AMEO Powerbreather Review

Every now and then we come across a product that stands out from any other. Similar to DMC fins and the Eney Buoy2, our latest favourite is the Ameo Powerbreather. It’s a swim snorkel with a few differences that make it very unique and worth adding to your gear bag.

Let’s look at why the Powerbreather is significantly better than your average snorkel.

The device sits comfortably around your head and can tighten so that it doesn’t move around when you push off the wall or turn. It can be adjusted to fit most head sizes with the handy fitting straps on the side of the head, and then each time you use it you can tighten it with the adjustable nozzle at the top. This allows you to put it on and off very quickly.

There’s no big red mark left on your forehead after using it…a pet hate for swimmers who regularly use a snorkel in the their workouts.

It has a patented valve system that allows you to breathe in fresh air each time and it doesn’t allow a buildup of water to occur unlike other snorkels.

The valve system also provides partial resistance when inhaling which has been shown to strengthen inspiratory muscles. After swimming a fast 50m with the AMEO Powerbreather compared to without, you will notice how much more fatigued you are because of the breathing resistance.

This allows you to combine technique and endurance training in the one workout.

There’s a number elite athletes who use the AMEO Powerbreather which include:

• Jan Frodeno – Ironman World Champion
• Thomas Lurz – 12-time Open Water world champion
• Steffen Deibler – 50m Butterfly (Short course) world record holder
• Paul Beidermann – World champion and world record holder

This video shows how it works:

Who is it for?

We find snorkels most beneficial for:

1. Technical swimming: When your focus is on making adjustments to your stroke (particularly with alignment, catch and pull) and for some drills
2. Kick sets: We recommend swimmers kick in a similar position to how they swim. This means your eyes should be looking down instead of forward. A snorkel helps you maintain this position rather than having your head above water
3. Some strength sets: One of the key sessions we give during the week is usually a strength-based set with pull buoy and paddles (and occasionally a sponge). For the easier strength sets a snorkel can be great for allowing you keep a focus on what you’re doing during the catch and pull phase of the stroke.

For swimmers doing 3+ sessions a week with one easier recovery session in their program, I’d recommend part of their recovery set be with pull buoy, paddles and AMEO Powerbreather.

What are the downsides?

The only negatives to the using the Powerbreather is it can take some time get used to the breathing action during a flip turn. You need to continually breathe out during turn in the face-down position, if you exhale while looking up you will take in water. Once you are familiar with this the Powerbreather is a far superior option to other snorkels.

At AU$149 it’s priced higher than a normal swim snorkel which becomes obvious once you see and feel the quality of the Powerbreather. This might put off swimmers and triathletes who don’t often use or see a need for a snorkel in their training, but I think for athletes who regularly use them they will get enough value from the Powerbreather to justify paying more.

Overall Thoughts

The AMEO Powerbreather is great product that has been well designed, it’s sturdy and provides enough of a benefit to consider switching to for swimmers who use a snorkel regularly. It’s also great for busy swimmers and triathletes as it allows you to combine technique and endurance training in one because the resistance breathing created by the snorkel.

The AMEO Powerbreather is available from www.powerbreather.com and via Amazon