in the purge valve.

Remove and Clean Purge Valve:

1. Remove Purge Valve from the Swimmer's Snorkel by pinching the silicone retaining tube just above the hard plastic purge valve (newer Snorkel's have neon green purge valves for easy identification).

* When removing the purge valve notice which end is facing up and which end is facing down.

2. Once Purge Valve is removed from the Snorkel, you will notice that there are 2 components that make up the valve:

* The hard plastic retainer and the Silicone skirt, which allows for one-way clearing of water and air, and prevents water leakage into the mouthpiece.

3. Remove the Silicone skirt form the hard retainer by gently pulling the flat, circular side of the skirt (non-tip side) away from the retainer. Do not pull on the tip, this is the wrong side.

4. Once the silicone skirt has been removed, place it in a small amount of soap water in the palm of your hand and clean the surface to remove all debris.

5. After cleaning the surface, rinse the skirt with water to remove excess soap.

6. Re-insert the skirt back into the hard plastic gasket.

* Be certain the skirt is locked into place by pulling the tip all the way through the gasket until it notches into place.

7. Now the purge is clean and can be re-inserted into the Snorkel. Note that the tip of the Silicone skirt must be facing up to create the proper flow of water and air.

Check the Snorkel for Proper Seal:

Blow into the purge valve at the bottom of the Snorkel. A properly working purge valve should have an airtight seal and not let air into the Snorkel. If air is allowed into the Snorkel, this is a clear indication that the purge valve needs to be adjusted or cleaned.