clearing mask harder at depth?

[jepuskar]

Hey Kim, is this the proper way to clear a mask?

"I'm tilting my head back , pulling the bottom of my mask away from my face slightly while exhaling from my nose and letting go of the mask at the same time I stop exhaling."?

Is this how you do it Kim?

Lone, lets see what Kim has to say and then I'll put my 2 cents in.

Jason

 

[Kim]

It's close - and probably just a question of LoneGunMan's word choice. I push the top of my mask against my forehead and pull it a little away from the bottom. I then exhale through my nose until all the water is forced out and reseal it around my face just before I stop exhaling. This is exactly what I was taught - and it works fine.

How do you do it?

 

[jepuskar]

Interesting on how we are all taught differently...I replied to Lone in a PM.

 

[jbd]

Some of the older books I have show how to clear your mask while rolling to one side or the other. You can also clear your mask while headdown vertical( I have done this one time). The difficulty that people have with mask clearing is is not the technique. Its their own personal anxiety with have water on or around their face or the chance that they may get water up their nose. This is why Walters method works so well with people that are having difficulties with the mask clearing. His method helps them deal with and overcome this anxiety.

LoneGunman obviously does not have any anxiety about this so he will do just fine.

If you are interested in Walter's method please do a search on scubaboard for mask clearing. His method has been posted several times.

 

[Allen42]

Interesting on how we are all taught differently...I replied to Lone in a PM.

How can the rest of us learn if you go private?

 

[bnaudie]

Can you tell me what some bad habits could be? I'm tilting my head back, pulling the bottom of my mask away from my face slightly while exhaling from my nose and letting go of the mask at the same time I stop exhaling.

I think this is a bad habit. By pulling on the bottom of the mask to allow water and exhaled air to escape, there's a good chance that you're going to initially flood the mask. And if all you want to do is get rid of a couple ounces of water, you've made the problem worse. And if you have to pull hard enough to break a vacuum seal to your face, there's a good chance that you'll dislodge the mask completely.

Whereas pushing on the upper corner of the mask does not typically force the bottom of the mask away from your face.... it just makes the bottom corner of your mask the path of least resistance for escaping air when you exhale from your nose. This way you can typically push on the upper corner of your mask whether you're exhaling or not. You don't have to remember to release pressure on your mask when you stop exhaling.

Just my $.02

 

[Kim]

I wasn't going to reply anymore as it seems a silly thing to fight about. However I was asked how I clear a mask - to which I replied. I think it's a bit odd that the person who asked me doesn't either correct publically what he presumes my errors to be - or admits that it's a perfectly valid technique.

Is this how you do it Kim?

Lone, lets see what Kim has to say and then I'll put my 2 cents in.

Jason

I'm still waiting for his '2 cents'. I'd also be very interested in anyone else suggesting a different method. I did already read up on Walter's method and agree totally that his approach is a nice simple one for people who haven't learnt it yet - or are having problems. As I've never had a problem I've never had reason to suspect that I was DIW (Doing It Wrong)

 

[Kim]

I think this is a bad habit. By pulling on the bottom of the mask to allow water and exhaled air to escape, there's a good chance that you're going to initially flood the mask. And if all you want to do is get rid of a couple ounces of water, you've made the problem worse. And if you have to pull hard enough to break a vacuum seal to your face, there's a good chance that you'll dislodge the mask completely.

Whereas pushing on the upper corner of the mask does not typically force the bottom of the mask away from your face.... it just makes the bottom corner of your mask the path of least resistance for escaping air when you exhale from your nose. This way you can typically push on the upper corner of your mask whether you're exhaling or not. You don't have to remember to release pressure on your mask when you stop exhaling.

Just my $.02

Fair comment. With my old mask I sometimes flooded it on purpose to de-fog it. With my new mask I actually don't use the method anymore - I just breath out through my nose, it's got a purge valve . So now I'll just wait to get flamed for having 'an extra failure point' .

 

[miesemer]

Can you tell me what some bad habits could be?

I recently had a student who was clearing his mask by exhaling out his mouth. He did it in one step by exhaling through his mouth while pulling the mask down over his face. The exhaust bubbles would collect in the mask and it was completely empty of water by the time it was on his face. It worked in the pool but probably wouldn't work too well in open water with a hood on unless he could get the mask skirt completely under the hood at the same time.

 

[DEEPLOU]

Fair comment. With my old mask I sometimes flooded it on purpose to de-fog it. With my new mask I actually don't use the method anymore - I just breath out through my nose, it's got a purge valve . So now I'll just wait to get flamed for having 'an extra failure point' .

HOW THE ---- CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF A SCUBA DIVER AND USE A PURGE VALVE MASK?

Flamed enough?

Don't you still need to flood the new mask to de fog also? The purge does make it easier, you can clear with your face down, although I don't use one.

I either clear or flood and clear so much I don't even think about it. (Some days those wrinkles just don't smooth out under the mask skirt).
But thinking about it now, I just lift the bottom of mask a bit. If I am flooding first I pull it away until some water enters, shake my head around to clear the face plate, then lift little on bottom again and blow out the nose. When I am swimming along on the bottom, I tilt head more to the side than back to get better clearance. On the up line while in a vertical position, I just tilt head straight back.

To the original post: Its actually easier at depth w/regulator than on surface w/snorkel. On surface w/snorkel you turn your head to the side and the snorlel is underwater and you now have to clear the snorkel as well.