UPDATE 12.12.16: The replacement dry top and purge valve still didn't salvage this snorkel. I just had to chance to try it out and my instructor tried it and confirmed that it was defective. I contacted the company to let them know and to ask if they would be willing to do a partial refund since I have had this for over 1year. They agreed! So I got 1/2 my money back which I think is excellent customer service. I'm going to keep this 4 stars even though the product didn't work because this kind of service should be commended.
UPDATE 8/4/16: Customer service got back to me and sent me replacements for the dry valve top and the purge valve at the bottom. I swapped them out and will update this review when I try it out to see if this fixes the problem. They said that if it didn't they would replace the snorkel for me. So that's 4 stars for customer service! If it works when I snorkel, I'll give it the extra star.
I wanted to really like this snorkel, but there is a problem with the purge valve and water shut out flap at the top that is supposed to keep water out. When you dive under water and come up, somehow water still gets inside and then when you try to blow out to purge the water, the water doesn't get all the way purged. When I try to breathe in after purging I end up sucking in water or only being able to take a shallow breath because I can hear the water gurgling around in the bottom of the snorkel. The only way to get it all out is to take it out of my mouth to dump the water...which defeats the whole purpose! While snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef with choppy waves, this was definitely an inconvenience and safety hazard.
I've tried to contact the seller and so far it's been radio silence. The features would be great if they actually worked.
