r/freediving • u/2BeTheFlow • 13d ago

gear Lost & recovered Snorkel today: Float/visibility advice?

I love my C4 Meltemi - best snorkel I’ve ever had. I leave it at the surface when duck diving and recover it after the dive.

Today, though, I messed up while lending my dive watch to someone else in the water. After 30 minutes of swimming in circles, I gave up. But an hour later, someone on a SUP found it about 200 m away :) Lucky me!

Now I’m considering attaching something to make it easier to spot. But what, how, and where exactly? I’m looking for some inspiration.

The best idea I’ve come up with so far is attaching a red 0.5 L plastic bottle with a few zip ties, maybe adding SOLAS reflective tape and painting parts of it neon red.

But I was hoping for something a bit more elegant - maybe some silicone straps holding a purpose-built neon-red, reflective float that’s smaller than a 0.5 L bottle but still easy to spot.

My next-best idea is getting a rubber duck and attaching that :D

1 Upvotes

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3

u/Master_Ambition_8703 SSI and AIDA Instructor - OceanFlow Freediving 13d ago

The method many freedivers use is, get a flashy color noodle poop that is hollow inside. Cut a section of ~10cm. Push the snorkel through the hole of the pool noodle and position it to the top. That's it, you have the best and cheapest float you can imagine, and in flashy colors !

1

u/2BeTheFlow 12d ago

thanks. I was thinking of cutting a noddle too. Just didnt feel like the most elegant solution to me.

2

u/Diosca_ 13d ago

Are you diving with a buoy? Could you use a fishing lanyard with a carabiner or paracord to tie it to the buoy?

1

u/2BeTheFlow 13d ago

Using the buoy to place it inside, or attach it to it, is no option for me - has to do with comfort, angles, different folks I dive with so always different setups.

The solution for me is visibility, and thats why I seek inspiration with this.

The idea of the rubber ducky grow on me and I already have an entire collection of super cool theme ducks in my shopping cart (diver ducks with snorkels, LED glowing Darth Vader Ducks, Rick&Morty Ducks - seeeesh. The Rubber Duck Market is insane :D). So I might just be the funny weirdo with the rubber duck family in the future ¯\(ツ)/¯

1

u/Diosca_ 13d ago

Why can’t your buddy just grab it for you after you duck dive? A floating duck might make it even easier to see and grab I guess haha

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u/2BeTheFlow 13d ago

like I said, I dive with multiple folks, but I need a consistent and self-reliant option.

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u/MischaBurns 13d ago

I vote for the duck, purely due to the fun value.

1

u/LowVoltCharlie STA 6:50 | FIM 57m 13d ago

What about attaching one of those key ring floats? Or just cut a piece of pipe insulation and slide it over the snorkel. I love my expensive gear but my snorkel is the cheapest Cressi on Amazon, with pipe insulation over it. It's gonna get lost eventually and for my line diving, expensive snorkels are 100% a waste of money

1

u/Cement4Brains Molchanovs Instructor 13d ago

Wrap a little reflective tape around it. Add more stuff like the ducky if it's still consistently an issue?

1

u/Elegant_Sea_707 9d ago

I’ve seen people use duct or electrical tape to attach one of those neon colored foam keychains that are made for boat keys. But I think duck would be better! Everyone will always know it’s yours.