Who travels with a spare mask and why?

[Marie13]

Not just on trips for me. Spare is always in my dive bag, whether I’m at the quarry or on the local charter boat. I don’t leave home without it.

 

[CassieNYC]

Yes, spare mask for me. Identical except for color.

 

[islanddream]

I always carry a spare mask whether on a trip or at home diving. About a year ago my mask strap broke when I did a giant stride off the back of the boat. Instead of getting back on the boat and putting on a spare strap, the deckhand reached into my dive bag and handed me my spare mask which is the same as my regular mask. I have a small face and it took awhile to find a mask that worked well for me, hence, two masks that are identical except for color.

 

[DavidFL]

Spare mask always in my bag; goes in a pocket and on dives nearly all the time too. My primary mask is prescription; my spare/backup is the aforementioned DGX frameless mask with stick-in cheater lens.

 

[DogDiver]

Always travel with backup prescription mask and an additional set of Rx lenses. Mabey a little over kill, but on a two week trip to CoCo View I don’t want any surprises.

 

[TMHeimer]

I always have a spare in the car and took one with me on my one "dive" vacation. I have used the spare a handful of times due to a strap breaking while gearing up, or more often, the clips holding the strap giving out. Reminds me, I have to buy a few more of those "clips" parts--maybe more recent models have solved this problem? It's a different model mask than my regular one (which I found on a dive 11 years ago). I don't take the spare with me on the dive-- no room in the BC pockets with the 10 pound weights, and don't want the drag of clipping it somewhere.
I've never had a broken or lost mask during a dive. There is a thread on that somewhere, as someone was concerned about it.

 

[agilis]

I always travel with two identical masks. Masks can be lost, damaged, or stolen, and no borrowed mask is likely to be as comfortable and secure as mine. I also bring a spare mask strap. Bringing spares is especially important when traveling to foreign destinations. When traveling by air to a dive destination one mask goes in my carry on, the other in my check through.

 

[kelemvor]

I travel with a spare mask. I've upgraded masks a few times so I just bring an older one. Usually I dive with a spare in my pocket. I've never needed it myself but I've loaned it out a few times.

 

[Bratface]

I always take a spare mask. When I was a new diver I hit my own mask with the weight belt. I had to use a spare from the boat and it kept leaking. Never again.

 

[Foothills]

Like everyone else who has responded, I always travel with at least 1 spare (I have a few in the gear bin I toss in my truck) and often dive with a spare shoved in a drysuit pocket (left, the DSMB & spool go in the right) or clipped to a stage in a mask pouch.

I have never needed a back-up on a dive (other than training dives), but I have needed a back-up on a trip (setting a pair steel 130s down on a mask is not good for the mask, and duct tape won't fix that kind of damage).