Vintage US Divers FFM - how to compensate ?

[emoreira]

Hi people. A friend of mine has this vintage US Divers Full Face Mask. It has connections for double hose, but are still uncut. The connection for a second stage reg is already cut.
The rubber is still soft and ok. Not sticky.
I will try it in the pool, but at a first glance, there is no way to compensate the ears with the Valsalva maneuver.
I know that some divers can compensate in different ways, not using Valsalva, but I never could.
Any clue ?

 

[kelemvor]

I'm curious about the answer. If there's nothing inside to close your nose off like you have with modern FFM's then I don't see how it could be anything other than using a different technique. While I've practiced other techniques on land, I always find myself reverting to the good old "hold yer nose" method when I get in the water. Divers of a certain age grew up when men were men. They might have not thought anything bad about a piece of gear requiring a special skill in order to use it.

 

[Akimbo]

Push the mask up to block your nostrils. I used one of these in the late 1960s. Have you ever wondered how you do the Valsalva maneuver in one of these?

You press your upper lip against the bayonet flange or viewport and press it up against your nose and blow. If you can equalize in one of these that mask is a piece of cake.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Yes, I have owned this mask and dived it. There is a soft neoprene piece on the skirt just under the nose which should block the nostrils when the mask is pushed up fairly easily. Then simply blow gently into the mask and the ears clear easily. I had mine set up doe my double hose regulators too.

John

 

[Akimbo]

There is a soft neoprene piece on the skirt just under the nose which should block the nostrils when the mask is pushed up fairly easily.

True, but be advised that closed cell foam Neoprene piece gets harder with depth... where hopefully you won't need it nearly as often. As I recall, the foam block was denser than wetsuit material of the day (Rubatex G231n), which is much more compression resistant than today's Neoprene blends.

You should be able to block your nostrils even if the foam block is missing, The same technique is used on the original round/oval half-masks. The pad is a lot easier on your nose if you have trouble equalizing.

John, do you remember a FFM from that era that had a round hole and a sliding rubber "adapter" that replaced the regulator's mouthpiece? The idea was to allow replacing second stages in the water. I think it was sold by Scubapro, but can't remember for sure.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Akimbo,

It was a U.S. Divers Company FFM, and actually the mask we are talking about is its predecessor. I'll see if I can find it in my old catalogs.

SeaRat