Lost my new mask and didn't get to use it once

[RJP]

Agree with Pete.The mask on forehead panic thing is BS. If someone is in panic it's more likely the mask will go sailing off into the depths than pushed up on the forehead. One of my favorite moments as a DM was leading a group of rescue students and DM candidates while the instructor was teaching an OW class. They were going over the dive plan on the surface in shallow water. At my signal we all began to circle them casually and listen to the briefing. At my next signal we all pushed our masks up onto our foreheads and just stood there in the water. The look he gave me was priceless. Yet not one person reacted to our "distress". So much for that myth.

Apparently the DM/C's were not idiots. Good for them.

Again, the idea is that rejecting equipment can be A sign of distress... taken along with other possible signs and indicators. I've never read or seen anyone, anywhere, suggest that MOF is universally - and singularly - an absolute binary indicator of distress. But, having seen it for myself several times, I do now pay a bit of attention to someone who surfaces and immediately shoves their mask up off their face. However, since I'm not an idiot, I take the whole picture in. If they push their mask up and begin calmly chatting with their buddy about what a great dive they just had they are obviously not in any trouble.

 

[uncfnp]

I have seen a couple of new and experienced divers lose masks because it not being around their necks. I really dont understand the value of having the mask on your forehead or the back.

If you have longish hair, especially in a ponytail, putting the mask on from around the neck as a real pita. It just isn't practical, at least for me. So I broke tradition years ago (silly rule anyway, made up by men I'm sure!) and place it on my forehead instead. Granted, this is on the boat predive. I don't take my mask off in the water and one should always be completely kitted up including mask and reg if shore diving (entry and exit) and any surf.

Just a woman's perspective...

 

[The Chairman]

Again, the idea is that rejecting equipment can be A sign of distress..

I would agree with this. However, placing a mask on your forehead is anything but a rejection. In reality, a panicked diver would be hard pressed to put the mask neatly on their forehead. Ergo, a mask on a diver's forehead is really an indication that they are still in control.

There are a ton of myths about diving out there. Some are simple exaggerations while others are outright lies. Fear has long been a tactic of dive instructors to teach as well as to instill compliance. Such myths are the aquatic version of Reefer Madness and are just as counter productive. When you figure out that your instructor is mostly full of crap, you then have to rethink every thing they taught you. What a PIA. It's far better to stick with the truth and reality.

 

[rongoodman]

Sorry, but only wankers have their mask on backwards. It is either on your face or not on at all.

Must be a lot of "wankers" cave diving in Mexico.

 

[phoenix31tt]

i put mines around my neck still, even though i have switched to a bungied octo...

i thought it would get in the way but it really doesnt... and it wont be lost...


regarding the mask on the forhead thing... i also think mask on the forehead can be a sign of panicking... as compared to pulling it down under the chin or turning it around... i've not seen it in divers, but i've seen it in swimmers and snorkelers... pushing the mask/googles up onto their forehead when they are in trouble (or think that they are)..

its very easy to get a mask up on the forehead.. and nobody says it has to be neat... just as you cant assume mask on the forehead alone means panic.. you also cant assume that mask on the forehead can never mean panic...

 

[uncfnp]

i put mines around my neck still, even though i have switched to a bungied octo...

i thought it would get in the way but it really doesnt... and it wont be lost...


regarding the mask on the forhead thing... i also think mask on the forehead can be a sign of panicking... as compared to pulling it down under the chin or turning it around... i've not seen it in divers, but i've seen it in swimmers and snorkelers... pushing the mask/googles up onto their forehead when they are in trouble (or think that they are)..

its very easy to get a mask up on the forehead.. and nobody says it has to be neat... just as you cant assume mask on the forehead alone means panic.. you also cant assume that mask on the forehead can never mean panic...

In other words, it really doesn't mean anything.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Sorry to hear that you lost the new mask and snorkel... maybe it'll turn up. Always a good idea to try and mark gear with a cell no. if possible.

Also, I'm in the camp that believes that a mask on the forehead has nothing to do with a panic or stressed diver. Carry it however you want, live and learn.

Wife and I both dive Zeagle Stilletto BC's and we use the chest strap for our masks. South end of Bonaire is a perfect example. Masks on chest strap and wearing our sunglasses for a nice easy back kick out to the drop off. Once there, sunglasses go into the BC pocket, masks on and go diving. As soon as we surface, masks go back onto chest strap and sunglasses on.

Sometime's just for fun, we'll make the switch to our sunglasses just before we surface....

 

[boat sju]

In the early 80's as OW students we were warned that wearing a mask on our foreheads was an easy way to lose it given certain conditions. Nothing more. Sometime later I was told that wearing your mask on the back of your head made you look like a tech wannabe and that the real tech divers took offense. Guess you can't win.

 

[Peter69_56]

Who has ever for real seen a panicked diver put their mask on their forehead? Not read about it, but seem it. The whole concept seems ludicrous to me, if they are panicking surely they'd rip it off completely


Replied using Tapatalk. Please forgive my typing.

yes I have seen it happen. I think a panicked diver once shot to the surface tries to get rid of restrictions so spits their regulator and also pulls the mask up or off and I agree, if they are badly paniced, usually its off. Putting a mask on ones head seems near an involuntary action rather than something thought out. Having something around the neck (I think) is normally not done due to some mental limitation of choking. We appear to not naturally to put things around our neck to prevent any choking, perhaps a carryover from our cave ancestors.

I would guess 95% or more divers sit the mask on their forehead as a natural action. I know for me to put it around my neck is still a thought out action and not something natural. Where do our sunglasses go, up on the head when not in use but needed shortly?

Its much easier to slide the mask down from the forehead than to get it back up off your neck so perhaps its just an ease of use thing? Easy to do but risky and unreliable.

 

[dmoore19]

What would Mike do?