Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.
I am a Volunteer Firefighter/Medic and the Water Rescue Captain of our local Fire Department. We recently received a very healthy grant from our Local Government which allowed us to purchase a great deal of equipment for our Water Rescue Team, including full face masks for our Divers. I am a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and am working on my IDC Staff Instructor certification.
Well, this past weekend, I braved the 43 degree water of France Park in Logansport, Indiana, to complete my Full Face Mask Instructor certification. Chalk up another (Distinctive) Specialty that I can teach!! I must say, it was more of a struggle than I originally expected.
The mask we purchased for the team is the Ocean Reef Neptune Space unit, with the built in second stage and diver to diver/diver surface communications unit. This mask seems to fit our needs, with the quick connect hose and swivel, and the relatively inexpensive price tag.
While in the pool two weekends ago, I found the mask fairly easy to don and adjust. The breathing was made easier by the built in adjustment knob, but seemed very touchy to balance between "too hard" to breathe and a free-flow condition. In the pool, I had the Space mask mounted to a ScubaPro MK25 first stage and was able to pass all the required skills easily.
This past weekend, I changed over to my ScubaPro MK17 first stage for the cold water dive. I've found the MK17 to be a bit better in cold water, at least, using the tried-and-true G250 second stage I have come to trust. However, this time, the mask seemed to breath much heavier than in the pool, which I initially attributed to the cold water. But the balance on the adjustment knob was almost impossible to hit. I was either free-flowing or really pulling on the second stage to get a breath.
Wearing a hood made the mask difficult to seal to my and the dry gloves made it difficult to make adjustments on the mask, especially during the mask removal and replacement. The constant "tinkering" with the adjustment knob to stop a free-flow really made enjoying the dive difficult. It was also nearly impossible to breathe from through my nose, the cracking pressure required to supply the air seemed too high.
Now, we can't always determine the conditions under which we dive. We need to be sure of the mask's capabilities and, as a dive team, trust it to provide adequate service in any conditions, including cold water. I can't always dive in 80 degree water with no hood or gloves!!
Should I look into purchasing the Neptune first stage instead of using the ScubaPro models? Should I have the second stage checked to see that it is working correctly, perhaps balanced with my MK17 or MK25? Our department regulators are all ScubaPro, but not all are MK17s or MK25s. Are there some that will not work with the Neptune Space?
Any information you can provide would help greatly.
Dave
I am a Volunteer Firefighter/Medic and the Water Rescue Captain of our local Fire Department. We recently received a very healthy grant from our Local Government which allowed us to purchase a great deal of equipment for our Water Rescue Team, including full face masks for our Divers. I am a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and am working on my IDC Staff Instructor certification.
Well, this past weekend, I braved the 43 degree water of France Park in Logansport, Indiana, to complete my Full Face Mask Instructor certification. Chalk up another (Distinctive) Specialty that I can teach!! I must say, it was more of a struggle than I originally expected.
The mask we purchased for the team is the Ocean Reef Neptune Space unit, with the built in second stage and diver to diver/diver surface communications unit. This mask seems to fit our needs, with the quick connect hose and swivel, and the relatively inexpensive price tag.
While in the pool two weekends ago, I found the mask fairly easy to don and adjust. The breathing was made easier by the built in adjustment knob, but seemed very touchy to balance between "too hard" to breathe and a free-flow condition. In the pool, I had the Space mask mounted to a ScubaPro MK25 first stage and was able to pass all the required skills easily.
This past weekend, I changed over to my ScubaPro MK17 first stage for the cold water dive. I've found the MK17 to be a bit better in cold water, at least, using the tried-and-true G250 second stage I have come to trust. However, this time, the mask seemed to breath much heavier than in the pool, which I initially attributed to the cold water. But the balance on the adjustment knob was almost impossible to hit. I was either free-flowing or really pulling on the second stage to get a breath.
Wearing a hood made the mask difficult to seal to my and the dry gloves made it difficult to make adjustments on the mask, especially during the mask removal and replacement. The constant "tinkering" with the adjustment knob to stop a free-flow really made enjoying the dive difficult. It was also nearly impossible to breathe from through my nose, the cracking pressure required to supply the air seemed too high.
Now, we can't always determine the conditions under which we dive. We need to be sure of the mask's capabilities and, as a dive team, trust it to provide adequate service in any conditions, including cold water. I can't always dive in 80 degree water with no hood or gloves!!
Should I look into purchasing the Neptune first stage instead of using the ScubaPro models? Should I have the second stage checked to see that it is working correctly, perhaps balanced with my MK17 or MK25? Our department regulators are all ScubaPro, but not all are MK17s or MK25s. Are there some that will not work with the Neptune Space?
Any information you can provide would help greatly.
Dave
